By Stu Carron
Director of Global Facilities and Real Estate
JohnsonDiversey
The quest for energy efficiency does not end after designing and constructing a highly efficient building. Case in point is the JohnsonDiversey LEED-EB Gold headquarters building. This USGBC-recognized building was designed and constructed to use 60 percent less energy than a similar building. The company has been able to achieve significant additional energy savings with efficiency improvements coming out of its ongoing energy management program. This proves that cost-effective energy-efficiency opportunities exist in even the most efficient buildings. More importantly, JohnsonDiversey is working to institutionalize energy-efficient practices into the daily operations of its real estate and facilities staff.
JohnsonDiversey’s energy management program, which started out years ago as a simple brainstorming session on energy reduction ideas, has evolved into a three-pronged program:
- Institutionalize LEED-EB into building operation. The JohnsonDiversey headquarters was one of the first four buildings certified by the USGBC in the LEED for Existing Buildings program. Gold-level certification was achieved in the LEED-EB pilot program in 2004. As outlined in the LEED-EB framework, JohnsonDiversey requires continuous commissioning of its building systems, which connects three pillars of fundamental building maintenance:
- the building operating plan documents intended operation of each building system, the schedule each should be on and expected environmental condition;
- the building automation system monitors equipment and environmental conditions, trends the data and alerts the staff when items deviate from the desired conditions; and
- the preventive maintenance program requires staff to regularly touch each piece of equipment and check its operation.
Utilizing continuous commissioning preserves the useful life of the company’s building assets, ensures that the desired energy efficiency is achieved and eventually provides a roadmap for capital replacements and upgrades. Facility managers now have an ingrained second nature to consider energy efficiency and LEED requirements when replacements or upgrades are needed. For example, the headquarters building was having problems with its bag filtration system on the outdoor air intake ducts – they tended to collect water and humidity, leading to system alarms and occasional shutdowns. The facility management crew, with an understanding of LEED requirements, felt that a higher level of filtration efficiency (MERV 13) could be used in place of the older filtration system. After testing a new filter system, they found a surprising quadruple win for JohnsonDiversey and the environment. The new structured filter system:
- met LEED requirements and improved indoor air quality (IAQ) with greater filtration efficiency;
- eliminated the operational problems that the old bag system experienced;
- reduced fan-energy consumption by providing greater surface area; and
- reduced the solid waste stream since the new filters will last two to four times as long.
The filter system upgrade produced savings of $7,333 per year and had a payback period of 2.03 years. The retrofit, spurred by operational problems yet guided by LEED, resulted in less energy use and waste, smoother operations, and improved IAQ.
- Collaborate with the local utility. The local utility provides energy analysis free of charge, and it offers high-level ideas for efficiency improvements and incentive programs for funding them. These programs motivate building owners and operators to look at energy efficiency as a primary goal of any retrofit. One-for-one replacements in kind become unacceptable practices unless the energy analysis proves it to be the best choice.
The 2006 review by local utility WE Energies produced a 60-page detailed report with 32 cost-saving ideas. Twenty of the ideas included possible incentives from the various utility and state energy efficiency programs. The ideas ran the gamut, from lighting retrofits to demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) to electric tariff structure changes. About half of the recommended ideas were selected by JohnsonDiversey for additional evaluation.
- Utilize external energy consultants to provide energy-efficiency analysis and ideas. Based on the energy assessment report provided by the local utility, JohnsonDiversey hired energy consultants to produce a detailed review of energy usage, propose specific projects and complete the financial analysis to support them. The consultants confirmed that “The facility is equipped with very efficient energy systems T8 lamps and electronic ballasts, an automatic daylight harvesting system that dims lights in areas with large amounts of glazing design includes a number of the best practices promoted by the Labs 21 (program co-sponsored by the U.S. EPA and Department of Energy), including variable-flow exhaust and heat recovery ” Despite this finding, the consultants were able to build on the local utility idea list with detailed analysis and several recommendations for energy-efficiency projects which would pay back in three years or less.
JohnsonDiversey is now implementing the best options presented by the consultants to further improve its already efficient facility. Additional ideas and programs that have come out of the ongoing energy management program include:
- team cleaning, which allows one floor of the facility to go dark six hours before the rest;
- opportunities for energy savings through water-use reduction, re-commissioning, and operating schedule changes; and
- staff education about LEED and smart-building technology that leads staffers to ask questions and demand answers on equipment issues.
For JohnsonDiversey, its energy management program, with a continuous improvement approach that considers both operating and technology advancements, results in lower energy bills and lower exposure to volatile energy markets.
About JohnsonDiversey
JohnsonDiversey Inc. is a leading global provider of commercial cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions, serving customers in 160 countries in the lodging, food service, retail, health care and food and beverage sectors as well as building service contractors. For more information, go to www.johnsondiversey.com.
