Decarbonising a working automotive repair centre, from gas to electric.
DLG Auto Services operates an automotive accident repair centre at Valley Park, Wombwell, Barnsley. With the client intent on decarbonising its premises and transitioning away from fossil fuels towards Net Zero by 2050, Osborn Associates was appointed to provide the solution and design for a full conversion of the premises from gas to electric using equivalent replacements.
The site covers a total floor area of 1,570 square metres, split between a 386 square metre main entrance and office area and an 1,185 square metre workshop. The conversion design was developed through proposals for alternative heating solutions, followed by the design of the mechanical and electrical building services across RIBA Stages 1 to 4 - all underpinned by a Gas to Electric Carbon Assessment report.
Alternative heating solutions engineered as true electric equivalents.
The engineering delivered replaced each of the site's gas systems with a designed electric equivalent. The existing gas-fired infrared panel heaters in the workshop made way for a mechanical ventilation system with climate control, accompanied by a destratification system to recover the warm air that would otherwise gather at high level. The existing gas-fired combination boiler was replaced with an updated heating system served by an electric combination boiler.
An automatic controls system was designed for the workshop, managing the ventilation and destratification systems together so the full installation operates in an effective and efficient manner. The electrical scope covered the supporting supply infrastructure, including distribution, small power and structured cabling.
Beyond the delivered design, Osborn Associates proposed routes to net zero carbon for both operational energy and construction, along with further electrical and mechanical measures to reduce the site's CO2 emissions.
Matching the performance of gas in a demanding workshop environment.
Replacing gas heating in a large, high-volume workshop is not a like-for-like swap. Gas-fired infrared panels deliver intense radiant heat well suited to tall industrial spaces, so the electric alternative had to be engineered as a system - ventilation with climate control, destratification to stop heat stratifying at roof level, and automatic controls tying it all together - to achieve equivalent comfort without excessive energy consumption.
The Gas to Electric Carbon Assessment gave the client an evidenced basis for the investment, quantifying the carbon case for each intervention and framing the premises conversion within DLG's wider journey towards Net Zero by 2050.
