Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal — Green Buildings — December 20, 2013 - January 16, 2014 — 15B
www.marejournal.com
G reen B uildings
s the cost of energy con- tinues to rise, so does the cost of operating By Timothy D. Ward, P.E., Limbach Engineering & Design Svcs As the cost of energy continues to rise, so does the cost of operating a building A
Creating the perfect environment
• MEP Design • Sprinkler Design • Commissioning • Energy Conservation and incentives
conditioning is left operating all night. Once the time clock is defeated, there is no incen- tive to reactivate this simple energy-conserving device. Newer buildings are provid- ed with more complex energy conserving systems. This can include anything from heat re- covery systems to sophisticated control sequences. When prob- lems arise with these systems, untrained maintenance per- sonnel find ways to make the occupants feel comfortable. No one calls maintenance to com- plain that the drive belt failed on the heat recovery system. Once these systems fail, they
usually stay that way. Existing building owners need a professional partner to develop an energy conservation strategy. Although there are many companies emerging to develop these programs, many energy conservation efforts are doomed to failure if not main- tained properly. To really solve their energy problems, building owners need to partner with companies that have technical engineering expertise, dedi- cated construction personnel, and experienced maintenance technicians. An energy program for an Continued on page 19B
a building. Ec o n omi c s and energy conservation are coming together and creating a fo- cus for build- ing owners to respond.
PO Box 782, Voorhees, NJ 08043 P: 856-988-1890 Email: info@gilbeauxassociates.com www.gilbeauxassociates.com Contact: Jeff Gilbeaux
Timothy Ward
Many energy conserving up- grades and retrofits that were not cost effective just a few years ago now make financial sense. With the high attention to energy conservation projects, many companies are emerging to aid building owners. But, this may not be the best avenue to reduce energy costs. New construction projects have incorporated sustain- ability and energy reduction technologies to reduce future energy costs of operating build- ings and reduce their impact on the environment. However, these new build- ings are only a small fraction of the energy consumers. Con- sider all of the existing build- ings where energy performance is poor. The energy consump- tion of existing buildings far exceeds that of new buildings being constructed. Serious reductions in global energy use can only be achieved when conditions of existing buildings are addressed. The cost of energy has been rising gradually in recent years. The cost of electricity has doubled in less than 10 years. The cost of natural gas has more than tripled. Recent rapid increases to record high oil and gasoline prices have increased the attention on all energy sources and brought attention to operating costs of existing buildings. The majority of existing building energy use is related to heating, ventilating, cooling and lighting. These systems tend to use more energy as the building increases in age. Complacency in maintaining these systems and complex energy conserving features that may have been installed are defeated. The most energy efficient and simple systemwithin a building is the time clock. You can’t save any more energy than turning the system off. However, this is the energy conservation feature that is most defeated. No one complains when the air
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