What do you do if your facility management needs a boost in energy efficiency?

The first step is to conduct an audit. This involves a comprehensive assessment of energy usage throughout the facility, including lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) systems, equipment, and appliances. The audit aims to identify areas of inefficiency, wastage, and opportunities for improvement. By analyzing energy consumption patterns and identifying areas with the highest potential for savings, you can develop targeted strategies to optimize energy usage and reduce costs. The audit provides valuable insights into the current state of energy efficiency within the facility, allowing you to prioritize investments and implement measures that will deliver the greatest impact.

We can do an assessment of energy of the site to identify the highest contributor of energy & do a time motion study of the equipment to optimize energy

I will explore the following options: Energy Audit: Conduct a comprehensive energy audit to identify areas of inefficiency and prioritize improvement opportunities. Implement Energy-Efficient Practices: Upgrade lighting to LEDs, install motion sensors, optimize heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and utilize energy-efficient appliances and equipment. Employee Engagement: Educate employees about energy-saving practices such as turning off lights when not in use, using power-saving settings on devices, and being mindful of energy consumption. Invest in Renewable Energy: Explore options for integrating renewable energy sources such as solar panels or wind turbines to reduce reliance on conventional energy sources.

Be very careful, making very legitimate energy improvements can trigger regulations that require you to make very expensive unrelated improvements to other parts of your building, sometimes even to your parking lot.

The first step in any facility energy boost is an audit. Carrying out an audit gives you data to make informed decisions be it in your lighting, HVAC or power consuming equipment. It helps you with the right sizing decision required without incurring unnecessary cost.

Energy Audit is the First step to identify the potential energy saving and required equipment upgrade and measures as well. Staff training, development and gadgets for regular inspection is the second step

I was asked me to install window film to save energy. I examined heard a sales pitch and examined a case study. Sales people convinced my Mgmt. we would save about 20% on electric bills by reducing the AC load. The calculations did not apply to our building. The case study was in a S facing closed room. Our building included other exposures so at best that was a poor average. They ignored our super reflective perforated aluminum blinds, did not include the suns angle and reflection factors. I predicted a minimal impact at best but was overruled by Mgmt, we installed the product. Months later we couldn't see an improvement in our energy bill. Mgmt. asked why and I sent them another copy of my previous email saying it was hype.

There are now different generations of LED lightings with newer being even more energy efficient. So compare always consumptions to latest technologies and replace the lighting to the latest LES if there is more than 20% efficiency difference ) even if LED already installed 10 years ago)

Mostly we need to set an expense report record,then evaluate what you have spent on lightbill for past three months and you carry out marketing surveys after get drop you AC and replace with standing fans, carry out another expense report of lightbills and which one you were able to save cost

Replace traditional lighting with energy-efficient LED lighting. LEDs consume significantly less energy and have a longer lifespan.

First action on HVAC is optimising the building automation with the right setpoints, the optimal start stop of equipments from history, the right sequences and cascades. Then to get further efficiency make a life cycle plan for replacing equipments with the lastest more efficient equipments.

Assuming the important first step of the audit is completed, and depending on the facility size, go after the chilled water. Ensure flow rates are matching coil capacity. Are the chillers ramping appropriately to loop demand. A philosophy I learned a while back from a respected opinion: only use as much CHW as that is needed and only produce as much CHW that can be used. Big savings.

In my point of view, optimization in HVAC will help to perform energy optimization. By efficiently managing HVAC requirements and schedules them in an effective way, keeping some factors in mind like daily temperature, weather reports, number of peoples, effective sunlight use.etc. These factors will help to perform energy optimization.

Be very careful, making very legitimate energy improvements can trigger regulations that require you to make very expensive unrelated improvements to other parts of your building, sometimes even to your parking lot. In many places there are strict limits on what you can do to your building before being required to bring other parts of the building up to code. For example in California if you were to rip out your old energy wasting florescent fixtures and install brand new LED lighting, you could trigger massive Title 24 and ADA improvements, that might cost many times more than the lighting improvement you planed to do.

As I know 80% of power consumption going in HVAC so any upgrade in this section mean saving power, so I will check all HVAC equipment’s to makes sure everything is working correctly without wasting then searching in new technology

Part of the audit, should be using thermal cameras to determine which part of envelope is leaking cold or hot energy. Then work on insulating the 80% most leaking walls and ceilings including doors or windows.

Insulating hot/cold pipes, ducts, walls, doors, window glasses can add to energy saving in case of both cooling or heating systems. Minimizing air infiltration can also help save energy in both cases.

More over in the above points here is some more tips Renewable Energy Sources: Consider integrating renewable energy sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, or geothermal systems to supplement or offset traditional energy sources. .Track and Analyze Energy Data: Monitor and analyze energy consumption data regularly to track progress towards energy efficiency goals, identify trends, and pinpoint areas for further improvement. Use this data to make informed decisions and adjustments to your energy management strategies. Engage with Energy Efficiency Programs: Explore incentives, rebates, and financing options offered by government agencies, utilities, or energy efficiency programs to support energy-saving initiatives.

Explain the plans with the actions above to all users and ask for support. You probably get new ideas for the usage of the building which will accelerate energy savings like closing the building on Friday afternoon...

Definitely, your smart decision to inculcate your team for the energy efficient environment, will not only lead to energy inhabitants but also a self-motivated individual reflecting your organizational culture, ultimately boost economy and efficiency.

Educate and involve employees in energy-saving initiatives, such as turning off lights and equipment when not in use, and practicing energy-efficient habits.

Consult a professional in energy efficiency (commercial energy auditor) to get a different and unbiased perspective regarding what can be done, balancing capital costs, ROI, and a reduction in carbon footprint.

1; Pursuing certifications like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) to ensure sustainable practices are integrated into facility management processes technilogy :- 2; Use Iot :- say Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Offers IoT-enabled solutions for energy management and facility optimization, integrating sensors, analytics, and control systems. 3; EMS software :- Siemens Navigator Provides comprehensive energy management solutions for monitoring, analyzing, and optimizing energy usage in buildings and facilities.

Efficiency first should be the principle while selecting electrical and mechanical components, devices, systems. Proper care should be taken to design the Building Management System, to ensure that minimum energy is wasted. Monitoring of various parameters through BMS should be continuously done, to ensure that the MEP systems are operating within the designed parameters. Pre cooling of fresh air through heat exchangers utilizing cool exhaust air, saves a lot of energy. Proper maintenance of system, specifically HVAC is of paramount importance, to avoid energy waste. Unnecessary low settings of temperature in occupied space should be avoided at all times and minimum temperature settings should be locked through BMS, to avoid tampering.

I believe in if you make the things or pursuit that everything was made ok from the beginning its a great decision from the design or basic enginnering until the construction

facility managers can work with energy service providers and utility companies to explore renewable energy options, such as solar or wind power, that can help reduce energy consumption and lower costs over time

Certification programme of all your team members from a reputed institution or agency which is competent in this field. For example, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) offers a certification program which improves the awareness and gives you competency and skills in carrying out basic energy audits of buildings and offices.