Manufacturers Best Practice Guide
Planning an Energy Program: Energy Audits
Establish Baseline Data by Conducting an Energy Audit and Benchmarking
Before tackling any energy efficiency measures, take time to establish baseline data about current energy usage. Without baseline data, energy managers have no way to know a facility's potential for saving resources, both financial and natural. You will also need this information in order to benchmark your facilities and equipment.
Energy Audits
An energy audit first identifies how energy is used in a facility, and then recommends ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. In practice, there is wide variance among the different levels of energy audits available.
- Walk-through Assessment: Energy bills are analyzed and, possibly, a brief visual survey of the facility is conducted. The subsequent report identifies no-cost and low-cost opportunities.
- Energy Survey and Analysis: A more detailed analysis is conducted, including a breakdown of how energy is used within the building. Recommendations consider an owner's operations and maintenance constraints, economic criteria as well as state and national standards. Potential capital-intensive opportunities are identified in the final report for further research and analysis. This is the typical level of audit.
- Detailed Analysis of Capital-Intensive Modifications (Investment-grade Audit): This analysis focuses on capital-intensive opportunities and provides a higher degree of monitoring, data collection and engineering analysis. The report includes detailed cost and savings information with a high level of confidence sufficient for major capital investment decisions, and may include a reasonable timeline for implementation of each recommendation.
Local utilities, as well as water agencies, are valuable partners for energy audits and a source for incentives and rebates. The utilities can arrange for one of their engineers to assist with an energy audit, or can recommend third-party providers in your area. The utilities also have tool lending libraries that provide testing equipment, such as portable meters and diagnostic software. For more information visit Flex Your Power's Incentives and Rebates finder.
Remember that certain problems only occur during a particular time or season, so time energy audits accordingly. For example, if you decide to upgrade chiller equipment that underperforms in warm weather, be sure to schedule the energy audit during summer months so that engineers can test it in the appropriate conditions.
Tracking energy usage to establish a baseline
The easiest way to establish baseline data is to make a statistical comparison of energy use over time. Most of the information needed will already be in hand.
Main data streams to record are:
- Total demand, peak demand and rate schedule - available from your local utility
- Production output
- Hours of operation
- Facility location (for climatic information)
- List of energy-intensive equipment and operating schedules, with a record of any changes to equipment or operations
- Degree-day data, especially for facilities with central HVAC, refrigeration or process cooling, available from online sources such as the ,National Climate Data Center
- Occupancy levels and schedules (including after-hour cleaning and maintenance crews)
Data collection with an EMS
An energy management system (EMS) can track hundreds of individual data points, quickly overwhelming the end user with too much information. One way to help focus information is to create key performance indicators, and then track relevant data points relating to these indicators.
EMSs are evolving at a rapid rate, becoming ever more sophisticated, comprehensive and virtual. In addition to general facility management, EMSs are being utilized as key management tools for data centers, laboratories and clean rooms, where sensitivity to particular factors of heat, air pressure and air quality are necessary.
Advanced Metering and Sub-metering
Advanced meters and sub-meters further facilitate data collection and are particularly valuable for operations with several energy-intensive equipment systems. Instead of a single meter for the entire facility, each equipment system should be metered and measured. This shows energy managers which systems use the most energy and can help identify any equipment malfunction causing spikes in energy use. Advanced meters also provide real-time information that can be reconciled with utility bills. For businesses that participate in demand bidding programs, real-time information is the only way to be sure a facility has reached its reduction targets.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is simply comparing your company's energy performance against others in the same industrial sub-sector. Benchmarking can happen on many different levels: from company-wide savings, to benchmarking particularly facilities, down to assessing specific types of motors or cooling systems. The more specific the benchmarking is, the more information you have available to determine what needs to be addressed in a general plan. Most industrial and manufacturing facilities can still take advantage of free commercial benchmarking programs such as ENERGY STAR's Portfolio Manager.
Leading by Example: Cisco Systems
Designing and building environmentally sensitive, cost-efficient facilities benefits Cisco, but it's only part of the conservation equation. For facilities to have a positive environmental and financial impact, constant monitoring and behavioral change is required. "It's essential to communicate and coordinate with employees and business units to show them the value of conservation. We make it clear that conservation should not affect product quality or compromise business interests. Our message to employees is that it is good business to use energy efficiently," says Sheikh Nayeem.
Cisco is providing continuing training to its Building Automation System engineers to keep the HVAC, electrical, and lighting systems operating at their optimum level. By reviewing energy use audits constantly, Cisco adapts conservation measures and building control systems to optimize energy use.
They are also encouraging employees to save energy by switching off equipment in offices, labs and data centers when not in use. One easy way Cisco has reduced energy use across the company is by programming computer monitors to shut down after 10 minutes of inactivity. A high level of energy use measurement and monitoring has led to millions in savings and a