{"id":740,"date":"2012-09-10T10:26:43","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T10:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/?p=740"},"modified":"2026-07-21T18:03:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:03:49","slug":"carbon-saving-at-the-nri-glasshouse-and-insectary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2012\/09\/10\/carbon-saving-at-the-nri-glasshouse-and-insectary\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbon Saving at the NRI Glasshouse and Insectary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nri.org\/about\/pensketches\/whitfield-pensketch.htm\">Charles Whitfield from the Natural Resources Institute<\/a> tells us about how they are contributing to carbon saving at the University of Greenwich through upgrading and updating the glasshouses and insectary:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8451\/7969868434_d07b38edbd_z.jpg\" alt=\"Progress on the Glasshouses\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Progress on the Glasshouses<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Over the last few months the NRI and Facilities Management in conjunction with the University of Greenwich Sustainability Team have made some huge improvements towards reducing energy consumption in our glasshouses and insectaries. The glasshouses were installed over 20 years ago. Although they were built to a very high specification and have lasted well, they have been due for an upgrade for quite some time. The recent refurbishment project has involved:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Replacing the old 3mm glass panes with tri-walled, high insulating, polycarbonate sheets (24 \u2013 40 % reduction in heating cost). (For the heating geeks, 3mm glass has a U-value of 5.9 and the new polycarb had a value of 3).<\/li>\n<li>Installing new doors with better insulation and seals.<\/li>\n<li>Adding light sensors to the hi-lux sodium lamps so that can come on automatically if natural light is too low.<\/li>\n<li>Removing the FCU heaters from the ceiling which will vastly reduce heat wastage via open ceiling vents as well as allow more natural light into the compartments.<\/li>\n<li>Upgrading the control systems to link the heating and cooling systems so that they work together (rather than individually as before).<\/li>\n<li>And finally, preventing the disruption of research and saving precious time and energy, we have replaced all the insect screens to reduce incidences of pest outbreaks in the compartments.<\/li>\n<li>Improving online BMS access for the glasshouses so they can be monitored and controlled remotely by NRI technicians<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At the same time we have also installed new hoses and water guns to reduce water wastage, and work will soon start on repairing and repainting the floors. In addition, the cleaners spent several sweltering days scrubbing 20 years of limescale from the internal glass partitions.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8321\/7969868016_af7a8881c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cleaners working hard at making the glass see through!\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cleaners working hard at making the glass see through<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Energy consumption in the insectaries has been reduced by a number of upgrades to the control systems and ceiling lights. We now have the ability to \u2018shut down\u2019 rooms that are not in use. Energy efficient fluorescent lighting has been installed in rooms that originally only had high energy lighting. This allows us to switch over to the energy efficient lighting if the room is not currently being used to grow plants. Not only does this reduce energy consumption by the lights but also reduces the amount of cooling required in the roof space (the high energy lights produce a huge amount of heat). Manual light switches have been added to all the CT rooms in the insectary as well as the EAG room, and post room (so the lights no longer need to be left on all the time).<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8176\/7969871368_656977e2d5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The finished glasshouses\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The finished glasshouses<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Overall, these improvements should provide a substantial reduction in energy consumption by the NRI facilities and give users more control of their workspace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today Charles Whitfield from the Natural Resources Institute tells us about how they are contributing to carbon saving at the University of Greenwich through upgrading and updating the glasshouses and insectary: Over the last few months the NRI and Facilities Management in conjunction with the University of Greenwich Sustainability Team&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2012\/09\/10\/carbon-saving-at-the-nri-glasshouse-and-insectary\/\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10],"tags":[80,82,83,295],"class_list":["post-740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-carbon-and-energy","category-estates-and-operations","tag-carbon","tag-carbon-management-plan","tag-carbon-reduction","tag-sustainability"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1132,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2013\/12\/05\/the-outstanding-contribution-to-sustainable-development-goes-to-the-university-of-greenwich\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":0},"title":"The \u2018Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development goes to.. \u2026 The University of Greenwich\u2019","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"5 December 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Thursday evening the University of Greenwich was recognised again for its leading work of putting sustainability at the heart of its operations, teaching and strategy. Building on the University topping the Green League, this Times Higher award further recognises the commitment, passion and action of all those people we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sustainability Team&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sustainability Team","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/sustainability-team\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/BaPhXZQIcAAYPn1.jpg:large","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1120,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2013\/11\/24\/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november-university-of-greenwich-sustainability-awards-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":1},"title":"Remember remember the 5th of November: University of Greenwich Sustainability Awards 2013!","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"24 November 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Alex Giles gives us her highlights from her first University of Greenwich Sustainability Awards. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Although I have only been with the University of Greenwich for 3 months, when it came to hosting the Sustainability Awards 2013 I could really appreciate the cross-departmental buy-in and support. Everyone in the room\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sustainability Team&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sustainability Team","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/sustainability-team\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hub banner","src":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/11\/hub-banner.png","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/11\/hub-banner.png 1x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/11\/hub-banner.png 1.5x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/11\/hub-banner.png 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1074,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2013\/08\/21\/welcoming-our-new-sustainability-projects-assistant\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":2},"title":"Welcoming our new Sustainability Projects Assistant&#8230;","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"21 August 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi, I\u2019m Alex and I\u2019m excited to be joining the sustainability team for a year as the new Sustainability Projects Assistant! I've got a background in Physical Geography, so I am a geek in anything from climate change to natural hazards to glaciers. For the past year I've been doing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sustainability Team&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sustainability Team","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/sustainability-team\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/08\/alex_giles.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/08\/alex_giles.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/08\/alex_giles.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/08\/alex_giles.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":759,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2012\/10\/26\/university-of-greenwich-bees\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":3},"title":"University of Greenwich Bees","author":"","date":"26 October 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This week we are given an update from the various bee hives we have across the \u00a0University of Greenwich. Since getting hives at Southwood House on the Avery Hill Campus (looked after by John & Christine Hird) a couple of years ago we have added further hives at Avery Hill,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Biodiversity&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/biodiversity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NRI Beekepers group inspecting their hives","src":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/10\/8042991421_86abf899b0_c.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/10\/8042991421_86abf899b0_c.jpg 1x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/10\/8042991421_86abf899b0_c.jpg 1.5x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/10\/8042991421_86abf899b0_c.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1219,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2014\/03\/21\/health-and-social-care-new-arrivals-event\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":4},"title":"Health and Social Care New Arrivals Event","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"21 March 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Once you start asking the question: 'what are the links between sustainability and health?', you can find yourself with endless answers. The sustainability team and the department of Health and Social Care here at Greenwich are dedicated to exploring some of those links for the students and research. For example,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Community Engagement&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Community Engagement","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/partnerships-and-engagement\/community-engagement\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/03\/myhc_89963.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2013\/02\/19\/health-and-social-care-sustainability-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":740,"position":5},"title":"Health and Social Care Sustainability Day","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"19 February 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On Wednesday the 30th January the sustainability team joined forces with the School of Health and Social Care for a community building and sustainability awareness event. All new arrivals of the 2012\/2013 academic year were invited to an afternoon of activities centred around meeting others from across the School's different\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Learning and Research&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Learning and Research","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/learning-and-research\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/02\/Group-30-Photo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/02\/Group-30-Photo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/02\/Group-30-Photo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/02\/Group-30-Photo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/02\/Group-30-Photo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7457,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740\/revisions\/7457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}