Reducing Utility Consumption at Your Facility

One silver lining in this down economy is that companies everywhere are looking for ways to be more energy-efficient. Dennis Hercel, director of facilities at Liberty Science Center (LSC), based in Jersey City, N.J., says that LSC jumped on the energy-efficiency bandwagon before the economy went downhill. In September 2007, they installed an energy dashboard from Noveda Technologies, and he adds that almost everyone at LSC has bought in to the mission of driving down costs by using less energy.

“It becomes addictive, and it’s turned into a game of: ‘How low can I drive the consumption?’” he says.

Here are some tips on how to drive down your utility costs and reap the benefits of lower energy bills:

Audit your building’s energy use
You’ll never know how much you need to cut back on energy until you measure how much you currently use. Cynthia Putnam, a project director at the Northwest Energy Efficiency Counsel-based in Seattle, says that you can gather records of energy use by looking at past utility bills. There are also many resources to evaluate where you stand among your peers, she says. She recommends utilizing the EnergyStar Web site, which provides ratings for a building, or checking with your electric and gas companies, who might offer a free assessment. Putnam says having a specialist identify opportunities for upgrading equipment or changing how it’s being operated can alert you to potential energy savers, such as realizing a machine that’s been running for 24 hours straight really only needs to run for 8 to 10 hours a day.   

Re-evaluate your HVAC needs
Putnam recommends looking at your temperature settings and deciding what is really needed. She says a one degree difference can make a one percent difference in annual spending.

Coasting, she says, has also become an emerging trend. For systems designed to have a certain temperature during occupied hours, Putnam recommends switching the temperature change to an hour earlier, such as at 5 p.m. rather than at 6 p.m. when everyone’s scheduled to leave. Usually people won’t notice the change in the last hour when they’re on their way out.

Hercel saves money with a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) system, which slows down fan motors and runs them at variable speeds. A facility manager could base the speed on the weather and occupancy. Although there is a larger initial expense when installing them, Hercel says they made their money back in 18 months.

Utilize the light that’s free
There are many lighting systems that base their brightness on how much natural light is available. Barry Kay, president of the lighting company Kay + Sons, based in Norristown, Pa., says their technology involves intelligent controls that can tell how much light is in the space and adjusts the artificial light so a certain level is always present.

“The more natural light you can use, which is free, the greater the savings will be, and that’s an opportunity many people overlook,” says Kay, who mentions changing the level of light desired is as simple as the click of a mouse, and occupants can have personalized control at their work station. Kay also mentions that lighting energy represents approximately 40 percent of a building’s energy cost and a daylight management system can reduce energy use by 60 percent. If the initial cost intimidates you, he says there are usually layered solutions.

“It’s not all or nothing,” he says. “[FMs can] attack the biggest value for money up front.”  

Get everyone on board
In order to keep the spirit of energy efficiency up, Putnam says it’s critical to get a commitment at the executive level because it’s going to involve capital improvements that require money from upper management to replace older equipment. She recommends raising awareness about your efforts by developing an action plan, such as decreasing energy usage by two percent to three percent on an annual basis.

Hercel says LSC has really benefited from energy-efficiency objectives being a team effort.

“We enjoy watching the peak go down a little more and more,” he says. “Everyone has a vested interest in being energy-efficient around here.”