The Marine Society and Sea Cadets save thousands by installing a HeatingSave system

The Marine Society & Sea Cadets (MSSC), a charity formed in 2004 from a merger of The Marine Society and the Sea Cadet Association, exists to offer seafarers and prospective seafarers a range of services to enhance their well-being and lifestyle. The work of MSSC in support of professional seafarers has evolved over 250 years, reflecting the experiences of the UK´s maritime fortunes.

The headquarters of the MSSC is located in Lambeth Road, London and comprises a large Victorian building heated by a gas fired, Hamworthy 3 boiler multi-boiler system. Essentially, there is one heating zone for the building and another for the hot water cylinder. Moreover, the MSSC chief executive, Mike Cornish, was looking at ways in which MSSC could make savings on the ever increasing cost of energy. "We needed to cut our heating costs and in particular gas" he explained to the HeatingSave reporter.

After a review of the market, MSSC installed a HeatingSave Building Energy Management System to control their central heating and hot water. It comprised a T3514 controller linked via an RS485 communications link to a PC that runs the analysis software. Temperature sensors measure the flow, return, hot water cylinder, room and outside temperatures whilst PIR´s (passive infra red) detectors monitor building occupancy. No problems were encountered with the installation of the HeatingSave hardware although the existing complicated system of electrics had to be overcome.

Facilities Manager, Fraser Lowe, was trained on-site on how to use the HeatingSave controller and the associated PC. "Excellent…I understood everything" was how Fraser described the quality of the training.

Asked if he thought HeatingSave was cutting the cost of heating? "We want a whole winter to really use all the features but it´s looking very hopeful. We saved £750 in the first month and another £400 on top of that in next" Fraser replied. Interestingly, the £750 saving was made during the month which had snow blizzards.

Asked what he thought about the use of PIR"s to measure occupancy Fraser said "They´re good… I´ve been in at weekends and noticed the heating has come on."

Asked what he like most about the HeatingSave system Fraser replied "It´s saving us money!, It is also easy to use and I particularly like the flexibility of the system… we can change any day to run as we like. Thereafter, it runs itself"

MSSC have used the HeatingSave HelpDesk, "Excellent -Very very helpful, I wouldn´t ask for more" was how they described the quality of the service.

Asked how HeatingSave could improve their service to MSSC they said "HeatingSave have done everything they said they would. They can even remotely dial into our PC if we need any extra tuition".

Are MSSC considering expanding their HeatingSave system? "Possibly?, we want to look at upgrading the system to control lighting and security and to better manage our electricity usage" they said.

… and would MSSC recommend HeatingSave to others? "Yes definitely! It´s been good and the HeatingSave staff were patient. No complaints!" was the reply, … and summing up HeatingSave in a few words MSSC said "Professional and Efficient. The whole idea — it´s intelligent, saves money and has great potential"

The Marine Society has provided guidance, life-long learning opportunities and support for professional seafarers from all the sea services since before the time of Nelson. The Sea Cadets is the nation´s most enduring maritime youth charity, with 400 units throughout the UK and 15,000 young people engaged in learning nautical and life skills. The combination of these two powerful brands makes a potent force in the promotion of maritime careers.

202 Lambeth Road, London, SE1 7JW

Telephone : 020 7654 7000

Web: https://www.ms-sc.org/