Energy Saving Tip #5: Look at the “Big Picture” to Achieve Real Energy Savings

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 | Energy Saving Tips, HVAC Maintenance and Efficiency, LEED | No Comments

We’ve talked in the past about the importance of paying attention to the “big picture” when looking for energy-saving opportunities in your facility, but now we’ll make it official in our latest energy-saving tip:

ENERGY-SAVING TIP #5: Take a holistic view by looking at your facility’s “big picture” and discovering how every element and system interacts with the others.

This will mean taking advantage of human capital and putting everybody’s knowledge and observations together.

Engineer Live explains the matter well in their feature article “Energy improvement: look at the big picture for real savings.” › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: boiler efficiency, energy efficient, energy saving, Energy Saving Tips, hvac, HVAC design, HVAC equipment, HVAC specialist, HVAC systems, LEED

30 Easy Ways to Save Energy in Your Building — for Little or No Cost

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 | Energy Saving Tips, HVAC Maintenance and Efficiency | No Comments

It’s three years old and it’s still one of the best compilations of building-related energy-saving advice you’re likely to find.

We’re talking about “30 Easy Ways to Save Energy in Your Building” (pdf, 2006) from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International. It takes the form of a checklist with — you guessed it — 30 entries that are grouped into six sections: › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: air volume systems, BOMA, Building Owners and Managers Association, energy efficiency, energy saving, Environmental Protection Agency, epa, heat recovery equipment, hvac, HVAC capacity

Environmental Benefits of Sustainable Building Are Priceless, Says Texas Community College Sustainability Officer

Monday, May 18th, 2009 | Green Buildings & Green Technology, HVAC Maintenance and Efficiency, LEED, Sick Building Syndrome | 1 Comment

Dr. Johnette McKown, Executive Vice President at McLennan Community College (MCC) in Waco, Texas, says the college’s administrators knew they were forging a new path when they began making plans to build three new buildings with a view to achieving LEED certification. “When we were looking at our LEED buildings, we noticed there were no community colleges in Texas pursuing that,” she says. “So we knew we were departing on a road that many Texas colleges hadn’t walked.”

That was three years ago. Today, MCC is beginning to reap the benefits of that boldness. March 26 saw the opening of the 93,000-square-foot Michaelis Academic Center (MAC), named after the college’s longtime president, Dr. Dennis Michaelis, who will retire on August 31 of this year and be replaced by McKown. The MAC is expected to receive LEED gold certification, which will make it the first LEED-certified building on MCC’s campus and the second in all of Waco (see “Michaelis Academic Center becomes first tangible benefit of ’06 bond election,” The Waco Tribune, March 25, 2009). › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: carbon neutral campus, cooling tower, cost-benefit analysis, energy efficient, energy saving, geothermal HVAC system, heat pump chiller, hvac, HVAC aspects, HVAC efficiency, HVAC systems, iaq, indoor air quality, LEED, LEED buildings, LEED certification, LEED credit, LEED gold certification, LEED standards, LEED-certified building

Energy Saving Tip #4: Consider Retro-commissioning Your Building

Monday, May 4th, 2009 | Energy Saving Tips, Green Buildings & Green Technology, Sick Building Syndrome | No Comments

The National Conference on Building Commissioning (NCBC) defines building commissioning as “the process of ensuring that systems are designed, installed, functionally tested, and performing in conformity with the design intent.”

Or actually that’s their definition of new building commissioning. There’s another type that’s becoming more popular with every passing day, and this other type forms the substance of today’s installment of our Energy Saving Tip series.

ENERGY SAVING TIP #4: Consider retro-commissioning your building to discover and maximize hidden opportunities for improving IAQ, comfort, energy efficiency, and cost savings. › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: building commissioning, Building Commissioning Association, cost savings, energy audit, energy consumption, energy efficiency, energy saving, iaq, indoor air quality, National Conference on Building Commissioning (NCBC), resource efficiency, retro-commissioning, U.S. Department of Energy