G&H Building Services creates eco headquarters for council that produces more energy than it uses
An array of energy efficient mechanical and electrical features created by G&H Building Services will see Leeds City Council’s new waste and refuse headquarters produce more energy than it uses.
Newmarket House in Cross Green was officially opened by Leeds City Council leader James Lewis.
The facility is the new home to the city’s Refuse and Street Cleansing Services, housing in the region of 130 vehicles and home to frontline staff who empty wheely bins and help keep Leeds clean.
G&H Building Services, which was appointed by the main contractor Kier in a c. £1.2 million contract, created a range of green fuelling options for vehicles.
A total of 20 electric charging points were installed for refuse wagons and a further 22 for the fleet of vans.
G&H Building Services’ Design department also futureproofed the facility allowing it to adapt to new technologies when needed by providing the option to convert all bays to either electric, biofuel or hydrogen fuelling.
A large solar array sees 82 panels installed to the depot’s roof with an even larger system of 84 panels fitted to the car port.
These will generate over 63kW per hour allowing the local authority to export surplus energy back to the grid during the hottest periods of the year.
G&H’s mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) work maintained a sustainable approach throughout with high efficiency LED lighting installed which also include daylight saving controls.
External lighting was designed with energy efficiency in mind too by being linked to clocks and photocells while a large mechanical heat recovery ventilation systems services all office areas.
Pre-construction Director at G&H Building Services, David Davis, said: “Sustainability was the central feature throughout this project in order to support Leeds City Council in its bid to tackle the climate change emergency.
“Newmarket House will be a heavily-used facility from staffing and large vehicle perspectives.
“To offset this potentially high carbon footprint we designed MEP systems internally and externally to not only save energy but actually produce a surplus in summer that can be exported back to the grid.
“The end result is a new purpose-built green facility that will see the council’s Refuse and Street Cleansing Services reduce its carbon footprint by 128 tonnes of CO2 each year.”
G&H Building Services’ work also saw data systems, fire alarm system with automatic opening ventilation, disabled refuge, power for all mechanical services, domestic cold water, point of use water heaters, extraction, compressed air systems to workshops and installed.
