For energy management professionals, Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) are like currency. Energy managers know that there is a lot of operational value to unlock by implementing any number of ECMs – an umbrella term that broadly refers to anything that reduces the amount of energy required to do a standard task – the problem is where to start, and how to keep the savings coming month over month. This is especially apparent after a lighting retrofit.
When commercial real estate owners begin exploring ways to cut back on wasted energy and increase Net Operating Income, the first ECM is typically lighting. That’s because it’s easy to scope and straightforward to identify inefficient or outdated lighting equipment.
Fluorescent lighting was outed as a huge energy hog when LEDs became commercially viable in the early 2000s. And since it’s easy enough to change lightbulbs, lighting retrofits are still the most common ECM today. But once you’ve completed a lighting retrofit, there aren’t more savings to eke out of your lighting system. You have to look elsewhere to cut your operations budget. The next logical place is in the HVAC system: heavy machinery and industrial processes churn through power and water in complex but often inefficient ways.
InSite’s Optimize solution and its team of experienced energy engineers identify and implement ECMs that deliver savings equal to or better than what is achieved with a lighting retrofit. It’s like the old energizer bunny – optimization efforts keep going and going and going. The proven process has delivered 15-20% reductions in operational costs and 2-3X ROI in the first year.
ECM examples for HVAC
For an idea of what ECMs can be found in a typical HVAC system, let’s explore three examples.
Issue: Persistent leakby
Leakby happens when air or fluid (like refrigerant, water or steam) is flowing through a valve, damper or actuator when the device is thought to be fully closed. This “leaking” costs significant money in wasted energy and can wear down equipment faster than its useful life.
- Time to resolution: Once identified, through a data feed of airflow on the control device, the problem can be fixed in less than one hour.
- Savings: Resolving a single instance of persistent leakby can result in $24,000 in annual savings.
Issue: Poor economizer function
Economizers are promising devices that are meant to improve energy efficiency of HVAC systems by using outdoor air whenever possible to supply the heating or cooling processes. But like anything, economizers can lose their efficacy or fall victim to bad programming.
- Time to resolution: Once identified, through a data feed of outdoor air temperature readings and concurrent economizer function, the problem can be fixed in less than one hour.
- Savings: Resolving a single economizer sequence can result in $31,000 in annual savings.
Issue: Supply air temperature out of whack
So much of an HVAC system is dependent on equipment that is programmed to operate when certain conditions are met and a single error in a dependent process can throw off the whole chain of events. Because the components of the system are not aware of their dependencies, the system can’t self-correct. Supply air temperature is one such small factor that has a big impact on the operational efficiency of the entire system.
- Time to resolution: Once identified, through a data feed of supply air temperature readings, the sensor can be reset through a programming change in less than one hour.
- Savings: A single supply air temperature reset can result in $12,500 in annual savings.
How it works
The process to establish an ongoing ECM identification program is as easy as one, two, three.
1. Audit
InSite conducts a thorough on-site energy audit. While we’re there, we connect a data aggregation device to your Building Management network to begin collecting and historizing your operational data.
2. Analyze
Using machine learning algorithms and FDD tools, our expert team of engineers and analysts identify trends and anomalies to begin identifying major issues for improvement.
3. Act
Our building experts and project managers meet with your operations team monthly to review performance analytics, rebate opportunities and ECM recommendations. InSite also provides support for ECM implementation when you decide which you’d like to prioritize.
Delivered as a managed service, InSite works with customers to repeat steps 2 and 3 for as long as the program continues paying for itself. Most customers see a 3x return on service investment each year.
If you think your HVAC system is experiencing the costly problems outlined above, contact InSite to develop a plan to remediate issues and put money back in your operations budget.
