Proving Results of Energy Management Projects
Originally created for BOMA International.
Energy represents about 20 percent of total operating costs in a typical commercial building. Commercial real estate is expensive to maintain, and everyone wants to find an edge — or the newest solutions to improve the operation.
But how do you know you’re making the right improvements?
Implementing building energy management solutions is only the first step. Taking the next step and measuring progress and validating results ensures your investment is paying off.
Where to start?
The good news is results can be achieved by starting small. It doesn’t require large, expensive projects to make a difference. Substantial savings can be uncovered by adjusting setpoints on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, installing energy efficient lighting, or turning off office equipment when it’s not in use.
Also take into consideration the effectiveness of your building automation system (BAS). Does it offer the right technology to help you achieve your goals? If not, updating your BAS may be the answer.
New BAS technologies provide web-enabled access so you can remotely monitor and manage your building or entire enterprise from almost anywhere. And you can manage multiple systems such as HVAC, lighting and security using a single, easy-to-use interface. New systems also use wireless communication, eliminating the need to install and maintain wires between controllers and devices.
Linking projects to sustainability
When sustainability is important, conducting energy analysis and building modeling provides benchmarks for measuring progress. Equipment upgrades, optimized building controls and predictive maintenance are steps that can improve building sustainability.
Your BAS can also provide the link to intelligent building services that help improve efficiency and sustainability by ensuring your building is operating as it should. Energy modeling programs and analytics tools measure energy usage and help you monitor, track and analyze the information your building provides.
Validating results
To see continuous improvement in your building’s performance, it’s not just the tools that matter. The right partner offers ongoing support to help you evaluate and analyze the data your building provides — to ensure your energy management projects are making a difference.
You can measure results around the business impacts, but also around other indicators such as progress toward sustainability goals, occupant comfort and efficiency.
The solutions available from Trane — coupled with the expertise and support we provide — make it easier than ever to measure performance and verify results. The bottom line is improved building performance.