FMs are Aggressive with Energy Savings

More and more facility managers are implementing recommissioning and energy audits to measure and improve their buildings' energy performance, according to a new survey published by Potomac, MD-based FMLink, the Washington, D.C.-based Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Intl., the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Reston, VA-based Association for Facility Engineers (AFE).

The survey, which was sent to more than 30,000 individuals, also found that most energy-savings successes were the result of aggressive, low-cost, operational strategies rather than major capital projects; however, such capital projects are one of the big items scheduled for action in the coming year.

Other key findings include:

More than three-quarters of the buildings greater than 50,000 square feet had building-automation systems (BASs). Eighty-seven (87) percent of those with more than 600,000 square feet had BASs. Most of the respondents who experienced a greater-than-5-percent energy savings over the past 2 years had implemented a BAS.
Respondents who underwent building recommissioning two or more times a year had significantly more energy savings over the past 2 years than those who had not.
Forty-one (41) percent of building operating plans included a professionally developed energy-strategies staff education program. Just under 12 percent of respondents said they plan to implement such a plan in the next 12 months.
Fifty-nine (59) percent of respondents have occupancy sensors in their general office space.
Nine (9) percent of the buildings had some form of green certification (mostly ENERGY STAR® or LEED); however, a majority said they plan to obtain some aspect of green certification in the future.
Seventy-three (73) percent of all buildings greater than 50,000 square feet have had an energy audit. Conversely, 63 percent of those under 25,000 square feet did not have an audit.
For respondents that had an energy audit, the most common recommendations to come from the audit were lighting upgrades and HVAC upgrade/replacement (chiller, air-handling unit, boiler, pumps, outside air). For those with buildings smaller than 50,000 square feet, weather stripping and insulation recommendations were frequently mentioned.
Overall, the respondents averaged energy savings of 5 to 10 percent over the past 2 years. Fifty-seven (57) percent of those respondents measured their savings through the money expended on utilities, energy consumed, or their ENERGY STAR score.
Sixty-six (66) percent of respondents indicated that they do not have a green lease; however, 55 percent of respondents do provide their tenants with an operations manual that includes good energy-management practices.
When asked what they plan to upgrade, install, or replace over the next year, respondents said: minor repairs or corrective maintenance (37 percent), HVAC equipment (30 percent), variable-frequency drives (23 percent), and ongoing recommissioning (21 percent).

"From offering the latest industry education to implementing energy audits to applying effective low-cost operational strategies - property professionals are doing what it takes to save energy and reduce costs," says BOMA Intl. Chair and CEO Richard D. Purtell.