Green Living Tips

Residential | Commercial

Assemble a team, develop an energy profile, and execute the program

Effective energy management begins by assembling a team that includes the building owner, facility manager, an energy solutions provider, and representatives from other key departments. Appoint a team leader to own the project and track its progress. Develop a facility wide energy profile that includes supply-side intelligence. Focus on how energy used in the building is generated, transmitted, and delivered and how this impacts your utility bills.

Define the program’s objectives

The energy team’s first step should be to define the project’s scope and objectives. It is critical to align energy targets with the company’s overall performance and business goals. Keep actions focused on results to ensure continued commitment. Evaluate how the program will achieve desired outcomes, such as decreased operating costs, higher operations performance, tax benefits, and environmental certification.

Document the facility’s energy profile

The energy profile, including energy costs and consumption data, gives the team baseline information from which to set objectives. These quantifiable objectives are a means to measure the energy management program’s progress.

Evaluate energy use patterns

Evaluate when, where, and how all the facility systems and equipment use energy. Involve various departments to determine the facility’s energy consuming equipment and activities.

Pay less for your energy

The price of energy depends on how much and when the facility uses its power. The charges will be larger if the facility uses a lot of power over a short period of time, and smaller if the customer uses power at a more constant rate. The good news is you can reduce costs by controlling energy usage during peak periods. There are many innovative possibilities for reducing peak period energy loads. Such as an ice storage solution in which a chiller operates in chiller mode during the day and in ice-making mode at night. This provides cooling to the building the next day during peak hours. Such a solution improves the reliability of the power grid by shifting peak cooling loads to off-peak hours.

Consider alternative ways to generate energy

There are many options from wind farms to geothermal technologies to generate energy. Self-generated energy helps facilities control power costs, improve reliability, and achieve environmental goals. An energy solutions expert should be consulted to build energy system and optimize purchasing tactics.

Use a more efficient HVAC system

Heating and cooling are large contributors to total energy usage. Therefore, heating and cooling systems are obvious targets for efficiency improvements. TRANE offers a wide variety of highly efficient HVAC systems.

Stay committed

Whatever strategies you implement, the most important thing is that your energy management team remains informed and highly committed to taking the facility to the next level.