Heat waves are gripping much of the Northeast this week and we’re only a few days into Summer. No one wants to lose a chiller or an air handler when temps are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.Â
While energy efficiency strategies often go out the window during heat waves, there are a few best practices that are worth considering, especially if equipment operation is a concern.Â
This week, we shared a list with some of our most impacted customers:
- Scheduling
- Extend morning schedules by 1-2 hours, particularly on Mondays
- Monitor space temps at least start hours and adjust scheduling as needed
- Stagger equipment startups to avoid high peak demand
- South side of buildings experience early solar load and should be enabled first
- Extend morning schedules by 1-2 hours, particularly on Mondays
- Ventilation
- Avoid disabling ventilation systems / OA dampers to ensure proper indoor air quality
- Ensure ventilation systems/ OA dampers operate only during actual occupancy
- Unoccupied Mode
- Draw blinds on vacant spaces to avoid excess solar load
- Review unoccupied setback setpoints
- General guidance for unocc htg/clg is 60/85F
- For extreme summer operation, consider reducing unocc cooling setpoints to 80F
Trust the data
The suggestions noted above are based on best practices. As always, your building’s operational data is your best resource to create a granular plan to mitigate the impact of a heat wave on the health and comfort of your occupants.
If you don’t have access to your operational data, InSite can help.
About InSite
Founded in 2013, InSite is a leading solution partner for optimization in buildings, extracting value from data to engineer meaningful outcomes for its clients. We deliver financial and operational impact by harnessing our team’s expertise in engineering and building performance optimization. Our Engineered for Results approach combines an intelligence platform that collects and analyzes data for single buildings and entire portfolios with our program management teams who transform data into prescriptive recommendations.
