Now, more than any other time in recent history, has there been as widespread a campaign and interest on a topic that is completely applicable to the commercial building industry. The sustainability wave has reached from boiler room to board room, where all parties there and anywhere in between, have sat up, taken notice, and come to the realization that this is something that they CANNOT afford to ignore.
A good understanding of the energy performance aspects of buildings is important in tackling efficiency opportunities. This directly affects the complete life cycle of the building, from its initial design, through construction, to the ongoing operation.
At the same time, continuing building entropy (meaning the steady decline of design ideals and systems) is making the situation more urgent as energy and related operating costs are skyrocketing.
The motivations to respond range across the board from moralistic reasons to pure business interests, but all working in the same general direction.
Ethical/Moral – feeling like it is my personal responsibility to take care of this Earth I reside on
Image/Peer – what is that building doing down the street; what is their cost/foot compared to mine?/ why did I lose a tenant to them
Economic – my operating costs are skyrocketing out of control; I have pressure from above
Legislated – Texas state legislation (HB 3693) dictates to public facilities reduce consumption by 5%/year for the next 6 years; City of LA has expedited plan check by going for LEED
Across the board, the commercial building industry is pressing hard for answers that resonate all the way to the boardroom and shareholders.
While performance is stipulated, in most instances there is not a consistent accountability mechanism for ensuring design intent is sustainable
Despite ethical, peer, economic or legislated drivers, there is minimal follow-up and no consistency
-- LEED recertification of buildings will help
Entropy begins day 1 after project completion; the extent of entropy varies based on several factors –
Operational understanding of and buy-in to the design ideals
Basic system understanding
Operation savvy – able to see cause and effect
Aging equipment
Preventative maintenance
Ability to utilize tools to analyze operations for optimal operation versus reactive operations
If implemented, continuous commissioning
Major Bullet 3 – If used effectively, Continuous Commissioning can minimize the impact of entropy. Retrocommissioning can reset to some extent, but in itself does not resolve entropy
-- With the exception of certain government and institutional applications, neither one is consistently implemented
If used effectively, continuous commissioning can minimize the impact of entropy. Retrocommissioning can reset to some extent, but in itself does not resolve entropy
-- With the exception of certain government and institutional applications, neither one is consistently implemented
Processes, procedures, continuous commissioning are mostly just concepts – ideas of what to do after all of the upfront work is done are ill-defined.
It’s not surprising to know that there are many LEED certified buildings that exist today that are energy hogs and do not keep with the ideals originally identified.
All of the back-end function has to translate into action for the heirs of the front-end ideals.
(Review left hand side before clicking)
The front-end load are all of the steps in advance of a solution. Whether it is LEED, Energy Star or just ECM’s being pursued, there is a process, not without effort, that if handled correctly, can deliver positive immediate results. The $29 question is “What proactive steps happen once commissioning has been completed?”
(Click now)
The level of post commissioning management and awareness affects the slope of the entropy line. The better the continuing monitoring and analysis, the closer to horizontal the entropy line will be
Bldg condition details – what if the local utilities reported to the local municipality or DOE on specific building consumption? How about peer group (i.e. BOMA) surveys to compare building performance
Accountability to interested parties – the board, shareholders, local utility, LEED (for recertification). The same Texas legislation requires that these facilities post their consumption on a public web site.
Analysis – whether it’s with people in place, or via 3rd party commissioning agents, analysis will be required to
(Review the first two bullets before clicking for the last one)
Measuring consumption and cost are relatively easy for any BAS worth its weight. Comfort is more difficult to measure
When it gets to comfort, how DO you measure it?
-- Complaint calls?
-- Quantity of complaint calls?
-- What happens when complaint calls go away (possibly because of no response/proper resolution)?
-- How do you know whether a rise in complaint calls is a result of efficiency measures you or a contractor has implemented
A sage in our industry once said .. “What gets measured gets done” “What doesn’t get measured gets ignored”
This is the accounting perspective; the split between costs can vary depending of type of occupancy
This graph is for a single-story, light industrial building in the Southeast. It’s an occupant-owned building
Operational costs rarely consider the cost of occupants and their productivity, the reason energy consuming systems like HVAC and lighting were installed in the first place.
In comparison to all of the normal operating cost considerations, people costs are HUGE. Even if you double the energy costs, it would still only be a very small factor in overall operating costs.
Productivity – given the large cost component, a loss in productivity can have a major impact on the company’s bottom line. Numerous studies have verified that this is case.
Change venues … -- meaning move out, quit their job. Survey after survey by BOMA confirms HVAC comfort issues as a major reason for tenants moving out. For hospitality or retail
The EI
>Provides reporting and analysis
>Addresses to primary performance issues
-- Continuing sustainable building operations
-- Occupant Comfort
In any system, the comfort can be measured by comparing space temperature relative to the heating and cooling zone set points.
Relative comfort can then be graded by assigning a percentage value based on closeness to set point
Our approach uses a system of colors called Thermographs that provide dynamic indication of the condition of all controlled zones
Simple approach using existing data, based on research by ASHRAE and others (*noted at the end of the presentation) regarding human comfort.
Environmental Index is only calculated during occupancy. E.I. is calculated based on how close the space temperature is to the desired space setpoint using the percentage value assigned to the thermographic color above.
Environmental Index can be based just on dry bulb temperature, or incorporate relative humidity, CO2 or other contaminants
Environmental Index is calculated and trended at every zone controller
Example of the impact of Relative Humidity on Environmental Index:
If the Environmental Index is 90% based on dry bulb temperature (color is cyan or yellow), and the Relative Humidity is 38%, then 2 percentage points are deducted from 90, so the Environmental Index equals 88%
Example of the impact of contaminants on Environmental Index like CO2:
If the Zone Environmental Index is 100% based on dry bulb temperature (color is green), Relative Humidity is 50%, but the measured return or zone CO2 exceeds set point by 175ppm, then 25 percentage points are deducted from 100%, so the Environmental Index equals 75%
We provide a “dashboard” within our system that allows easy comparison of the Environmental Index with Building Energy Consumption. This provides visibility and a correlated record of both aspects of building operation.
Remember …
What gets measured, gets done
What doesn’t get measured gets ignored
(First Click) Recalling the early chart, the implementation of the EI is your entropy prevention tool. The EI is a great tool for post installation monitoring of building comfort and the effects of efficiency measures
However, the EI is even a more powerful tool and can be even better utilized if it is implemented at the front end (Second Click) of the process and used to help identify and develop the project list. Starting at the beginning establishes a baseline for post-installation comparative effect on comfort conditions, energy efficiency, and ROI
Ultimately, sustainability (Third Click) is defined in the beginning and is executed on the back end, with the EI providing the necessary accountability and balance to front end ideals established by LEED and Energy Star
Justify the focus of resources by documented need rather than by loudest voice
The logical progression provides balance to the front end load requirements
Operational continuity = sustainability = NO ENTROPY
Accountability – keeps focus on achieving and maintaining a balance between building efficiency and comfort
Documentation – reporting to stake holders, claim rebates, identify improvement areas, certify or recertify LEED and/or Energy Star
