Black & White Facilities / Service brief
Building Energy Optimisation
Bring energy controls into line with the building’s operating needs before deciding on wider changes. An optimisation review can examine unnecessary running, unexplained background demand and competing heating or cooling, while retaining the ventilation, comfort and process conditions that site users require.
Overview
Define the operating problem and the result the facilities team needs from the review. Include where it occurs, who experiences it and any change in building use, so proposed adjustments address current demand instead of perpetuating historic settings.
Our full service catalogue, including every individual service, is available across every listed sector and location. For one site or several, we agree the scope, access and programme around the buildings concerned.
What the service can include
An optimisation instruction can examine control sequences, schedules, setpoints and focused improvements to systems. It records proposed adjustments, approval responsibilities and the measurements for evaluation. If the equipment cannot deliver the required duty, repairs or capital changes receive a separate scope.
What to consider
Consumption alone cannot demonstrate a technical improvement: weather, production and occupation may all alter the reading. Set a comparison baseline and review approach first. Before changing controls, retain a record of the previous configuration or an agreed means of returning to it.
The optimisation proposal identifies our work and the duties that remain with facilities staff. Linked repairs or specialist inputs are separately defined, so the team can see who is arranging each task and what evidence will be handed over.
Before we visit
Assemble BMS details, consumption records, schedules and reported problems. Name the critical services and those authorised to approve settings. Confirm the areas and operating modes open to adjustment, together with a route for users to flag adverse effects.
How we help
We review current operation and define specific adjustments within an agreed boundary. Each change is recorded and its effect evaluated. Handover brings together settings, observations and remaining actions so later overrides do not unintentionally undo the work.
An estate optimisation programme needs consistent reports and escalation alongside local operational requirements. Each adjustment or action stays linked to the relevant building or service area, with named contacts and a clear route for wider decisions.
What affects cost and timing
Allow for the complexity of the controls, access to usable data and the period needed to evaluate changes. Existing faults may need repair before adjustment can help. The proposal should cover both the changes themselves and the subsequent measurement work.
Set out occupancy hours, critical periods and the services that must continue during the programme. Include any phased delivery, additional access needs and operational reporting in the schedule and pricing rather than leaving them implicit.
Sector applications
Operating context matters when scheduling optimisation work. Offices need arrangements for staff and visitors, and Retail for deliveries and trading. Food operations and guest areas inform the brief for Hospitality; teaching informs access in education. We support all sectors through the complete service and project offering, tailoring practical arrangements to actual site activity.
Local coverage
Building optimisation is covered across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Tees Valley, including Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnwick, Morpeth, Hexham, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough. Check your estate addresses against View all locations.
List access and working restrictions with the responsible local contact at each address. Standardising the estate brief should not remove the site differences the optimisation team needs to understand.
Frequently asked questions
Is optimisation only about reducing operating hours?
No. Review equipment condition, sequences and schedules together against the demand the building must serve.
Can settings be changed without involving users?
Users’ requirements and approval responsibilities need agreement before settings change, particularly in occupied rooms or specialist areas.
How are benefits assessed?
Compare performance with an agreed starting baseline, allowing for differences in operating conditions during the review.
Can changes be rolled out across sites?
Check suitability at each location before extending a change; common settings may not meet every building’s needs.
Knowledge and guidance
Background to controls and energy projects is available in building management systems explained and planning an energy improvement project. Consult Official guidance for the applicable context and browse other material in the Knowledge Centre.
Related services and your next step
For the wider energy context and associated assessment, see Energy and Renewable Technologies and Metering and Monitoring. For ongoing care or smaller projects, use maintenance and Minor Works. The services and projects directories show the full offering.
Outline the operational issue, sites and available records through Contact Black & White Facilities. Tell us what the optimisation work needs to achieve and which working restrictions apply so we can establish the scope and next action.
Discuss the scope
Tell us what needs attention.
Share the site, the issue and any access requirements so we can discuss the next step.