Category Archives: Energy Efficiency

Give Your Energy Systems An Annual Checkup

Going to the doctor for your annual check-up is smart because even if you feel well, the examination can catch problems before they become serious. One certainly would like to know and take small steps to control high blood pressure or cholesterol which you may not “feel”. Similarly, your operational systems, and specifically those involved in energy may appear to be operating well. You press the ON button, and the equipment works. However, energy systems degenerate over time and they need regular check-ups to not only continue reliable operation, but also to know when to replace them.

Why you need to check on your energy system regularly:

Hard work and time. Your systems that use energy, like your boilers, chillers, etc., work hard, over long periods of time. And in most cases, under far from ideal situations, such as high temperatures. Assume that even though they are operating proficiently (delivering to you the heating, cooling, light, mechanical power you need), that they lose efficiency and effectiveness over time. Therefore, it is a good idea to give your systems an annual checkup every year by a professional in the field. Ensure that the components of the equipment are still in good operating shape and there is minimal degradation. Besides the individual components looking and operating properly, look into the system as a whole. Is it working together effectively? This includes controls. Your equipment should be operating well together with one another. Again, the annual check should include runs of your entire system with proper monitoring readings to ensure that not only is the ultimate job done by the equipment (i.e., heat or cool a space, etc.), but that the individual components are regulating matters properly. Therefore, for a boiler system, one needs to monitor temperature, air and fuel feed rates, O2 and CO2 levels to ensure all is in order.

Your changing needs. You purchased that equipment for certain anticipated needs. Are these assumptions still true? Did the growth that, perhaps, you planned for come through? Perhaps you even contracted (certainly true for many in the age of COVID). And of course, changes in operation must be implemented suddenly (also, in many cases, because of COVID). So therefore, it may be necessary to change the way you operate equipment to adjust for changes. Is your equipment ready to change its operation to adjust to necessary changes? This is another reason to have a “checkup”.

Why wait for a checkup? Monitor key activities. Nobody wants to be poked with needles to take blood and all. But are there devices to monitor key factors to indicate potential problems even before a checkup? Consider installing technologies to monitor factors, such as fuel usage and energy generation continually throughout the year to assess the effectiveness of your equipment. This can enable you to perform repairs or replacements of certain equipment before they “go down”, which always seem to happen when we least can afford it, right? This is another example of an investment to reduce the risk of problems and failures down the road like regular health checkups achieve, as well.

So as the heating season is wrapping up, consider giving your equipment a “checkup” shortly and take a holistic view of that system one takes for granted, the equipment that uses energy to supply, heating, cooling, light, movement, etc.

CCES has the experts to help you manage your energy systems, whether it is auditing to determine ways to save energy usage and cost or the upkeep of your equipment. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

New Commercial Designs In Response To COVID-19

Of course, we all know that “necessity is the mother of invention.” COVID-19 has certainly caused a need for new or redeveloped commercial space that reduces the transmission and health risks of COVID-19 and potential future viruses and bacteria. In addition, with the realization during the pandemic that people can work as effectively remotely, commercial building owners must be able to demonstrate why a centralized office setting is still critical for growth. Therefore, several New York City developers are currently addressing these issues with newly constructed or redeveloped spaces or buildings soon to hit the market.

One example is combining buildings to give tenants more space to spread staff out to allow social distancing. This example will also invest in enlarging elevator banks and elevators, as that is seen as a bottleneck in terms of office employees getting to their desks. Traditionally-sized elevators can be ideal for virus/bacteria transmission, so larger ones are needed. Additional changes being implemented include larger stairwells, individual washrooms, and outdoor terraces.

Another example is the renovation of an old retail store to an office complex that will host a school to train young people in the high-tech skills of the tenants elsewhere in the building. Staff can assist in training without leaving the building. Entering this building will be a touchless experience with personal phone apps signaling the elevators needed to get to the right location.

Another item that developers are considering and instituting is additional bicycle parking and showers, anticipating the biking trend will continue after the return to “normal”.

Another item being instituted is the return to something seen in old buildings and that is every floor having and operating its own heating and air conditioning system so that no air is circulated with other floors to temper spread of viruses. The trend of the last few decades of centralized air circulation may be ending. Each tenant is free to add MERV filters or a bipolar ionization system if they wish.

Another potential trend is the “groundscaper”, a low-to-the-ground building that stretches an entire block to minimize time in elevators and spread staff out on the same floor for easier communication.

CCES is not an architectural firm or construction contractor, but we have the experts to help your firm assess the climate change and sustainability factors and optimize them for your benefit, including reducing your carbon footprint and improving worker satisfaction and productivity. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

USEPA Announces 2020 ENERGY STAR Top Cities

The USEPA recently unveiled its annual ENERGY STAR Top Cities list of 2020, showing which US metro areas earned the most ENERGY STAR-certified buildings in 2019. They ranked the Top 25 Cities overall, the Top 10 Mid-Size Cities, and the Top 10 Small Cities. See: https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/topcities

In 2019, the USEPA updated its ENERGY STAR scoring models to make them more stringent, partially as they reflected the improved energy performance of the overall US commercial buildings. ENERGY STAR scores are based on a 0 to 100 median system. Despite the more stringent criteria, over 5,600 buildings earned ENERGY STAR certification. According to the USEPA, they saved over $1.4 billion in energy costs and prevented the emissions of nearly 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. The tough standards caused a number of previously ENERGY STAR-certified buildings to drop out of ENERGY STAR status, as many dropped below the criteria of 75. The USEPA noted that many such buildings went on to incorporate upgrades to enable them to go back over 75 again and bring back their ENERGY STAR status.

Los Angeles earned 1st place with 546 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings. Washington, D.C. finished in 2nd place; San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and New York came in 3rd through 7th place this year, the latter with 200 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings in 2019.

Among mid-sized US cities, the top 5 ENERGY STAR metropolitan cities were San Jose, CA, Provo, UT, Des Moines, IA, Raleigh, NC, and Louisville, KY with 274 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings between them. The top small US city was Jackson, MI, with 50 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings by itself, 1 building for every 670 people. These buildings saved their owners over $1.1 million in energy costs.

In total, nationally, since 1999, over 36,000 buildings have earned ENERGY STAR certification. Their energy upgrade projects implemented to earn the award has brought their owners significant, continual energy costs savings for many years.

CCES has the experts to assess whether your building may already merit the ENERGY STAR award. If it does not meet the criteria, we can recommend strategies to be more energy efficient and earn the award, what each strategy costs, and what the cost savings will be. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

IRS Section 179D Tax Deduction For Energy Upgrades Made Permanent

It took some time, but Congress finally passed and the President signed into law the permanent extension of IRS Code Section 179D as part of the recent COVID relief bill. Owners of commercial buildings can again and permanently receive federal tax deductions for approved, successful energy upgrades. See: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:26%20section:179D%20edition:prelim)

Section 179D first went into being in 2006, offering federal tax deductions for commercial building owners who implement upgrades of interior lighting, building envelope, and/or HVAC systems, at a rate of $1.80 per square foot (sf) for all three or $0.60 per sf for any one of these. The code lapsed at certain points and Congress was slow to reauthorize it several times, resulting in gap years during which such deductions were unavailable and general confusion about its effectiveness. In recent years, this federal tax deduction for energy upgrades was not in effect.

However, effective now the $1.80 per sf tax deduction for energy upgrades is permanent, will not need to be reauthorized, and will grow each year by the inflation rate. This tax deduction is available to owners of existing commercial buildings who upgrade the interior lighting, building envelope, or HVAC systems that reduce the building’s total energy and power cost by 50% or more in comparison to the minimum requirements set by ASHRAE 90.1-2001 (for buildings and systems placed in service before January 1, 2016) or 90.1-2007 (for such buildings and systems after that date). Energy savings must be modeled and calculated using approved software. See: https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/qualified-software-calculating-commercial-building-tax-deductions Federal tax deductions of up to $0.60 per sf are available to building owners which meet the criteria for any one of these three areas. And this tax deduction is retroactive to upgrades that occurred before the 179D was reauthorized.

In addition, the ASHRAE standard for which a reduction will be compared will change. A project will be compared to the ASHRAE standard that was in existence 2 years prior to the start of construction.

For more information on Section 179D and any potential tax deduction, speak to your tax professional. CCES has the experts to perform the technical elements of an energy upgrade that may be eligible for the Section 179D tax deductions. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

3 Overlooked Areas To Maintain Proactive Systems

Last month, I wrote that having a viable energy program is like going to the doctor. The general practitioner may not solve your problem, but he/she will tell you if you may have a problem which should be addressed early on. Catch a potential problem and solve it before it becomes serious and costly. Have as a goal for 2021 the practice of examining your energy and/or environmental compliance program – even if they seem to be functioning fine and shows you are in control. Such a review may reveal problems that will only get worse, risky for compliance, and costly in the future, if not addressed. Therefore, pay attention and react to:

• Process changes. Even a small change in one area or a need to make more of a certain product in another can have significant impacts on energy and environmental compliance. Many changes in processes impact environmental compliance. For example, changes made to the procedures to make certain chemicals to, say, reduce water usage, may result in changes in emissions of critical air toxics or changes to energy usage. These need to be estimated and, if necessary, modify applicable permits and determine whether compliance is maintained and additional (or saved) energy usage. All probable process changes or new equipment should be evaluated for environmental compliance and energy usage. This should not only go for process changes at the individual step level, but larger impacts, too, such as the number of batches of compound run. While you may focus on controlling big energy or greenhouse gas emitting processes, using a “run of the mill” process more can net out significant reductions made elsewhere, costing you much.

• Regulatory and policy changes. It is tempting to keep your energy and environmental compliance systems which are working well, at the status quo. But things change, and one of the things that affects either the most are new or revised regulations. So, make the time to follow regulatory changes in your jurisdiction. However, do not just follow new regulations, but also new policies and cultural changes that affect requirements and agency or public expectations.

• Technology and infrastructure. It is important to keep up with changes in technology or applications to assure the ongoing effectiveness of your environmental compliance or energy program. Keep track of not only new equipment and its uses, but also their complex relationships to determine potential upheavals when it comes to environmental compliance and energy usage. New technologies are usually “cleaner” than the ones being replaced, but not always so or not in all aspects (for example, some, while reducing air toxic emissions, may use more energy). So perform a thorough analysis of how it affects your current permits and energy usage.

Over time, developing a system to monitor changes in these seemingly “innocuous” areas can help strengthen your environmental compliance and energy systems and ensure that your facility does not unknowingly float into non-compliance or suddenly raise energy usage that might result in shortfalls or higher costs.

CCES has the experts to help you strengthen your environmental and energy systems to detect issues before they become costly and risky. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

And the Winner for 2020 Is (Drumroll): Science

I think most people would agree that 2020 was the worst year of our lives. With the exception of some who served in war or dealt with death or suffering, this year was very bad for most of us. We had the largest pandemic in a century kill over 1.6 million people worldwide so far (as I write this), 18% of which live in this country (even though the US has only 4% of the world’s population), in what is supposed to be the world’s most advanced nation. We are in a massive recession coming from the pandemic, causing millions to lose their jobs. According to Fortune Magazine, nearly 100,000 US businesses shut down permanently for reasons related to the pandemic – and that was still in September. We had huge forest fires in the US West – the largest and most intense in recorded history and the largest number of serious storms ever around the Gulf. Plus, we had very contentious and polarizing political races, which certainly upset and depressed many people. A huge whammy of serious problems, if there ever existed.

I don’t mean to talk politics here, but I think the vast majority of us can agree that the leadership to combat these problems at the national level was mediocre to be charitable and really poor. President Trump failed to acknowledge many problems and address them to at least make a dent in them. Nobody could expect of any leader to achieve zero deaths from COVID-19 or no named storms in a year. But instead Trump pretty much ignored the many problems the US had to confront because he saw he could not get a full, quick, and complete victory. So he wished them away and hoped to de-emphasize their impact on the public.

His was leadership by intimidation. And in many cases, it worked. There was solid evidence he committed convictable crimes, yet at his impeachment trial, he used intimidation to keep his party’s Senators in line to acquit. He used Twitter to attack good people who, in almost all cases, accepted their smearing and firing or ended up defending their attacker. What I found particularly amazing was Trump’s humiliation and firing of Jeff Sessions, the first mainstream Republican to support him. He might not have become President without him. But when Sessions made the proper decision to recuse himself from an investigation, Trump not only fired him, but belittled and sullied his name so badly that he could not run successfully in his home state again.

But we learned in 2020 that leadership by intimidation has its limits. President Trump could not bully the coronavirus into submission. He could not intimidate massive storms and wildfires to be less severe or not form or spread. Trump could not control – in fact, he was ultimately controlled by – science. Science prevailed and broke the norms he wanted of life and was the ultimate winner in 2020 – to our pain and detriment ultimately, of course.

So a lessen we should learn for 2021 is to respect nature and let us harness the power and knowledge of science for the better for all. There are some good signs. The new COVID-19 task force that President-elect Biden has put together and appears to empower is composed of top notch physicians and scientists and appears to be ready to make decisions based on knowledge of how viruses spread, proliferate, and do damage, not wishing it go away. The new Administration said it will re-enlist the US in the Paris Climate Accords to lead the world in addressing Climate Change based on knowledge and science and will try (within democratic constraints) to pass regulations and incentives to bring down greenhouse gas emissions, which science has demonstrated is its cause and not keep our heads in the sand and ignore the problem. And turn clean, efficient energy into economic prosperity, which it can do. Let’s all hope and support this approach!

CCES has the technical experts that use the best science and knowledge of technology to help your firm prosper when it comes to energy management, usage and reducing waste and to environmental stewardship. We can help you harness the power of knowledge to maximize your bottom line benefits. Talk to us on how we can help you. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

Have a healthy, safe, prosperous, and more knowledge-based 2021 for you, your loved ones, and your companies from CCES!

Variable Frequency Drives Will Save

One area of energy waste is something that a lot of people take for granted. One goes out and buys a fan or motor or it is included in equipment to move air or liquid so that an operation works, whether it is an AC unit or industrial process. We buy it, install it, and don’t think much about it. It works. However, there are several issues:

  • Most fans and motors work on an all on/all off system. It is either working at full load or is turned off. What if operations do not need that much power? You have no choice. The fan or motor operates at the design speed only.
  • To adjust flow, reduce the valve opening. But that takes work to regulate and, as important, the motor is still using extra energy above what is needed.
  • It gets worse. Pumps and fans are often overdesigned (by well-meaning engineers) commonly by 15 to 20%, resulting in even greater energy waste.
  • And also, wasted energy is often in the form of vibrations or dissipated heat, which reduces equipment life and increases maintenance costs.

It is like driving a car that goes so fast that you have to step on the break constantly to get to where you want to go. Wasted energy.

The fix for this problem is to anticipate the highest flow you need, procure a pump or fan whose maximum power meets that flow, and ensure it has a variable frequency drive (VFD) to enable it to operate at lower power during reduced needs with the valve kept fully open. Electricity reductions of over 50% have been achieved. In addition, many utilities offer incentives for some fraction of the capital cost of equipment with motors with VFDs for purchasing and using them.

And this fix particularly makes economic sense because the capital cost of a new motor with a VFD is relatively low (58% of a pump’s life cycle cost is energy usage). So a small increase in capital cost to bring energy costs down goes a long way.

In assessing opportunities to reduce energy usage and cost at your company, space, or building, consider equipment that contains and uses fans and motors, invest in assessing whether it is overdesigned, and replace equipment or just the motor with a new one, right-sized, containing a VFD for good cost savings.

CCES has the experts to help you assess your energy usage and develop energy conservations methods to help you save significant energy usage, peak demand, and costs. We also project manage to help ensure you procure and use new equipment that is properly designed by the vetted suppliers. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Energy Upgrades for Your Company: Go For a Checkup

With the pandemic hurting so many businesses and revenues slow to recover, it is critical to cut waste and expenses to survive. Energy is one of the easiest ways to reduce waste and costs as it is often overlooked by companies focusing on sales. In most cases, one must spend money to get the savings, but think of it as an investment: if you evaluate your energy use the right way, an upgrade can save you a lot of money.

An approach I recommend for energy is analogous to going for a checkup. One would not go right to the hospital for a heart transplant or to remove a tumor, right? First, one would go for a checkup, look at the results of the blood work, EKG, MRIs, and other tests. Then, if there are worrisome numbers, re-test or have more specific tests done to confirm and pinpoint the problem. Then you analyze the strategies. What will solve the problem? Medication? Change in diet/habits? Rest? Surgery? Then and only then might you go in for a transplant or any other radical procedure. Makes sense, right?

Well, the same is true for energy. Does it make sense to replace your boiler or air conditioning unit right away, even if it were old? No. First, you need to do a “checkup” of your energy profile. Have a professional estimate – using science – the current energy usage of your company, building, or space. Analyze your bills, look at your equipment, see how they operate for your appropriate needs. This is how an energy audit works, your energy “checkup”. The professional will produce a report listing your measured energy usage, broken down by electricity vs. natural gas, vs. oil, etc. Then the report will estimate your energy usage by end use. How much energy do you use for lighting, for heating, for cooling, etc.? The relative proportions are important (like the blood work for a medical checkup), as it can tell you which areas to emphasize and which cost you relatively little. For the areas that use a lot of energy and cost a lot of money, the energy audit identifies typically several potential strategies and technologies that will reduce your energy usage and costs such that they will pay back any upfront capital cost.

Once the energy audit report is issued, don’t “put it on the shelf”. We know you have many priorities in running your business. But try not to let too much time go by; read the report and take it seriously. The auditor does not have the same intimate knowledge of your business pressure points as you; the report focuses on energy savings. Take some time and evaluate which of the recommended upgrades makes the most sense for your specific situation. Which upgrades may not “work” for your specific situation or might be inconvenient? Which ones have short or long paybacks? Typically, several strategies can “work” and save you significant cost. Which ones might you do and in what order?

Now, you’re in much better shape to take the right “medicine” to reduce your energy costs long-term. You have in your hands several, diverse strategies to reduce energy costs, the knowledge of the likelihood and degree of success, and information to procure, implement and operate the technology or strategy for maximum benefit.

Yes, the energy audit typically costs several thousand dollars for the professional’s experience and expertise and there is a high possibility, but no guarantee of success. But to be able to pinpoint exactly which strategies will result in solid energy usage and cost reductions lasting a long time is certainly worth this early investment.

Just like you (or your insurance) paying for the doctor to do a checkup on you.

CCES has the experts to perform such energy audits for your building, space, or company, providing multiple, science-based, positive strategies or technology recommendations to save you energy usage and costs – not just for the next year – but for year after year in the future. The charge for such an energy “checkup” is not great but provides you with specific information which you can turn in to major cost savings in the future. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or karell@CCESworld.com.

PACE Can Be The Difference To Go Forward

You want to be more energy efficient, for any reason – you want to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce energy costs, improve the operating conditions and productivity of your staff. You have an existing building (only 1% of buildings in the US are “new”) and you know that there are opportunities to make it more energy efficient. But the problem is cash flow; you have to lay out money to install and operate the strategy. Yes, you will get the money laid out back in a short time, but with all the problems business are having with the pandemic (lost business, lost staff, lost customers and suppliers), cash for upfront payments is not always readily available.

Well, the good news is that with interest rates at historical lows (who would believe home mortgages at 2.65% interest!) it makes sense to borrow to be able to do an energy upgrade project now. If a modest energy project has a calculated rate of return of 15% per year, it would be crazy NOT to finance the project, if corporate loans are even 6 or 8% interest. In fact, lenders know that energy projects are the most reliable in terms of meeting the projected ROIs; they know the risk of non-payment is low. So lenders will compete with each other and lower rates to make energy loans!

Yet for owners of very old, poorer buildings, sometimes loans for energy projects are not available not allowing them to modernize. Enter PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), the government-backed program created to simplify energy efficiency finance. In PACE, the building is the collateral, not the business. This opens the door to immense opportunity in the business case for energy efficiency.

PACE enables energy efficiency upgrades and/or solar or wind systems through long-term financing. PACE is useful for projects with long-term financing (20 years is typical), which is useful for project, such as whole building retrofits and large equipment replacements. Long-term loans with long-term benefits.

But this leads to a problem. What if the building owner wants to sell the property during the loan’s term? PACE programs work differently. The PACE loan is tied to the building; not the owner or business. The PACE loan is set up as a lien on the asset, the facility, and is structured as a tax, with the idea that the energy savings exceed the added expense, allowing the passing of the cost to tenants.

PACE loans are established by state and local governments. Property owners within the district can voluntarily choose to participate in the program. An energy expert assesses the scope of desired improvements, often through an energy audit to develop projects and cost estimates. PACE loans are commonly paid to the municipality who transfers the money to the lending institute. Payment usually occurs along with property taxes. Therefore, it may occur only twice per year. Banks may reject a building owner with large debts or a bad historic record or one that has been in bankruptcy. Building buyers must continue payment of the PACE loan after the borrower has sold the building.

PACE is an innovative approach and another financing option to assist building owners in paying for the often high-up front cost of energy efficiency projects. PACE is limited to areas that have implemented a PACE program, so it may not be available in many parts of the US. PACE financing is available in most of New York State for energy projects.

CCES has the experts to perform the upfront work to recommend smart energy solutions and to work with PACE or other banking officials to help you finance these potential energy efficiency projects. Contact us today for more information at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Energy Issues Affecting Data Centers

It is said that there currently are 200,000,000,000 internet of things (IoT) objects in the world today. Probably in a short time, we will think this number is quaint. Or perhaps technology will advance so much that more data can be stored on fewer objects and this number may drop. The amount of computing done in data centers more than quintupled between 2010 and 2018. Most of these devices need to perform computing and storage activities, meaning the need for IT data centers, whether relatively small ones in a company’s office or huge building-size data centers.
While in recent years, we have become dependent on the “cloud”, things are changing. Of course, data is not stored in a literal cloud. The “cloud” is one of a small number of huge data centers that stores yours and other’s data. A recent trend is edge data centers, smaller buildings and structures where computing and storage takes place located usually within only a few miles from where the data is generated.

According to https://energyinnovation.org/2020/03/17/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-really-use/, in 2014, US IT data center electricity usage was split nearly equally between server demand and the need for electricity to supply electricity to such centers and for cooling. As discussed above, physical data centers will only grow substantially in our complex times; thus the need for more electricity.

Electricity Usage

According to several sources, data centers use 1% of all of the world’s electricity consumption. This appears small but given the absence of data centers in many (poorer) parts of the world, this is significant. However, the rate of growth of electricity usage is slowing down due to energy efficiency. The good news is that servers and related equipment are being designed to use less electricity to compute or store data. And such equipment is available if one is replacing data servers or expanding.

Another problem is cooling. Many data centers have their own AC systems with thermostats set for low temperatures to prevent over-heating. In some cases, thermostats are set to keep temperatures of such rooms below 55⁰F. ASHRAE recommends that temperatures of rooms containing servers not be lower than 65°F. And, in fact, ENERGY STAR, the joint EPA/DOE program that evaluates energy usage of common equipment, has recommended servers that can be useful up until 95⁰F or greater. Certainly, one should be careful not to overheat your equipment. But one should look deeper into what that true temperature is. Another idea is not to necessarily cool a server room with an AC, but to use, instead, fans, which use less power, to force hot air away from servers and a stack of servers. Your IT professional should be able to recommend the right conditions for the long-term health of your IT Center.

Reliability

Many data centers feature back-up power systems in case their primary source of electricity is interrupted. Edge data centers, in particular, sometimes placed in urban and suburban areas, may be particularly vulnerable to sudden losses of power. An emergency engine generator to ensure that your data center continues to operate properly is good for the company, but does lead to more stringent emissions and noise requirements, such as particulate and other controls. Make sure the system you choose for backup power is right for your needs.

CCES has the experts to assess the energy usage of your IT or data centers, on or off- your physical location and recommend ways to save significant energy costs. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.