Principles (and Tips) for Effective Energy Management

Principles (and Tips) for Effective Energy Management

With every passing morning, the chill in the air becomes, well, chillier. Winter is once again knocking at your building’s doors, bringing energy—more specifically, the rising costs of energy—to the forefront.

This year’s increasing energy costs have again made energy management a priority for all commercial building owners and facilities managers. When it comes to developing your energy management plan, here are some basic principles to keep in mind:

1. Identifying and tracking energy use patterns is the first step in any energy program. Without knowing how, when and where energy is used, there is no way to gauge the relative importance of energy management projects.
2. More energy savings may be obtained by simply controlling a system’s use (e.g., lighting) than by installing more efficient components (e.g., T-8 lamps and electronic ballasts).
3. Most successful energy management programs are found in the best-managed and maintained facilities, not in those with the greatest quantity of technological equipment.
4. Good maintenance practices and good energy management go hand in hand. Some of the highest rates of return on energy conservation are generated simply by performing maintenance.
5. Preventive maintenance is still critical, and reactive maintenance (waiting for a crisis to occur) is still foolish, despite funding limitations. It is easy to ignore preventive maintenance when systems are new, calibrations are precise, seals are tight, and heat-exchanger surfaces are clean. As systems age, these and other items need care.
6. Maintenance and energy management serve different purposes. One cannot be substituted for the other. For example, cleaning light fixture lenses and re-lamping them is good maintenance; installing more efficient lamps and ballasts is good energy management. These distinctions must be remembered when budgets are being prepared.
7. Energy management technology, such as automated energy management systems, cannot compensate for poor HVAC system design. If heating and cooling loads are incorrectly estimated or equipment is inappropriate, automation cannot wring more performance out of system components than they were designed to provide.

In addition to considering these principles, you can take hands-on practical measures to save energy this winter. Here are a few helpful tips:

1. Reduce use of heating systems in spaces that are used infrequently or only for short periods of time.
2. Heat office buildings to 68° F when occupied, 50° to 60° F when unoccupied. Remember, interior office spaces tend to experience significant heat gains due to lighting, equipment, and people.
3. Preheat a building so that it achieves 65° F by the time occupants arrive. Complete warm-up during the first hour of occupancy. (Lighting, office equipment, and people will aid in warm-up).
4. Minimize outdoor air.
5. When appropriate, consider closing supply registers and radiators, reducing thermostat settings, or turning off electric heaters in lobbies, corridors, and vestibules.
6. Turn off humidifiers whenever the building is closed for extended periods of time, except when process or equipment requirements take place.
7. Ensure that all exhaust fans move no more than the amount of air that they were designed to expel from the building.
8. Adjust and balance your heating system to minimize overheating, which results from poor zoning, poor distribution, improper location of controls, or improper control.

This installment of FM Check List is adapted from BOMI Institute’s Energy Management and Controls (www.bomi-edu.org/12101.html), course in BOMI Institute’s Systems Maintenance Administrator (SMA) designation program.