Benchmarking Power Use And Administration Alternatives

Before managers can develop a program to cut energy use, they must determine their facility's potential vitality savings. One methodology of assessing that potential is to benchmark energy requirements in opposition to these of similar facilities. Before undertaking benchmarking, nonetheless, they need to decide the power use ranges in their facility.

Figuring out power use

Facilities use energy in a variety of totally different forms. Managers should review vitality use information and add them by gasoline sort for a one-12 months period. To determine whole facility power use, convert every annual fuel use complete to its Btu equivalent, then add them up.

It is important to embody all gasoline - electricity, pure fuel, propane and oil - within the calculations. As soon as the full vitality use has been determined, managers should normalize it to permit for comparisons with use in different facilities.

Managers can use a number of techniques to check facility power use, however a extensively accepted measure is the power use index (EUI). The EUI, expressed in Btu per sq. foot per year, is the overall power use of a facility divided by its complete occupied or conditioned square footage. Unconditioned spaces are usually excluded.

The EUI has drawbacks. It doesn't normalize energy use for climate changes. Additionally, the EUI doesn't account for variations in the usage of similar facilities. For example, office buildings could have different EUI values, attributable to totally different occupancy schedules. One could also be occupied for 10 hours each day, whereas the opposite is occupied for 24 hours a day.

Benchmarking power use

The important thing to successful benchmarking using the EUI is careful collection of facilities. There are sources for benchmarking EUI information: published knowledge and other maintenance managers.

There are a number of different sources for printed EUI knowledge, including government publications, commerce affiliation reports and power administration handbooks. One of the most complete sources for such data is Commercial Buildings Power Consumption and Expenditures from the U.S. the Division of Energy.

The publication lists common EUI values for a range of building types differentiated by such components as age, size, climate, occupancy schedules, building and energy source. By selecting essentially the most applicable constructing class from the information, upkeep managers can estimate their potential for power savings in their facility.

Selecting conservation targets

Once a manager has decided a facility's vitality financial savings potential, the subsequent step is deciding on areas of focus. The key to successful reductions is concentrating efforts on areas that offer the best potential and highest charges of return on the investment. As soon as those measures are carried out, managers can look elsewhere. The best potential for greater energy effectivity in lots of services lies in the main power-using programs: chillers, cooling towers, boilers and lights.

Lighting techniques provide potential power financial savings through adjustments in operations and maintenance. Earlier than contemplating major lighting replacement or improve applications, though, make certain the existing system operates efficiently and effectively.

Tour the facility. In what number of areas are lights left on when nobody is in the space? What controls are installed on lighting programs? For those who find various circumstances by which lights are operating in unoccupied areas, think about installing automatic lighting controls, similar to occupancy sensors. Energy savings achieved by computerized controls usually pay for his or her set up in a single to 2 years.

Next, review fluorescent lighting system maintenance. In spite of the lower labor prices and better effectivity associated with group relamping, many facilities continue to exchange burnt out lamps on a spot basis. By group relamping when lamps reach 70-80 % of rated life, labor costs are cut by 90 percent. Common lighting ranges also improve, as lamps are changed before mild output has deteriorated.

Finally, contemplate the efficiency of sunshine sources. Consider replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent or compact fluorescent lamps. Upgrade normal fluorescent lamps to lamps with high-effectivity electronic ballasts.

Managers continue the efforts by analyzing upkeep information for other main power-utilizing techniques:

• When were they installed?
• Have they skilled vital maintenance problems?
• Do boilers, cooling towers and chillers have an efficient water therapy program?
• Are chillers opened each one- years for inspection/cleaning?
• How often are cooling towers inspected and cleaned?
• Are boilers inspected and cleaned annually?

If maintenance has been deferred for even a few years, large potential energy financial savings lie in performing required maintenance. The systems may be operating, but not operating efficiently until maintenance duties are carried out regularly.

Before looking into changing models with higher-efficiency fashions or installing energy-efficient controls or variable frequency drives, make sure in-place techniques function efficiently. If current techniques should not correctly maintained, the identical can happen to new systems.

Replacements and upgrades

Further savings could be found upgrading or changing methods with new technology. Direct digital controls, variable-pace drives and automated combustion controls all might be retrofit to supply extra energy savings, offered current programs operate efficiently.

In some instances, to gain main vitality effectivity enhancements, systems must be replaced. If systems are approaching the top of efficiency life or in the event that they trigger main maintenance problems, it might be more cost effective to exchange them than to overhaul them.

Whatever techniques are put in as we speak to enhance power efficiency, nonetheless, should be properly maintained or effectivity enhancements will rapidly disappear.

For managers to ship vitality effectivity good points, they need a program that identifies opportunities for enhancing performance via correct maintenance of power-using methods, utility of latest applied sciences to present programs and substitute of inefficient systems with new, excessive-efficiency ones. By following these steps, managers can make their facilities benchmarks for others.

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