Here’s a scene that is becoming more and more common: As the property manager of a downtown high-rise concludes the financial briefing to the leadership team, the building’s operating engineer prepares to deliver the annual energy results. The presentation opens with a graph indicating the reduction in kBTUs for the portfolio and the associated changes in the Energy Use Index (EUI). This is followed by an overview of the EPA ENERGY STAR© Portfolio Manager score, accompanied by an updated ASHRAE bEQ grade and finally the direct impact on carbon emissions through carbon accounting spreadsheets.
The leadership team is pleased because they know these numbers translate to a positive impact on the bottom line, as well as increased marketing opportunities and legislative compliance. The building operating engineer then gives a high-level overview of the operational changes the engineering team accomplished to support the numbers.
In my position as an engineering director with the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm, I am tasked to provide much of the data identified above, and in conversations with my peers, I am learning I’m not the only one.
The Time is Now
By now, most of us are familiar with the numbers: buildings in the United States consume approximately 39 percent of primary energy, which includes approximately 70 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. In addition, buildings are responsible for approximately 38 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. These statistics, coupled with our national goals of striving for reduced dependence on fossil fuels, as well as increased awareness on climate change, have catapulted our industry to the center stage of energy management and resource conservation.
On the legislative front, there have been significant advances in energy conservation, including building labeling and energy disclosure mandates in buildings. Energy data disclosure through the EPA ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager has been mandated in California and Washington, D.C. as well as other locations in the U.S. Both the House and Senate have been working on energy legislation, and in early 2009, HR 2454, The America Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES), passed in the House. In addition to requiring more stringent energy codes and standards, ACES also provides for a national building energy labeling program and establishes the groundwork toward a federal cap-and-trade system. The Senate has been working on their version, which excludes cap-and-trade language. Regardless of where you stand on these issues, property professionals who begin preparing now will position themselves for success no matter what happens to the legislation.
In his Presidential Address, Bill Harrison, 2008-09 president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), recognized the significant work in the design and construction of high performance buildings. He went on to identify how future successes in energy conservation in buildings will come from experienced building operators. Harrison shared stories of buildings he has visited across the country and talked candidly about how discouraging it was to encounter building equipment being operated and maintained inefficiently, noting, “Improved operations are always dependent on improving the knowledge of the building operators, and development of the basic information required for effective training has to be a high priority for ASHRAE.”
Education and Certification Resources for Building Engineers
- Building Operator Certification, www.theboc.info.
- Operations and Performance Management Professional certification, ASHRAE, www.ashrae.org.
- Optimizing Building Operations – Tools for Building Engineers, education track, 2010 BOMA International Conference, www.bomaconvention.org.
The Benefits of Training and Designations
ASHRAE has already taken significant steps in support of these goals. ASHRAE Standard 180P, Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial Building HVAC Systems, was published late in 2008 and at the same time ASHRAE introduced a new certification, the Operations and Performance Management Professional (OPMP). The intent of the OPMP certification is to identify operators who demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the efficient operation and maintenance of building systems. Property professionals seeking to provide increased operational value to their stakeholders can rely on this designation to identify individuals well versed in efficient building performance.
BOMA has also recognized the impact that skilled operators can have on the bottom line and supports that by dedicating three of their “BOMA 7-Point Challenge” initiative points to building operations. Point three specifically addresses training by stating: “Provide education to your managers, engineers, and others involved in building operations, to ensure that equipment is properly maintained and utilized.” Through this Market Transformation initiative, BOMA pledged to continue to develop education programs for building owners and managers, acknowledging “the result could provide returns of up to a 30 percent reduction in energy consumption and costs.” BOMA International also recently added an entire track of education dedicated to building engineers to the conference education programming of the BOMA International Conference, which will next be held in Long Beach, Calif. In June.
Leading the way for building operator education, with an emphasis on energy conservation, is the Building Operator Certification (BOC) program. The BOC began in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990’s and grew out of a popular building operator training series. Cynthia Putnam, project director with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC), explains: “The goal was to improve the efficiency of the region’s commercial building stock by training the people who operate and maintain them in energy-efficient technologies and practices. The concept is simple, technologies save energy, and so do the people who work with technologies,” says Putnam. There are two levels of education through the BOC with Level II building on skills from Level I and also providing advanced operating efficiency curriculum. The BOC currently serves more than 6,000 building operators in twenty-two states across the country.
A 2006 report published by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, What Building Operators are Saying about BOC Training by Marjorie McRae and Beatrice Mayo, chronicles savings attributed to operators who achieved BOC certification. Results were based on 13 Operations & Maintenance measures for which impact estimates were available. The report indicates these operators were able to conserve a minimum of .40 kWh, per square foot.
The Proof is in the Energy Savings
Several years ago I accepted a position as Chief Operating Engineer for a small portfolio of medical office buildings. Initial analysis of the buildings indicated the prior operators lacked the skill, motivation and/or resources to efficiently maintain and operate the facilities. Base-lining the facilities in EPA ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager confirmed that analysis. We began an aggressive two-year campaign to increase efficient operations and maintenance of the facilities, and it was during this time that a commitment was made to provide operating engineer education.
Over the two-year period significant work occurred, including implementation of a new Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), a service contract with the controls contractor, financial investment in energy-reduction projects and lease evaluation which led to utility submetering for some tenants. As a result of this focus on operations, energy consumption was reduced by more than 22 percent on average. One of the properties earned the EPA ENERGY STAR rating, and during the same period was awarded the International TOBY Award in its class, one of two properties that earned a TOBY award.
In a presentation to the owner’s leadership team, results of the initiative revealed the operational improvements yielded not only enough savings to pay salary and burden for the entire operating engineer team, but also returned additional run-rate savings.
As we continue down the path toward environmental sustainability, legislative mandates, building labeling requirements and increased operational cost-savings directives, there should be no doubt the keystone in this process will be the building operating engineers. The days of the operator adjusting valves in the boiler room is history. In order to be successful in a sustainable world, the operating engineer must not only have extremely high technical skills, but must also know how to operate buildings efficiently and be able to analyze and report financial impacts resulting from their actions. Investing in training on the efficient maintenance and operation of their buildings must be a top priority for property professionals who want to succeed in this new direction.
About the Author
Ray Congdon, LEED-AP, FMA, OPMP, is director-group health with CB Richard Ellis Global Corporate Services. He can be reached at Congdon@ghc.org.
