Energy Management
Energy-efficiency
concerns remain a top priority for institutional and commercial organizations.
Managers are ramping up their efforts to find savings related to heating,
ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, including chillers, boilers,
and air-handling components and lighting. Among the proven strategies at
managers’ disposal for achieving cost savings is through Energy Management.
Determining the Scope
Energy Management is a process intended to
systematically identify the most wasteful inefficiencies. After a building is
constructed and occupied, it is common for energy use and costs to increase as
the building ages. This happens sooner for some facilities than others,
depending on the original design, quality of construction, attentiveness to the
test and balance process, original commissioning efforts, and level of maintenance.
An energy management system (EMS) controls how
energy is consumed in a building and how building equipment operates.
EMSs may vary widely in
sophistication, ranging from simple digital thermostats to systems comprised of
multiple, networked controllers that can be programmed to provide any
imaginable Energy-saving sequence.
Energy Audit
Energy
audit is an effective energy management tool. Energy audits are primarily
based
on the analysis of the data collected from the equipment. By identifying and
implementing the means to achieve energy efficiency and conservation, not only
can energy saving be achieved but also equipment/system service life also can
be extended. All these means “SAVING OF MONEY”.
The
process of energy audit involves the following steps;
1. Defining
scope of Audit: Recognizing the extend of support from the building
management the scope of work for energy management is taken in to account such
as the areas/systems to be audited. Level of sophistication for audit etc.
2.
Collecting Building Information: All relevant technical information related
to the building equipment, services, structure etc is taken in to account for
conducting energy audit.
3.
Conducting site Inspections and measurement: A site inspection is conducted
and all the strategic measuring points are taken in to consideration for
various systems and equipments, structure etc.
4. Analyzing
data collected: All the collected information is analyzed and
recommendations are derived based on the data analysis for achieving the
potential energy saving.
Energy
Management opportunities
Once the collected data is
analyzed after a in depth study and calculations on all the detailed building
systems and services energy management opportunities are identified and a
report is generated for the client which consist of recommendations for
improving the services/equipment performance. The report also consist of
estimated cost for the recommendations to be implemented and period for return
on investment is also provided.
