Building an energy
efficient USA!
Reduce Your Utility Bills
15-25% through Improved
Energy Efficiency
INTRODUCTION
Businesses exist to provide products or services where
revenues exceed costs. Competition rewards those with
the lowest costs. Utilities are an inescapable component
of the cost of the service or product. Obviously, lowering
utility costs will increase net revenues and profit.
including offices and schools, are generally not operated
very efficiently, and RCx can improve their operation.
If your facility is experiencing an unreasonable number
of “hot” or “cold” calls, especially in primary customer
service or living areas, then an RCx assessment may be
needed to determine the root cause of the complaints.
Although it is sometimes counterintuitive, many comfort
complaints can be traced back to inefficient operations.
Simple paybacks from applying the RCx process generally
range from a few months (poorly operated facility) to
three years (well-operated facility). RCx is not a capital
investment process, in that little or no capital equipment
will be purchased or replaced. RCx takes the existing
energy-using systems and optimizes their operation.
Typically, however, reducing energy costs are secondary
issues in many businesses and are often overlooked as a
THE RETRO-COMMISSIONING PROCESS
source of revenue. These expenses are just considered
part of the “cost of doing business.” In many
offices and production facilities, potential
energy waste is 15%-25% of the total utility
POTENTIAL SAVINGS
bill. These unnecessary costs could be
For a 200,000 square foot facility currently spending $4.00 per
avoided. Budgeted, but unspent, utility dollars
could contribute to the improvement of
square foot per year for utilities, a conservative (low end of
overall service/product efficiencies or simply
savings range) annual savings would be:
redirected to increase net revenue.
200,000 sf X $4.00 / sf X 0.15 = $120,000 per year savings
As our society focuses more on sustainability,
carbon footprints, and efficient use of energy,
it is time to analyze and understand how well
we’re managing these exhaustible resources.
It is time we acknowledge saving energy is
“the right thing to do” for both profit and
altruistic reasons.
On the other end of the savings range, 25%, the annual savings
could be $200,000. Simple paybacks for these RCx services
typically range from 1 to 3 years. Few “investments” offer such
Retro-Commissioning (RCx) is the most cost-effective
way to achieve immediate cost savings with little or no
capital investment.
RCx is commonly defined as a process that optimizes
your energy-using systems (chillers, boilers, pumps, air
handlers, cooling towers, building automation systems,
etc.) with the goal of improving facility comfort
conditions while reducing energy consumption. The RCx
process has been applied to hundreds of buildings over
the past 20 years, with typical energy savings of 15%-25%
of the annual utility bill. There is no “magic” involved in
the RCx process – just the fact that most of our buildings,
attractive returns.
The RCx process is typically done in three phases:
1.
Phase I is the assessment phase. This is a detailed
assessment of the way your facility is operated. It
involves staff and operator interviews, utility bill analysis,
on-site field measurements of energy equipment,
determination of comfort and operational issues, and
the identification of potential energy efficiency
measures. During the Phase I assessment, the RCx
engineers will review the design of the HVAC systems
and study current operating procedures, including the
control system’s sequence of operations.
Building an energy
efficient USA!
Outcome of Phase I: An RCx report identifying energy
efficiency measures, maintenance issues, comfort
problems, potential energy and dollar savings from
implementing the efficiency measures, and the cost of
implementation of Phase II. A simple payback analysis is
presented. If a facility is so well run that few energy
efficiency measures are found, then the RCx process
stops at Phase I. Also, if the facility is in need of major
retrofits, RCx may be deferred until these capital retrofits
are completed.
Again, it should be re-emphasized that RCx is not an
energy retrofit program requiring extensive capital
outlay. It is a process which makes the current energyusing systems operate optimally. When the facility
operating staff requests it, capital retrofit opportunities
can be identified. Moreover, the savings are true avoided
costs based on auditable meter/invoice data, not simply
“estimated” savings.
TYPICAL SAVINGS RESULTS
2.
Phase II is the implementation phase. After
agreeing to proceed to the implementation phase, the
implementation plan – including the priority of measure
implementation and schedule – is developed. Energy and
comfort baselines are established from which the energy
savings and comfort improvements are determined.
Facility personnel training is also included. Training
operations staff is often the essential element in
sustaining the improvements. We have found that when
the staff fully understands the optimization initiatives,
they feel empowered to continuously monitor and
improve them, as well as look for new possibilities.
The RCx engineers and your facilities manager will work
together on the optimization implementation plan. This
plan could include (but not be limited to) optimized
airflows, improved scheduling, hot water and chilled
water temperature resets, optimization of air handler
pressure and temperature, elimination of simultaneous
heating and cooling, sensor calibration, and other
improved operating procedures. This optimization plan is
intended to become the facility’s “User’s Manual” for
achieving and sustaining the full potential of the energy
efficiency measures identified.
Figure 1
Figure 1 is a graph showing the measured savings at a
Client courthouse with 375K square feet of conditioned
space, Figure 2. These savings are based on actual utility
invoice savings. They represent budgeted funds that can
be spent or can flow through to profit.
Outcome of Phase II: A detailed report on measures
implemented, energy and dollar savings reports
(generally quarterly), and training modules.
3.
Phase III is the follow-up phase. Continued
monitoring and system fine-tuning, savings reports, and
additional training (if needed) are included in this phase.
This is generally a one-year follow-up after
Phase II is completed, and can be extended on a year-toyear basis.
Outcome of Phase III: Quarterly savings reports, training
reports (if necessary), and follow-up assistance with
troubleshooting, savings degradation, etc.
Figure 2
Building an energy
efficient USA!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND COMPANY
Bee is located in Austin, TX, and is a provider of energy
and RCx services to building owners across multiple
sectors. In 2012/13, Bee’s major clients are the US Army
Medical Command (MEDCOM) and the Veteran’s
Integrated Service Network (VISN) 16. For MEDCOM, the
facilities served are worldwide, including hospitals and
clinics in Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, and all over
the United States. For VISN 16, the campuses stretch
throughout the Gulf-Southeast region, from Pensacola to
Oklahoma City. In addition, Bee engineers have
conducted RCx assessments and applied RCx processes
to data centers, college campuses, K-12 schools, office
complexes, commercial buildings, and industrial
facilities.
Bee provides additional energy-related services such as
energy auditing, new building commissioning, energy
procurement, and energy management master planning.
We can also manage turnkey energy projects such as
controls upgrades and capital improvements.
The President of Bee, Dr. W. Dan Turner, P.E., Ph.D., is
the founding Director of the Energy Systems Laboratory
(ESL) at the Texas A&M University, and is one of the
pioneers of the building energy optimization process. He
is now retired from Texas A&M. Many of the senior
engineers at Bee previously worked for the ESL and have
many years of experience in applying the RCx process.
For more information, contact Thomas M. Hagge, VP of
Business Development, at [email protected] or
visit our website at www.BeeUSA.com.
Prepared By:
Dr. W. Dan Turner, Ph.D., P.E.
President
9737 Great Hills Trail | Suite 220
Austin, TX 78759
512-364-0688
www.BeeUSA.com