Building Energy Efficiency: NY State Buildings to Increase Energy Efficiency 20%
It’s called one of the most ambitious initiatives in the nation that will save millions of dollars for taxpayers and create thousands of jobs while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The initiative is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order mandating an increase in energy efficiency in state buildings by 20% within seven years, according to the governor’s office.
To facilitate and strategically implement the executive order, the governor has launched a state initiative called “Build Smart NY.”
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Building Energy Efficiency: Understanding Energy Rebates for Facilities
Energy rebate programs have been around since the 1970s, according to Facilitiesnet. These programs offer incentives to customers who use energy-efficient equipment and systems, thereby reducing the demands on the utilities. And that means the utilities don’t have to invest in expanding their generation and distributions systems. It’s a win-win for everyone, really.
Rebate programs have never gone out of style, notes Facilitiesnet. Still in force today, facility managers can use them to retrofit their facilities for better energy efficiency.
Utilities offer rebates to facilities for several reasons including if managers install certain energy-efficient products; save a certain amount of energy; and agree to take part in various operational strategies like retro-commissioning.
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8 Tips For Effective and Efficient Energy Benchmarking
As we’ve mentioned previously, mandated energy benchmarking is on the rise.
Benchmarking compares one facility’s energy usage to the energy consumption of other facilities to determine if an excessive amount of energy is being used. A benchmarking study sets goals for energy management.
Cities like Philadelphia have recently passed laws mandating energy benchmarking for commercial buildings, and other cities like New York, Austin, Seattle and San Francisco already have benchmarking laws. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency even provides a free energy management tool, the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, to encourage benchmarking.
Facilities with high ratings based on this tool can earn an ENERGY STAR label. But as we’ve also mentioned, energy benchmarking doesn’t come without issues. There are sometimes inconsistencies in data, or inefficiencies in the system.
Here are some tips for a better, more efficient energy benchmarking system, as outlined by Buildings.com and Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency.
- Get upper management on board. If you have data, but no support, energy benchmarking won’t make a difference. You have to attach a financial analysis to any proposed energy changes. And you must document the impact well so you can convince management a change is necessary.
- Know the facility’s motivation behind energy benchmarking before starting the study. The main motivation is to identify how to save energy, but other motivations can include earning an energy rating, saving money or comparing your building’s performance with the performance of another building.
- Decide if you want to compare the data from year to year for just the building, or if you want to compare it to a peer group of buildings. Differing variables between buildings can make it more challenging to make comparisons, but it’s not impossible if those variables are taken into account.
- Know what data you need to make accurate comparisons, and have that data ready when you start the benchmarking study. Some critical facts include hours of operation, square footage, how the space is used, occupancy numbers, when the building is vacant, the amount of equipment used in the facility and the annual cost data for every fuel source.
- Determine if the information is readily available, or the best way to obtain it.
- Create a plan. Energy benchmarking does nothing but provide data. Conduct an energy audit after the study to determine where the facility is losing energy, and use these results in conjunction with the benchmarking study to create the plan.
- Implement the plan, setting improvement goals with deadlines.
- Continuously monitor, update and analyze the data. Keeping track of the data will also make it easier to have measurements ready for future benchmarking studies.
Utilities sometimes offer self-assessment tools for best practices benchmarking, like this one from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Contact your local utility to find out if it offers a similar program.
Next Steps:
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- Stay up to date on facility maintenance tools such as chiller tube cleaners, boiler tube cleaners, hose/pipe cleaners, descaler systems, industrial vacuums, commercial pressure washers, and drain cleaners.
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New ASHRAE Program Grades Building Energy Performance
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has unveiled a new labeling program for buildings which it hopes will help improve understanding of how energy-efficient a given structure really is.
Because there is sometimes a disconnect between a building’s expected energy performance and how it actually does perform, the Building Energy Quotient — Building EQ — program will assign two ratings to a building – an asset rating and an operational rating, based on energy use per square foot.
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ASHRAE President Sees A Busy Year Ahead For The Industry, Part 2
And now, part 2 of our interview with Gordon Holness, 2009-2010 President of ASHRAE, (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers). To recap Part 1, 2009 was a challenging year, to say the least. In the spirit of closing the door on the less-than-ideal year we all experienced, we’re proactively moving forward to the coming year. What does 2010 hold in store? What trends and issues will shape how we do business this year, in five years and even further into the future?
To get a broad overview of what is to come, we spoke with Gordon Holness, and in a wide-ranging discussion, he addressed the trends and events that will affect the industry for years to come.
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