The practice of energy management focuses on evaluating a company’s energy use and developing ways to improve it. In most cases, management of energy use focuses on two core practices: implementing more efficient technology, and implementing ways to conserve the energy use of the new technology. A real world example of these practices would be the implementation of energy efficient lighting along with a lighting control system that adjusts lighting levels according to movement, work schedules, time of day, etc. When companies thoroughly implement efficient technologies and effective ways to control its energy use, they can easily reduce their annual utility bill by 50% or more.
What Are the Biggest Energy Management Targets in Commercial Buildings?
Efficiently managing energy use can deal with measures as comprehensive as replacing almost all of a building’s lighting to measures as small as removing unnecessary lighting in vending machines. But there are at least three management targets consistently revealed by energy audits: interior and exterior lighting, HVAC components, and building envelopes.
1. Interior and Exterior Lighting
Interior lighting accounts for roughly 60% of a commercial building’s annual electric expense, making it a primary target for energy efficiency projects. Depending on a company’s size and exterior lighting needs, exterior lighting can result in high energy use as well. Efficiency projects that focus on lighting aim to reduce total lighting expense by at least 50%, a percentage that, when the proper lighting control, de-lamping, and lighting enhancements are incorporated, is easily achievable.
2. HVAC Components
From an efficiency perspective, one of the primary issues with older HVAC components is their tendency to be “oversized”, a characteristic common among chillers and air distribution fans. Oversized HVAC elements use more electricity than necessary to produce the optimal result, and downsizing them can produce markedly lower utility bills. For example, oversized air distribution fans account for roughly 30 percent of an air distribution system’s electricity use, but downsizing them can reduce this percent by nearly half.
3. Building Envelopes
The best envelope for your building depends largely on your climate and the needs of your building. But, in each case, efficient envelopes can improve your building’s ability to preserve internal temperatures for longer periods of time, causing your heating and cooling elements to use less energy. A building’s envelope is located in the space between its exterior and interior walls.
Finding out the level of commercial energy savings you can achieve by implementing efficient lighting, efficient HVAC components, efficient building envelopes, and other efficiency measures begins with having an energy consultant perform an energy audit of your building. Afterward, the consult will use the information to target the best solutions according to your goals, which, in addition to energy savings, may include such things as: improved security lighting, improved productivity, aesthetic preferences, better lighting control, and reduced carbon emissions, among others.
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