No matter which industry you belong to – whether it is an office building you run, a commercial retail shop you own or an industrial building, as a facility or building manager you must be aware of the role of having an efficient energy management system that ensures your building systems are operating smoothly at all times. It not only provides a sustainable solution for your business but also guarantees comfort of the occupants, thereby boosting productivity and improving your bottom line. This is why it is imperative that when considering energy management system, you pay ample attention to several factors such as ensuring the system is aligned to your business goals and invest in a system that helps you achieve them. In this article we delve into how having an energy management system can benefit your business in a sustainable and efficient way.
Energy Management System
Energy management systems used for buildings, also known as BEMS, refer to integrated building energy management and building automation systems. They combine the use of IoT, data analytics and other digital communication technologies to provide a holistic approach resulting in better control and optimization of the building system. The system may have multiple layers approach from various sensors connected to a unified interface. The goal is to enable data collection, analysis, trend monitoring and so on in order to provide smart and fast decision-making. Building energy management system can provide easy access to building automation systems from several platforms and various locations. Ultimately, the system enables an efficient and dynamic control of the indoor climate in a cost-effective way while ensuring the safety, comfort, and well-being of the building occupants. For an energy management system to be efficient and sustainable, it is imperative to consider the following areas:
Working towards the goal of reducing carbon footprint
Carbon footprint is defined as “the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions” that your building or facility releases into the environment in any one-year period. In today’s energy-conscious era, as a responsible business owner it becomes prudent for you to strive towards achieving better energy management, increasing sustainability, and reducing the impact of your organization on climate change – which is where the energy management system comes to play a significant role. By employing an efficient energy management system for your building, you can effortlessly monitor CO2 emissions and take preventive steps to minimize it, thereby contributing positively to reduce global warming.
Ensuring environmental friendliness
Apart from CO2 emissions, most commercial buildings are a major contributor to releasing other environment pollutants as they use an array of harmful chemicals in their day-to-day operations such as methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and so on. When you opt for a reliable energy management system, it also ensures the effective monitoring and controlling of these gases and ensures that your organization adheres to sustainable practices and promotes use of environment friendly processes.
Reducing energy bills
Investing in energy management system plays a significant role in keeping your operations costs from surging high. It is important that the energy management system you utilize is efficient and also one that does not compromise with the operation process. For instance, you might be thinking of investing in an effective ‘daylighting’ system that allows you to harness solar power with the potential for use in building lighting, which ultimately reduces your electricity consumption. In such cases, the use of a proper roofing system can also be a huge help to significantly lower energy consumption. A proper roofing system ensures an ideal temperature is maintained inside the facility and therefore can significantly contribute to efficient use of HVAC systems. Hence both the systems work synergistically to dramatically reduce the overall operational costs of your building.
Utilizing an efficient energy monitoring system
Since efficiency and savings are two major components of any energy management system, the application of energy monitoring system is not only reasonable but also ultimately necessary. Energy monitoring system not only helps to identify trends in energy use but also gives alerts of potential problems, reducing hassle and cost of major repairs of the building system. In addition, you should also ensure that your energy management system actually adheres to standard energy ratings such as LEED or Energy Star to ensure their efficacy.
More and more companies nowadays are implementing robust monitoring and assessment of energy consumption in their facility or building for reducing overall energy costs as well as optimizing efficiency and neither should you lag behind and get started with a qualified energy management services provider. Some companies like A-TECH Engineering offers free evaluation of energy or zero upfront cost to help you get started. Connect with an A-TECH team specialist today to find out more.
If you run a business or manage a commercial building, then you must be aware of the various building systems that are required to be functional in order for the business to run smoothly. On top of that most commercial buildings tend to be high energy consumers thus putting a dent on your net profitability. As a business owner or commercial property manager, you do not have to think out-of-the-box on how to lower costs as you know all too well how energy consumption costs reduce your bottom line. There are many steps you can take to transform your commercial space into an energy saving building. Let’s delve deeper into some of these:
Energy saving building
These days, the entire world is talking about conserving energy and whether you acknowledge it or not, conserving energy is not simply about making the world a better and greener place, the concept is also tied to enhancing efficiency and improving building performance. An energy saving building is any building that has been designed, constructed or upgraded in a way that it is able to get the maximum work out of energy provided to them while minimizing the loss of energy. Energy saving building also works by reducing energy demand of the building system, for example- by turning off power when not in use or in areas not required.
How to make your commercial building energy efficient and reduce costs?
Invest in energy management system – Energy management system offers valuable data and insights to track, monitor and regulate energy use in your commercial building and enhance building performance while reducing costs. You can invest in building data analytics that provide you with relevant and simplified data of energy use and take control.
An energy management system can be used to detect faults in your building system, provide preventive maintenance and thereby reduce maintenance costs and damage to building.
HVAC Controls and Optimization
Perhaps the most energy draining system of your building is the HVAC system. For a commercial building, HVAC system can account for up to 60% of energy consumption. Hence, it is only rationale as a business owner that you pay special attention to HVAC system efficiency.
Apart from having your HVAC system annually maintained by a professional, installing an efficient Building Automation System for your commercial HVAC can significantly improve life cycle of HVAC, provide increased HVAC efficiency while reducing your energy costs.
Building Automation and Controls allow commercial buildings of any size or industry to optimize their central HVAC system- even multiple HVAC systems can be monitored and controlled from a single interface seamlessly from anywhere through IoT. This results in fewer maintenance calls, proactive servicing, and reduced bottom line.
Retrofitting old HVAC system
Sometimes your HVAC system may be too outdated to perform efficiently and if you are not ready to change your old HVAC system, you can try and see retrofitting the old HVAC system. This is simply an upgradation where you can change parts of your old HVAC such as adding a new compressor, ventilation control, condenser fan control and so on to improve HVAC system performance, minimize energy use and reduce utility bill. Retrofitting HVAC system can save you up to 30% energy costs.
Invest in newer energy-rated appliances and equipment
An energy saving building does not only mean it is designed to be an energy efficient building. Today’s energy saving buildings run on newer, better appliances and machines that use less energy and are environmentally friendly. For example, think of simple things in your commercial building that you have not changed in a few years – it could be a refrigerator, oven, air-conditioning system, or HVAC system. Modern equipment are energy rated so that they consume less energy and reduce carbon footprint.
Improve thermal insulation
Poor insulation in a commercial building can also account for significant energy loss. You can retrofit your old building to add insulating layers that allow for lower heat loss. If retrofitting the entire building is not possible, you can take small steps like changing window glasses that are better insulators such as double or triple pane windows, sealing gaps and entryways or even checking vents, HVAC ducts, pipes and so on.
Choose smart building technology
Commercial buildings today have a lot of opportunity to improve energy use by investing in smart building technology. Through this, building managers and owners can view real-time update of energy use in building, take better control and take measures that minimize energy use. For example, smart buildings utilize various sensors to power building automation.
Sensor and controllers provide remote and real-time monitoring of various building systems such as HVAC system, lighting, security, electrical and so on via internet of things. Smart building controls remove the scope of human forgetfulness of failing to turn off lighting and HVAC settings, thereby reducing energy costs. There is also HVAC monitoring app that allows you to track, monitor and control your HVAC system remotely from anywhere.
Invest in LED Lighting
If your commercial building is still using traditional lighting, then you are simply throwing money out the window without even realizing it. While changing the entire lighting of your building may feel superfluous to you, investing in LED lighting can save you money as they are much more sustainable, energy efficient as well as environmentally friendly.
Empower your community
Investing in latest technology will not automatically solve the problem of high energy bills if the occupants or users of the building are not aware. Educate and empower your staff and residents on how to manage the building system in an energy efficient way, such as using equipment properly and so on.
If you have an energy saving building for your commercial space, it will not only reduce energy cost but also result in improved comfort, and better functionality.
A-TECH Engineering Ltd. is a leading building automation and controls provider based in Toronto and other major cities across Canada who can help you transform your commercial property into a functional, comfortable and energy saving building. Contact our team member today to learn more.
Helpful energy saving checklist for facility managers to reduce energy costs and increase efficiency
Facility managers have the essential task to ensure that everything in the building runs smoothly as well as efficiently for the occupants all the time. Over time, the role of facility managers has broadened and includes making sure that the building is energy efficient as well. This results in occupants having a comfortable working environment while minimizing energy costs of the building.
As per EPA, 32% energy consumption and 19% greenhouse gas emission arise from buildings. As companies today work towards reducing energy waste, they are turning to facility managers who are greatly involved in improving the building condition. Facility managers are at an advantage to identify scope of improvement and take corrective actions to improvise energy efficiency of the building. In this article we take a look at steps facility managers can take to improve efficiency of the facility building and transform it into an energy saving building.
Inspect energy consuming equipment and employ regular maintenance
In order to maintain functionality, efficiency, and comfort of a facility building, it is imperative to consistently manage the energy-using equipment through routine check-ups along with preventive maintenance. When energy consuming equipment are left without any monitoring system or check ups, the equipment not only loses efficiency but can also be irrevocably damaged. Regular, consistent maintenance for equipment through a building automation system can help identify issues such as leaks, repairs, and replacements. Routine check-ups and maintenance can be held for boilers, chillers, fans, lighting system, computers, electronics, HVAC system and so on. In addition, data analytics can equip facility managers with valuable insights into performance measurement which can be utilized to improve the energy efficiency of the building.
Also, as a facility manager, you must take note of equipment that are obsolete, require frequent repairs and get rid of these. Replacing these with energy-rated machines will not only enhance performance but also bring down energy costs significantly.
Utilize submetering to accurately picture energy costs of the facility
When you are a facility manager, it is important that you know exactly how much energy the building is using, how much energy is being wasted, and identify areas of improvement to lower energy cost.
For this, you can look at trends in your utility bills and take note for any inaccurate meter readings and charges that do not make sense. You should also be aware of any controllable factors that can be leveraged to reduce energy consumption.
Also, using submetering in facility buildings is a great way to effectively control and use the resources in the building. Instead of using a single device to determine total energy use, facility management firms are increasingly switching to submeters in facilities to accurately monitor and manage utility costs. Submetering makes it relatively easier to see which areas of the facility consume high power and come up with alternative energy efficient solutions. It also allows precision data-collection methods that facilitate in identifying problems, scheduling corrective measures, and applying better energy saving solutions to improve overall energy efficiency of the building.
Use lighting and HVAC controls effectively in facility buildings
It is no doubt that lighting and HVAC systems account for a huge portion of the electricity bill. In order to cut down energy cost of your facility building, increasing efficiency of these systems can greatly reduce your building’s energy cost. For example, it is very likely for occupants to forget turning on and off these systems when not required, and as a result energy is being wasted. You can have motion sensor lighting that automatically turns on and off depending on the presence of users in the area. Installing efficient building automation system can help to reduce the cost of energy by automated daylight harvesting feature which allows detection of daylight and minimizes the use of artificial lighting in those periods. Nowadays there are many energy saving lights available in the market such as LED lighting, combining this with an automated lighting control system will surely have a beneficial effect on reducing energy costs of your facility.
Similarly, automated HVAC controls and smart thermostats can be utilized in your facility building to control HVAC system. As a facility manager, it is important that you monitor the thermostats and HVAC control settings so that occupants of the building are working in a comfortable condition. There are many automated systems available these days that give you access to these controls through Wi-Fi on your phone, making them easy to use.
Educate facility occupants about ways to reduce energy costs and properly use the facility
Only using an energy efficient machine and transforming the building into an energy saving one will not save money if occupants do not learn how to use it properly. As a facility manager, educate them through meetings, sessions and let them know the proper use of the equipment so that they run efficiently and minimize energy costs.
Get guaranteed 10% Energy Savings when you use A-TECH Engineering Energy Management Services for your facility.
With businesses and organizations becoming more energy conscious over the days, facility managers play an important role in tackling issues, identifying areas of improvement that can enhance building efficiency. A-TECH Engineering Ltd. – a leading building automation contractor in Toronto offers energy audit and energy management systems that can transform your facility building into an energy saving building, give better control over the building, reduce energy costs, and at the same time ensure comfort of the occupants. Contact us to get a quote and discuss the energy saving potential of your facility.
