According to www.texascenter.org website,  

“Cooling units offer the greatest potential gains in efficiency. One third of all the electricity used by Texas residential customers is used for air conditioning. That is almost three times the national average.  

Also, a study by the University of Texas Center for Energy Studies found that replacing old refrigerators with high efficiency models offers the greatest single savings in electrical consumption. The reason is simple: refrigerators run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 Increasing the efficiency of air conditioners, heaters, motors and lighting units will also save vast amounts of energy. One study found that cooling, heating and lighting in buildings accounts for 73 percent of peak electric demand in Texas .

 The same study discerned that almost half of the electricity consumed in Texas buildings could be saved if efficiency measures were employed.”

 The following 10 measures were listed in an article “ Austin Business Journal, June 2, 2006, by Jared Schoch

1.   Conduct an energy audit.

It may be useful to do this in three stages. First establish from a high level energy review what are the likely buildings on a site to have the best opportunities.

Establish what priorities are then whether a budget exists to accomplish the strategies to save energy. Performance contracting may be an option for companies or agencies which do not have current available funding.

Enlist an energy services provider or contractor to conduct an energy audit is the next step a business can take to evaluate the type and scope of energy-savings opportunities. Then do a more detailed energy audit typically this would discover the “no brainer” or “low hanging fruit”.

Finally, do a detailed study of the systems, the energy consumption or electric bills, historical data base, gather motor information, system information both electrical and mechanical.

2. Collect energy information and use it. Look at whether a new energy procurement strategy can be provided.

Energy bills should be reviewed for historical trends, billing errors and rate information.

Utilities often provide varying rate structures based on usage and building type, so businesses should ensure they're receiving the best rates.

Additionally, the facility manager should be tasked with collecting, analyzing and acting upon regular reports.

3. Upgrade lighting. Look at more efficient lights.

Lighting systems are responsible for nearly 35 percent of electricity costs in commercial buildings. Upgrading to energy-efficient lamps and ballasts can decrease energy consumption by 20 percent to 50 percent.

Trade out incandescent lights for compact fluorescent lighting. Change out T-8 for T-12 fixtures & magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts. Use LED fixtures for exit lights. Utilize daylighting, & turn off lighting when not needed.

Some issues may exist with disposal. Mercury has been found to exist in compact fluorescent lights, but, other lighting may have lead in it. So it really is a matter of properly disposing of the lighting through approved agencies & techniques & according to city code requirements for disposal.  

4. Consider energy-efficient equipment.

New technology can drastically reduce energy while making your building more comfortable and valuable. Even on older HVAC equipment, new variable-speed technologies can reduce energy by as much as 30 percent.

Use higher SEER ( Seasonal Energy  Efficiency Ratio ) HVAC units. Some commercial equipment now has units with 15 SEER. Many AC units used for residential units have 22 SEER or higher.

5. Control HVAC and lighting.

The simplest and most effective energy-saving measures can come from HVAC and lighting controls. Programmable thermostats and Provide occupancy sensors sensors should be installed in all spaces, and whole-building automation systems can control large buildings down to specific rooms.

Provide CO2 sensors, economizer cycles ( enthalpy type ), use heat recovery.

6. Evaluate the building envelope for leaks, evaluate insulation.

Weather-stripping doors and windows and sealing cracks where outside air can enter provide almost immediate payback. Adding batt insulation to roofs and ceilings also can save energy. Leakage from ductwork joints, elbows and connections can waste up to 30 percent of the energy used to heat or cool a space. Provide radiant barriers in attics.

7. Manage water usage.

Reduce hot-water temperature. Reduce system pressure and install low-flow toilets and sinks. You can also insulate water pipes in nonconditioned spaces or when the water is warmer or cooler than room temperature.

Even small water leaks can have an impact on energy costs. Larger leaks, particularly in non conditioned spaces, must be found & sealed.

8. Implement sustainable methods.

Take comprehensive approaches to energy savings, including taking advantage of natural daylight entering buildings through windows to reduce heating requirements up to 10 percent. At night, shading windows reduces radiant heat loss from buildings and reflects artificial light back into the building.

9. Go LEED.

The Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design green building rating system is a voluntary standard that defines high-performance green buildings. These structures promote improved employee health and are more profitable to run.

There may be some controversial issues relative to ASHRAE standards & issues such as open windows versus filtration of air through air intakes that require resolution.

The use of energy modeling has increased significantly due to the growing popularity of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. The LEED program, developed by the US Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org), encourages sustainable and energy efficient design, which is determined by comparing an energy model of the building’s design with a model of the same building built to ASHRAE 90.1 minimal efficiency requirements. Although performing a model is required for LEED buildings, it is a strategy that should be used in all designs, to ensure the best decisions are being made regarding energy efficiency. Many years ago, the use of CAD in design was either an expensive add-on or was not required, now it is generally accepted that all designs use CAD.

Currently, energy modeling is either an add-on or is not required, energy modeling will be as standard a design feature as CAD, and all new schools will be built to maximize energy efficiency.

10. Change employee behavior.

Employees must be active members in a company's sustainability and energy-efficiency program. Their efforts can save between 5 percent and 20 percent of a company's energy budget.

Bring the CEO into the picture. If he is in tune with plans and approaches, then likely that all employees will agree. Provide incentives for employees for new ideas about how to save energy, in the form of recognition for achievements, in processes that take less energy, implementation of energy saving activities.

There are two aspects to saving energy, one is the management aspect, the other is the technical aspect. Both must work together in order to accomplish the desired savings.

 Maintenance of systems

 There are two maintenance issues to consider when evaluating a project’s feasibility.  

The first is the cost of proper maintenance. The second is the likelihood of proper maintenance.

 The cost of proper maintenance is not really a soft issue as much as it is an issue that can be easily overlooked- sometimes underselling the benefit of the project.

 For example, if a fume hood VAV retrofit project has been proposed, which would manifold fifty exhaust fans into a single header and use a single exhaust fan, this would significantly reduce the ongoing/ maintenance costs of the system.  ( an issue with doing this of course, is the idea of down time, it would be better to have several fans with a spare that can be brought on when maintenance is required ).  

Quantitatively, if each of the smaller fans warrant 1 hour per quarter for misc. preventative maintenance tasks such as checking the belts, lubricating the bearings, and visual inspection, and the larger fan requires 4 hours per quarter, this could lead to a man-power reduction of 184 hours per year.  

Using an outside contractor rate of $75/ Hr, this leads to a reduction of maintenance fees by almost $14,000 per year.

 To be conservative, reduce this number by 50%- it’s still significant to warrant consideration.

 This, of course, would be require the addition of VAV controls to reduce flows from hoods not used, or sashes partially closed. The use of VAV controls and the improved system would reduce  energy.  

Life Cycle Costing should be considered, that is, necessary maintenance costs should not be omitted, since this  makes a project seem more attractive than it should be.  

Proper maintenance is necessary over time especially in  more complicated control system strategies that tend to change over time due to “tweaks”.

These typically happen for valid reasons such as simplification of control, perceived improvement of performance, or the elimination of a problem in a related system.  

Unfortunately, these changes are often made without full knowledge of important background issues that may have been considered during the original design process.  

The original features and benefits may be removed during the “tweaking” process. The point is- it doesn’t take long to forget specific reasons why something was designed and installed the way that it was and changes to occur because of it.

 This needs to be addressed by an ongoing commissioning process of projects to insure that systems are operated properly.

Another step in the process is measurement and verification. This can be accomplished utilizing “ data loggers”.

With the price of crude oil topping $65 per barrel this year and natural gas prices high as well, it is getting increasingly expensive to keep the lights on, HVAC systems running, and all the other loads going.  

If it weren’t enough for utility rates to be just plain expensive, they are not always easily understood. Added power factor penalty and peak demand charges on top of the energy charge can drive operating costs through the roof.

 Facility managers and their staff are now finding themselves beset with questions about why the energy bills are so high. And as a result, there is a real sense of urgency underlying the need to understand energy consumption and to develop an effective long-term management program to deal with the associated costs.

Cost control often boils down to managing electrical loads and optimizing performance of the entire system. Managing these systems has to begin with some comprehensive detective work:

taking measurements, locating the energy hogs, understanding timing issues, and then determining–through good, sound data analysis–what is actually going on.

A comprehensive energy management program will then provide information and direction to reduce demand, contain costs, locate opportunities to improve equipment performance, identify energy conservation measures, and curtail use during periods when penalty costs are imposed or at the request of utility suppliers.

Technological advancements have made it easier and more affordable to collect the data necessary to analyze energy use. Portable data logging instruments are inexpensive, powerful, easy to use, and robust enough to take years of rough handling in harsh environments. Some have enhanced capabilities for remote/real time communications, including communicating over land or cellular telephone lines or utilizing embedded wired or wireless LAN systems.

Gaining the upper hand on electrical costs in today’s escalating energy market is only one of many reasons facility managers employ portable data logging instruments.

Others include capturing lost revenues from retail, building, or department tenants; performing load profiles; energy surveys; verifying cost savings on capital projects; scheduling preventative maintenance for compressors, HVAC equipment and motors; and providing sustainability for all performance measurements. With reliable data literally in hand, these loggers and the accompanying software can add significantly to the bottom line of manufacturing companies, schools and universities, and health care facilities.

New Innovative techniques for Energy Saving

 Dynamic reset,

i.e., allow reset of the outdoor air flow intake damper from either measurements in ventilation effectiveness or based on CO2 sensors determining what intake should be. Of course building pressurization must also be taken into account so that it can be properly maintained ( if positive pressure, makeup air must exceed exhaust air requirements ).

Static Pressure Reset.

This involves resetting the Variable Air Volume fan cfm to match the worst zone flow condition using a VFD. ( variable frequency drive ).  Since 1999, ASHRAE Standard 90.11 has required that this setpoint be reset for systems with direct digital controls (DDC) at the zone level, specifically:

Setpoint Reset. For systems with direct digital control of individual zone boxes reporting to the central control panel, static pressure setpoint shall be reset based on the zone requiring the most pressure; i.e., the setpoint is reset lower until one zone damper is nearly wide open. Note: this can likely be done in primary-secondary chilled water pumping systems as well.

 Direct Refrigerant flow

 Refrigerant flows directly with no intermediate heat exchanger to the coils rather than pumping. Saves on pumping costs.

 Locating Data Center Chillers inside data center

Saves on the distance & static pressure which saves on operating Horsepower requirements. Another savings is to cool underfloor next to data center rather than through the ceiling space.

 Heat Pump Chillers

Cascade chillers ( locate in series ) so that the leaving condenser water temperature is higher. This leaving water temperature can be utilized for heating domestic water ( usually 120 deg F ) or heating in lower temperature ( 130 deg F ) heating systems, or such things as reheat where this may be required ( humidification control ).

Condenserless Boilers

Boilers that are designed with corrosion protection so that they may be operated at a lower temperature. Condensation may occur in the stack because of this which sometimes becomes corrosive but because of the design of the boiler to resist corrosion this can be accommodated. This lower temperature system can also be used for the low temperature heating systems described above, and also it will lessen heat loss through insulation.

Notes  by Paul Martin, NTAFE webmaster.