Environment

Energy Management
The Lowry centre is controlled by a Siemens Building Management System.  It is a fully programmable system allow for exact software to be written for any application.  The main areas for control within the Lowry Centre are as follows:

Boilers
The boiler system at The Lowry comprises of three boilers, two large and one small.  The boiler system is set to run on a demand basis i.e. it will only run when there is a requirement for heat.  When running the small boiler which uses least energy is always allowed to run first.  If demand is greater then this one boiler can achieve further boilers are allowed to run.

Chillers
The chilled water system at the Lowry centre comprises two large chillers which account for a large proportion of the energy used at The Lowry.  As with the boiler system the chillers only run when there is a requirement for chilled water.  When the chillers run they produce a lot of heat.  To allow for energy efficient cooling the chillers are cooled with water from the Manchester ship canal.

Air Handling Units (AHUs)
The Air Handling Units for the Lowry centre have all been designed to allow for individual time control from the BMS.  This allows areas to be heated and cooled only when they are occupied.  All of the units will only send a demand for heating or cooling if heating or cooling is required i.e. it will not allow the boilers and chillers to run just because it is running.

The AHUs feeding the Lyric theatre have been designed so that if only a small audience is in, only the unit at the front of the theatre is used.

The majority of the AHUs utilise outside air temperature to provide free heating or cooling when every possible.

Pumps & Fan Motors
A large proportion of the pumps and fan motors used on the various heating and cooling systems are controlled via an inverter. This matches the pump / fan speed to demand and as such the pump / fan is not constantly running at full speed and hence uses less electricity.

Lighting
As with the AHUs the control of the lighting is done through individual time programmes.  In areas which have lighting and AHU control the time programmes have been joined together so both AHU and lights will go off when the area is un-occupied.

Where ever possible lamps have been replaced for low energy alternatives.

Erbis Energy Monitoring
Erbis is a specific piece of energy management software. In certain high usage areas sub metering has been installed.  This allows for monitoring of all electrical usage within certain areas.  This allows us to set benchmarks and then target energy improvements in specific areas. It also allows the setting of excessive usage alarms. If energy usage suddenly becomes high in an area, an alarm is generated and investigations into why this has occurred can begin.

The system also produces reports on a monthly basis showing who much energy has been consumed and how much it has cost.  This allows checks to be done year on year to ensure energy usage isn’t creeping up in any areas, and if so why it has creped up i.e. if it is a very cold winter more heating will be used. Using the energy management system will show you the heating has increased due to it being so cold outside, and not because something has been left running manually.

Staff Awareness
We utilise the carbon trusts energy reduction posters throughout the BOH areas to promote energy saving to all staff.

Water Management
All the urinals in the building have been fitted with Sani-Sleeves. These have many benefits, one being that the amount of flushes per 24 / hrs can be reduced considerably, hence reducing water usage.

Repair, Reuse, Reduce and Recover

Repair
When ever possible and financially viable we will carry out repairs to plant & equipment. This may be utilising in-house skills, bringing in the required skills or sending out to specialist companies.

Reuse
When plant and equipment become redundant and can not be repaired, when ever possible we will strip out the most valuable components for reuse as spares.

Rather than use throw away cleaning cloths, the cleaning department use reusable cloths that they launder.

Lost property is sent to charity shops for sale and reuse.

Reduce
We carry out planned maintenance of all our mechanical & electrical plant and equipment. This ensures we get optimum life from the equipment and therefore a reduction in replacement plant & equipment.

All paper towels have been removed from the FOH toilets, hence reducing our usage by approx. 70%.

We reduce our paint usage by when ever possible utilising what would normally be scrapped paint for undercoat or mix with other colours.

Recycle 
The following items are recycled:
General Waste (waste is segregated at waste contractors site and all recyclable material removed)
Paper
Cardboard
Glass Bottles
Lamps
Waste Electrical Equipment

Procurement
Paper hand towels and toilet rolls are manufactured from FSC registered manufacturer.
We insist all contractor waste is removed and recycled as per our own waste.
When ever possible we employ contractors with an Environmental Policy in place.
When ever possible we purchase environmentally friendly products ie. water based paints as oppose to solvent based.

Transport
The majority of our consumables are sourced from local suppliers. As such delivery mileage is kept to a minimum.