‘TIS THE SEASON TO SAVE ON ENERGY COSTS FOR BUILDING OWNERS AND MANAGERS

The cold winter days have returned once more. As a seasonal favourite for some, as it’s hot chocolate sipping and sweater weather season, building owners and managers may not be as jolly as their energy costs are about to take a hit. Inefficient energy use often heightens during winter due to higher usage as lower temperatures hit, and buildings need to keep occupants warm.

With the cost of heat likely to soar, it’s important to implement a plan to conserve energy during the colder months. Being mindful of your business’ heating performance and expenses during this time is crucial. This ensures energy efficient practices are employed to save on energy costs and maintain comfortable temperatures.

Buildings that are not energy efficient will not only cost more, but also have serious environmental impacts due to increased energy use. With space heating accounting for 36 per cent of energy use in commercial buildings, lowering a building’s energy usage will boost its sustainability, translating to lower energy bills and a cleaner footprint. So, how can a building manager meet their energy efficiency targets? You guessed it, a high-performance HVAC system.

SAVE MORE WITH HVAC

HVAC systems are responsible for a large amount of energy use in most residential and commercial buildings. Regular HVAC systems account for 39% of a commercial building’s energy consumption, and that figure will likely increase in the coming years.

It can be a challenge to find the right building energy management practice that prioritizes occupant comfort. However, efficiency and comfort are not competing goals. Understanding your building’s energy consumption breakdown through HVAC optimization permits the application of smart strategies for improving efficiency, while keeping occupants comfortable.

Implementing high performing HVAC systems like Ecopilot helps to ensure your building’s energy consumption is under control. As the system works in real-time to introduce paid energy only as needed, it ensures occupants are toasty all while saving energy.

For example, below is a snapshot of a live building under Ecopilot’s intelligent control who just turned on their boilers.

The heating loop providing heat to the building is following the boiler temperature. This is a costly issue because the heating loop three-way valve is not modulating and has seized open over the summer months. Ecopilot was able to point this deficiency out almost immediately, saving an immeasurable amount of energy had this gone on unnoticed.

While Ecopilot can provide autonomous energy savings, it’s important to check for these occurrences we’ve commonly noticed that use more energy than necessary:

• Make sure your heating loop valve isn’t passing
• Make sure ramp heaters aren’t running
• Check for any building overrides

DON’T BREAK THE BANK THIS WINTER

As we settle into the heating season, your building does not have to be a victim of soaring energy costs. Optimizing on energy consumption through high-performance HVAC systems helps to meet three main concerns within your building’s operations: improving operational efficiency, achieving financial savings, and offering the best occupant experience. An energy efficient building is a sustainable building, both financially and environmentally, and that’s a win-win in our books.