December 2020 | Electrical Service Professionals, Inc.

Energy Tips for Commercial Buildings

Source: Dept. Of Energy & Environment

No-Cost Tips

Adjust your thermostat. In the summer, set your thermostat to 78 degrees when the workplace is occupied, and 85 degrees or off after business hours. In the winter, set your thermostat to 68 degrees when the workplace is occupied, and 60-65 degrees or off after business hours. You can save up to 3% for each degree the thermostat is raised in the summer and lowered in the winter. Using ceiling or room fans improves air circulation.
Reduce your lighting. A general rule is that a light should be off when no one is present. Turn off lights in unoccupied areas, remove excess lighting and turn off signage and other lights not necessary for security and safety.
Be energy smart with office equipment. Turn off office equipment or set it to “power down” when not in use. Setting computers, monitors, and copiers to use sleep-mode when not in use helps cut energy costs by approximately 40%. Remember to turn equipment off at the end of the workday.
Use shades and blinds. On hot days, draw the curtains and/or shades to keep the sun out. Remember to close doors to the outside to keep in cooler air.

Low-Cost Tips

Install efficient lighting. There are a number of low-cost solutions a business can invest in to make its lighting much more efficient and save money in the long run. For example: replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents, which can last up to nine times longer; upgrade fluorescent lighting fixtures to high-efficiency equipment; replace incandescent lights in exit signs with LED fixtures. This can reduce costs of these signs by up to 95%.
Install programmable thermostats. Programmable thermostats or time clocks can automatically control temperature settings and save energy.
Use “smart” power strips. These sense the presence or absence of office workers and turn the attached equipment on or off accordingly.
Maintain your HVAC system. Perform regular maintenance to keep your heating and air conditioning systems running more efficiently.

Investment Tips

Retrofit lighting. Convert T12 lights and magnetic ballast to T8 lights and electronic ballast. Install occupancy sensors, which can reduce lighting costs by up to 40%. Convert hallway and non-public security lighting to energy-saving 25-watt T12 bulbs. Convert TV surveillance cameras to newer equipment, which may not require floodlighting.
Weatherize buildings. Install awnings, solar shade screens or sun-control film for windows, and apply a heat-blocking coating to your roof.
Install an Energy Management System. An EMS will control heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment and lighting systems automatically to maximize efficiency and savings.
Buy ENERGY STAR products. ENERGY STAR certified equipment and products use less energy than other products, save money on utility bills, and help protect the environment. Establish a business policy of only buying ENERGY STAR certified equipment such as computers, monitors, and printers.

Building and Design Tips

General cooling measures. Think about using “green” design features. Use evaporative cooling wherever possible. Attempt to use natural ventilation and light surfaces. Encourage daylighting of interior spaces in the design. Surround all buildings and cover parking lots with trees to reduce local environmental temperatures. Specify light-colored aggregates for local access road and sidewalk pavements.
Landscaping and use of shade. Combine architectural features and shading so that a minimum of the building envelope is exposed to the sun. Design landscaping around the building and over parking areas so that no parking area is exposed to the sun. This will not only reduce the heat build-up in parked vehicles, but will reduce the temperature of air blowing against the building by 6 to 8 degrees.
Combined heat and power systems. Often there is a balance between the heat requirements of an institution and its electrical needs. This energy match means that the waste heat from a small electrical generator can be used to generate electricity.
Solar power on rooftops. Consider installing solar electric collectors and/or solar hot water collectors on the roof. Ensure that the building design includes adequate support for the deadweight load and the wind stress, and all conduits for pipes or wires.
Water, gas and ventilation. Design a gray water collection system for irrigating landscaping. If natural gas is unavailable, consider ground source heat pumps. Design public space ventilation to respond to occupancy needs with such features as carbon dioxide detectors. Avoid air curtains that allow air leakage from conditioned spaces. Pressurize and test all ducts for leakage before dropped ceilings are installed.
Engineering requirements. Be sure that Performance Assurance or building commissioning is included in the engineering services provided by the engineer.

Quick fixes

Many large office buildings can benefit from quick low-cost/no-cost energy-saving solutions, such as turning things off, turning things down, and keeping up with cleaning and maintenance.

Turning things off

Turning things off seems simple, but remember that for every 1,000 kWh that you save by turning things off, you save $100 on your utility bill (assuming average electricity costs of 10 cents per kWh).

Computers and Monitors

Computers and other electronic equipment are ubiquitous in large office buildings and can contribute up to 20% of overall energy consumption. You can gain significant energy savings by verifying that computer power-management settings are enabled on individual computers and monitors, forcing them to enter sleep mode after a specified period of inactivity. Effective power management settings can cut a computer’s electricity use roughly in half, saving up to $75 annually per computer. Although most computers are now shipped with some sort of power management settings enabled, they may be disabled or made less effective by users or internal IT, and can often be made more rigorous to maximize energy savings. For more information, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers detailed instructions on Energy Star’s The Business Case for Power Management page. Some users may be concerned that automatic software updates will be inhibited if power management settings are enabled, but that’s not the case; updates can automatically begin to download when the computer awakens from sleep mode.

Other office equipment and plug loads

Like computers, devices such as printers, fax machines, and coffeemakers often have energy-reduction settings that can yield substantial energy savings. Additionally, consider supplying employees with smart power strips with occupancy sensors, which are an easy way to shut off their often-forgotten energy users such as personal printers, monitors, desk lamps, radios, clocks.

Lights

Lights should be turned off when not in use, but many people forget to take this step. When properly installed, occupancy sensors and timers can do this for you. A no-cost option is to simply train staff to turn off lights as part of their closing procedures (you can also help by posting a notice that identifies the locations of light switches).

Space heaters

Space heaters are energy hogs, drawing 1 kilowatt (kW) or more of power. As a first step, plug heaters into power strips controlled by occupancy sensors (other loads such as task lights and monitors can also be plugged into the power strips). Also recognize that the perceived need for individual space heating usually indicates poor HVAC system control.

Chilled-water drinking fountains and water coolers

Water fountains generally don’t need to provide ice-cold water 24 hours a day unless it’s required for health reasons. In most cases, you can turn off the cooling systems in drinking fountains. Likewise, water coolers generally don’t need to need to be turned on 24 hours a day. The average office water cooler consumes about 800 kWh per year. Because much of this energy is from standby losses, a simple method of cutting energy waste is to attach a timer. Programming an office water cooler to only operate for 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, can significantly reduce its energy waste. In addition, when it’s time to replace old coolers, choosing an Energy Star–qualified model can yield large savings over standard models because they have thicker insulation, more efficient cooling systems, and other efficiency-boosting features.

Vending machines

Refrigerated vending machines typically operate 24/7, using 2,500 to 4,400 kWh per year and adding to cooling loads in the spaces they occupy. Timers or occupancy sensors can yield significant savings because they allow the machines to turn on only when a customer is present or when the compressor must run to maintain the product at the desired temperature.

Turning things down

Some equipment cannot be turned off entirely but can be turned down to save energy.

HVAC temperature setbacks

During closed hours, turn temperature settings down in warming seasons and up in cooling seasons. Programmable thermostats make temperature setbacks a reliable option.

Peripheral and back rooms

Make sure that HVAC settings in stockrooms, rarely used offices, and other peripheral rooms are at minimum settings.

Window shades and blinds

During warm weather, blinds can block direct sunlight and reduce cooling needs; in the winter, opening the blinds on south-facing windows will let in sunlight to help heat the space.

Building automation systems tuning

For office buildings that already have a building automation system (BAS), make sure that temperature setbacks are coordinated with building occupancy on a quarterly basis. Facility engineers can align the HVAC schedules in the BAS with expected occupancy to optimize energy usage. Identify buildings that are not used at night, on weekends, or for long periods of time (such as during holiday breaks), and adjust temperature settings in those locations. Also, check that HVAC systems are not set to overcool or overheat the building. For facilities with regular occupancy schedules but without a BAS, programmable thermostats can make temperature setbacks a reliable option. The benefits of installing a BAS in a facility without one are further discussed in Longer-Term Solutions.

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Excerpt from Orlando Utility Commission (01.16.2018)

Winter Energy Tips for Commercial Buildings