20B — July 25 - August 14, 2014 — Green Buildings — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
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G reen B uildings
Markets we serve: Commercial Industrial Residential
ost commercial and industrial customers chose a solar electric By Dennis Wilson, EnerSave, Inc. What’s the right size for your solar electric system? M
Electrical Contractors State, Municipal & Government Hospital & Institutions Property Management & Hospitality Products we offer: Wire, Pipe, Fittings & Wiring Devices Switchgear, Panelboards, Motor Controls & Motors Lighting & replacement Lamps LED Retrofits, Fixtures and other Energy Efficient Products Sub-Metering Equipment Meters, Tools & Ladders Safety Devices & Equipment Fire Alarms, Smoke Detectors & Burglar Alarms Generators Services we offer: On time Deliveries to meet customer requirements 24/7 Emergency Response Inventory Management Project quotes Lighting & Energy Audits Customer Training
ment every cost effective energy efficiency measure to reduce electric consumption perma- nently before deciding what size solar system is appropriate for their future electric needs. Thismeans first exploring light- ing upgrades with advanced fluorescent or LED fixtures with sensors to dim or shut off lighting in areas when they become unoccupied. When LED fixtures replace HID that oper- ates continually during the day, the new LED fixtures can be programmed to shut off as soon as one minute after an area is unoccupied, producing 80+% reductions in electric consump-
tion for those areas that are not continually occupied. Most lighting efficiency projects save their installed cost in one to four years, yielding a ROI of 25% to 100%. Daylight sensing will save additional electricity by dimming or shutting off lighting fixtures that are near windows or skylights during the hours when natural light is available. Heating and air conditioning systems are next in line for up- grading or replacement to lower energy costs.Newhighefficiency air conditioning units can have EER ratings 50% to 75% higher than old units, greatly reducing energy consumption to provide the same level of climate condi- tioning. If a building has large central systems for heating and cooling, the fan and pump motors should be equipped with Variable frequency Drives (VFDs), whichwill save electric- ity by modulating their motor speed to match the changing cooling or heating load of the building. If the existing motors are standard efficiency, they should be replaced with high ef- ficiency motors when the VFDs are installed. Upgrades to the building shell to improve its thermal efficiency may involve windowreplacement, the instal- lation of infrared reflective win- dow film on existing windows or increasing insulation values. A fewexamples illustratewhy commercial customers should upgrade their existing lighting before determining their future electric needs to be supplied by a solar system. 1. The warehouse of an im- porter of fabrics had tradition- ally used about 300,000 kWh per annum, and was under con- tract to have their Metal Halide fixtures replaced with high bay fluorescent fixtures with oc- cupancy sensors. The customer hadproposals fromseveral solar companies for a 250 KW solar system. RPI determined that the lighting upgrade would reduce the customer’s electric consump- tion by over 60%, and specified a 110 KW solar system. After more than a year of operation of the new lighting fixtures and the solar system, the customer is purchasing from their local utility only 13%of the electricity that had been prior to the two projects and reduced their solar investment by $300,000. 2. A 75,000 s/f two year old warehouse had installed six lamp fluorescent fixtures with occupancy sensors to shut off continued on page 21B
system size basedon their h i s t o r i c a l electricusage, and install as large a solar systemaswill fit on their roof or avail- able ground
455 Third Street Jersey City, NJ 07302 Ph: 201-653-1613 Fx: 201-653-5470 Bob Kilroy bkilroy@Jewelelectric.com
Dennis Wilson
space. This decision process is putting the proverbial, “Cart before the Horse” in regard to energy efficiency. Commercial, warehouse and institutional customers should instead imple-
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Commercial Lighting E ciency Specialists Energy Cost & Maintenance Savings Typical Payback After Rebate less than 3 years 100% Financing Available Cost e ective LED Lighting solutions CALL NOW Serving NY, NJ, PA, CT and LI 973-854-9365 x 211 FREE NO COST LIGHTING EFFICIENCY AUDIT & COMPREHENSIVE PROPOSAL
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