Green Building Blog

In a recent study, The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (www.aceee.org) found that “Commercial buildings could save up to $60 billion if investments in energy efficiency were ramped up by just 1-4%.”

When I was interviewed a year and a half ago and posted this blog in advance of my talk at NFMT Vegas 2014, there weren’t many companies promoting, or providing, building energy management information systems. Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) and Building Automation systems (BAS) were definitely part of the conversation, but there wasn’t much out there at that time about Building Energy Management Information Systems (BEMIS). Today they are becoming increasingly popular, and it’s easy to see why.

A quality BEMIS will have a software-based front end that can run reports as well as conduct diagnostic testing and provide a clear picture of the building’s performance – through easy-to-understand visuals.  And today’s BEMIS does more than simply offer reports. It provides feedback, incorporating the tools and reporting capabilities from the BAS as well as fault detection, diagnostic tools and automated system optimization technologies.

If you’re like most businesses or building owners, saving money is a priority for 2016. Costs are going up in many areas of doing business, especially in human resources (salaries), benefits (health care), technology (computer and system upgrades), and deferred maintenance issues that now have to be addressed.

...And three you may already be doing

As property managers begin to prepare for potentially another cold winter, many have started questioning their current building operations’ energy efficiency. Rising energy costs, aging infrastructure, and inefficient mechanical equipment have piled up to create an operations system in desperate need of repair.

“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: