With the launch of the 2015 GRESB Survey, many portfolio owners are looking for ways to improve the energy and sustainability performance of their buildings. In this GlobeSt.com Blog, Partner Energy’s John Rockwell summarizes what you can do to achieve a more favorable GRESB rating as well as ways boost your existing GRESB score.
Click here to read the full article.
Partner Energy President and GlobeSt. “Thought Leader,” Tony Liou, recently published an informative article on GlobeSt.com This particular article, is a detailed overview of what really goes into a commercial energy audit and what can be gained from conducting one.
Please take a moment to read Mr. Lious article and tell us what you think below!
What is a Commercial Building Energy Audit?
By Tony Liou
A lot of people might understand the basic concept of a commercial building energy audit- an evaluation of how energy efficient a commercial building is- but, what really goes into an energy audit? What can be gained from conducting one? And how do you practically put all of the information obtained from an energy audit to use?
An energy audit is often the first step in making your commercial building more efficient. The goal of an energy audit is of course to identify energy-saving opportunities, but also to increase asset values, lower ownership costs and promote environmental stewardship, human comfort, health and safety. This is done by taking a comprehensive look at the energy consumption data associated with a commercial building, as well as the energy and resource consuming infrastructures, to identify fiscally responsible, sustainable energy efficiency measures that reduce energy usage and carbon emissions.
Nuts and Bolts of a Commercial Building Energy Audit
More specifically, the energy audit examines all of the major factors effecting energy consumption by performing the following:
i. Lighting systems
ii. Space heating and cooling
iii. Other power-using systems such as exhaust fans and domestic hot water
iv. Plug/industrial/process loads
v. Building envelope
i. Utilize existing building management system and/or data loggers to collect building operating and equipment data
ii. Ensure temperature, pressure, flow, humidity sensors are properly calibrated
iii. Collect electric power and thermal consumption data
iv. Analyze trend data and curve-fit to determine actual performance curve
i. Determine current hours of operation
ii. Determine areas of concern and areas of opportunity
3. Diagnostic testing, including:
Levels of Energy Audits
There are different kinds of energy audits with different levels of comprehensiveness, so commercial building owners may need to think about their end goals before deciding which kind of audit is best for them. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has defined three levels of energy evaluations: 1) Level I “Walk Through Assessment” 2) Level II “Energy Survey and Analysis” and 3) Level III “Detailed Analysis”.
Level I – Walk-Through Analysis
An ASHRAE Level I energy audit assesses a building’s energy cost and efficiency by analyzing energy bills and conducting a brief on-site survey of the building. A Level I energy analysis will identify and provide a savings and cost analysis of low-cost/no-cost measures. It will also provide a listing of potential capital improvements that merit further consideration, and an initial judgment of potential costs and savings.
Level II – Energy Survey and Analysis
An ASHRAE Level II energy audit includes a more detailed building survey and energy analysis. A breakdown of the energy use within the building is provided. A Level II energy analysis will identify and provide the savings and cost analysis of all practical measures that meet the owner’s constraints and economic criteria, along with a discussion of any changes to operation and maintenance procedures. It may also provide a listing of potential capital-intensive improvements that require more thorough data collection and engineering analysis, and a judgment of potential costs and savings. This level of analysis will be adequate for most buildings and measures.
Level III – Detailed Analysis of Capital-Intensive Modifications
This level of engineering analysis focuses on potential capital-intensive projects identified during the Level II energy analysis and involves more detailed field data gathering as well as a more rigorous engineering analysis. It provides detailed project cost and savings calculations with a high level of confidence sufficient for major capital investment decisions.
Putting Energy Audit Data to Use
All of the data gathered about a commercial building is useless without a plan for how to use it. A proper energy audit will determine and outline which energy efficiency measures (EEMs) will help you reach your target energy reduction goals and meet your capital investment return criteria. The EEMs section of the energy audit will specifically detail how the recommended EEMs might be implemented, and what the costs and payback would be:
Typical EEMs that carry a five year or less simple payback include:
Typical EEMs that carry a longer than five year paybacks include:
Natural gas and electric utility rebates help lower payback periods and are factored into potential Energy Efficiency Measure recommendations. In addition, a number of utility companies offer various incentives and rebates in order to help reduce the payback period of EEMs and to encourage retrofits to more efficient equipment.
The recommended EEMs section essentially presents the client with an energy/fiscal conservation action plan, arguably the most useful information.
Parting Thoughts
Having a consultant that understands your needs and goals is paramount. You don’t want recommendations that are way outside of your capital investment parameters, and you don’t want recommendations that are biased towards a certain product type if it may not be the best answer.
I like to say that my company, Partner Energy, is “product agnostic”. We recommend projects that are fiscally sound, considering the energy goals and investment return criteria of our clients.
The Conundrum: You’re a building owner and you want to reduce your property’s energy consumption and costs… What to do? What to do?
The Solution: Get an ENERGY AUDIT!
An energy audit is an inspection, survey and analysis of energy flows for energy conservation in a building or system. An Energy Audit is conducted in order to reduce the amount of energy input into the building system without negatively affecting the output(s).
Reducing energy consumption while improving human comfort, health and safety are the chief goals of an energy audit. An energy audit seeks to prioritize the energy uses of a building according to the most cost effective opportunities for energy savings.
Energy Audits will determine which energy efficiency measures will help you reach your target energy reduction goals and meet your capital investment return criteria. Partner Energy engineers will conduct an on-site field visit to evaluate various building systems and present the following for each energy efficiency measure recommended:
If you are interested in learning more about the Energy Auditing process, please feel free to check out Partner Energy’s website: www.ptrenergy.com or contact Partner Energy @ (888) 826-1216.
Here is an informative event that is taking place in Los Angeles this afternoon. Read up and stay in the know!
In recent years, an energy disclosure has become necessary for buyers of commercial buildings to adequately understand if they are buying an energy efficient or inefficient building. Energy ratings enable the market to asses a building’s energy performance and to identify buildings where energy costs are lower, thus creating a higher demand for efficient buildings. Once buyers, lessors and lenders understand the relative energy efficiency of buildings, they will then be able to take advantage of the various rebates/tax incentives that the government offers to efficient buildings.
Partner Energy’s Business Development Manager, Jason Mandler, recently hosted a webinar on Commercial Real Estate Energy Disclosure Laws. Feel free to take a look at his Commercial Real Estate Energy Disclosure presentation, ask questions, start a discussion and/or take a look at the rebates/tax incentives that the government is offering in order to make the Energy Disclosure Law transition as smooth/financially efficient as possible.
*Mr. Mandler will be hosting 2 more Green Real Estate/Energy Efficiency webinars (May 4th and June 1st. If you are interested in calling into one of these presentations, please RSVP to info@ptrenergynews.com with your name, company, contact information and desired presentation date(s). Prior to each webinar, you will be sent an email with a registration link that must be completed prior to each webinar.
This is a (work in progress) blog that Partner Energy has designed to act as a platform for discussing engineering, construction, architecture and real estate as it relates to the energy efficiency world. Times and the environment are changing and energy efficiency/conservation has taken on prominence in the political, public and private sectors alike. In a serious attempt to reduce our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, the federal government and individual states have begun to offer tax incentives/rebates (http://www.dsireusa.org/) for residencies, municipalities and businesses that incorporate Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) into their daily operations.
Whether you are a an engineer, architect, property owner or are just curious about WATT is going on in the energy efficiency world… please feel free to follow this blog, comment on the posts and/or suggest new topics for discussion.
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