Energy Efficiency Expo Takeaways

Recommendations from panel on “How Energy Efficiency fits into Broader Sustainability Strategies”

• Get out of the “overhead” perception by changing the game – make energy efficiency relevant to the executive level.  (Can use revenue equivalents, public perception, etc.)
• Include maintenance in your ROI or payback analysis, especially for projects like LED
• Look at RCx as a way to do more than ‘get back to running the way it was designed’ but to make more efficient
• Keep an open mind, because technology is always changing
• Start new programs in one facility first – monitor, test and then see if it’s worth rolling out
• Ask vendors for client references, and ask those references about performance, and also installation and maintenance.  Visit the facility if possible.

Building Automation Systems: Cost of not having a BAS:

• It’s more energy inefficient, because difficult or not possible to schedule, to have setbacks, to use zones
• Can’t use advanced programs like DR (Demand Response), FDD (Fault Detection and Diagnostics), Predictive Control
• Lack of manageability

Variable Speed Drives:

• The energy efficiency savings opportunity exists because there is a non-linear relationship between speed and HP.
• Test case example: 50HP 2 cycle motor running 100% 24/7 365 at $.08/kWh = $27,500; same motor with VSD running an average of 12hrs/day at 100% and the other 12 hrs/day at 60% = $16,000.

Energy Efficiency Examples:

• Northwestern University
  • By forecasting their energy use and spend, including planned expansion, they saw energy consumption and efficiency in a different way.
  • Led to NW committing $40M to energy efficiency projects, using a maximum 7 year simple payback as the hurdle.
• Shedd Aquarium
  • Over the years, reduced energy consumption from 30M kWh to ~20M kWh.
  • Now, goal is to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 50% more by 2020. As a non-profit, they are able to get grants that cover approximately 75% of their project costs.
• Skolink Industries (Manufacturer)
  • Implemented many energy efficiency measures for a total cost of $350k, and is saving $115k annually.
• Prudential Plaza
  • Baseline year: ~36M kWh, 726k Therms = ~$4M energy spend
  • Year 4: ~21.6M kWh, 382k Therms = $2.2M energy spend.
  • Generated annual savings of $1.8M by year 4.