“How to Turn Your Existing Building into a High Performance Facility” is one of the most popular talks I give around the country, internationally and in webinars. Why? It works. There are many complicated and expensive fixes you can make to improve the performance of your existing building. And if you’re thinking about them, then you probably should do them. By the way, no self-respecting contractor should make any of those without a proper ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Audit. (For more on that see About Energy Audits.)
There are also many small changes you can make that will make a big difference. We call this “reducing building energy use with proper operations and maintenance (O&M).” Most people think about the typical “low-hanging fruit” like lighting, sensors, making sure systems are turned off when they’re supposed to be, etc. People often overlook these three areas: