Crystal Lake, Illinois – According to the Department of Energy (DOE), buildings are the single largest consumer of energy in the world. Quite a fact. With energy and electricity costs escalating, Property Managers, Building and Business Owners are tasked to drive cost out – not absorb an increase. There are ways to significantly and sustainably lower energy cost.

It all starts with metrics and “The Numbers”.

Building owners will not invest to make their building more energy efficient if either the energy solution does not work or the financial payback does not compare favorably with investment returns from other projects.

As a DOE Energy Star Partner, we know all the ways to diagnose, develop and install energy efficiency solutions.  We understand that each building has different conditions, the owners have their priorities, and that the effectiveness and financial returns will be different for each building. That is why each building is individually audited & modeled so a number of measures can be prescribed to determine outcomes, available incentives and financial returns.

So what are the common measures for commercial building energy efficiency? What works and what does not?  What solves the priorities of the building owner? It all starts with a qualified energy audit and modeling from energy management software such as eQuest. This tells us where to go, like a road map – a numbers roadmap.

The numbers will tell you if the building envelope needs tightened up or the air circulation needs modified.  The numbers will also indicate if HVAC systems need upgraded or controls need to be installed. Another part of building systems is the lighting. The numbers for upgrading lighting systems are very impressive.

Lighting in the United States

The chart above indicates the consumption of lighting by sector in the United States. Source: Department of Energy.

The United States accounts for approximately 20 percent of the world’s total electricity consumption for lighting at an annual cost of over $40 billion.

This chart displays lighting technology by sector and is from the Department of Energy.

Within each sector, different lighting technologies consume the majority of the lighting energy.

Where Lighting Is Headed

Over the next 10 years, incandescent lamp sales will decline rapidly, but will not disappear totally. There are many types of specialty incandescent lamps that will be exempt from the regulatory bans.

Even for banned lamp types, inventory will last for some time. Linear fluorescent T8 and T5 lamps will become the leading technology during the middle of the decade. They offer very good efficacy and life at very reasonable prices and are being put into service in more and more applications. Very few new T12 fixtures are being sold, but it will still be a number of years before the entire installed base has been changed out.

This chart displays the forecast for lamps for the United States by technology across all Sectors: commercial, industrial, and outdoor stationary.

Real World Numbers

The following chart and Summary is from a recent situation for a school building in Chicago, Illinois.

Category Original System Upgraded System Savings
Annual Energy Cost $15,704 $4,344 $11,360
Annual Cost of Ownership $31,256 $4,344 $26,912
Cost of Ownership over life of LED bulbs $593,388 $82,547 $510,841
Incentives from Utility Company — $34,000 —
Investment after applicable incentives — $49,844 —
Time period to recover investment — 20 months —

This chart is from a recent situation for a school building in Chicago, Illinois

Incentives

Incentives, currently in the marketplace from the utility companies can play a major factor to reduce the total cost of a project. An energy firm has to keep abreast of all the sources and constant changes. This is a key part of any relationship so do your homework!  In addition the Federal Government offers some very generous incentives of $.60 to $1.80 per sq ft.  An energy audit is required to qualify.

Conclusion

For lighting upgrades, the numbers do add up.  It passes the test of effectiveness and there are very few projects where a building owner can make an investment and recover the money in this short of time period.  After that time period, the building cost of operations dropped by 86 percent and saves over $500,000. It takes an energy services firm to be qualified.  Qualification include, the ability to conduct certified audits, be a trade ally to facilitate local and regional incentives and install energy solutions according to ASHRAE and other national building standards.

Written by Anthony Stonis, Building Energy Experts

This paper is written by Building Energy Experts as part of a continuing series to educate constituents by bringing building science techniques to solve real world situations.  Building Energy Experts is an energy management and services firm that is uniquely qualified to diagnose, distribute, consult and implement sustainable cost reducing solutions. A proud member of the Department of Energy “Energy Star” team and Trade Ally to ComEd electric utility. Located in Crystal Lake, Illinois. To learn more, visit www.buildingenergyexperts.com or call toll free: (888) 623-3769.

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