If you’re operating a commercial building with at least 50,000 square feet of total space, there’s a good chance energy expenses are consuming up to 30 percent of your monthly operating budget.
That’s no small sum, so finding ways to improve efficiency and reduce the energy you’re using should be high on your priority list. Beyond having a noticeable positive impact on your bottom line, doing so is also good for the environment.
There are many tools and methods you can use to help accomplish this. One of them is benchmarking. The idea behind benchmarking is fairly simple: by measuring your facility’s energy usage and comparing it to other comparable facilities, you can determine how well it’s performing when it comes to energy efficiency, among other things. Having collected that information, you’re in a great position to identify opportunities for improvement, track changes, and measure your progress.
In many places, energy efficiency benchmarking is mandated by law for commercial buildings. While that’s not the case at every location where our customers’ facilities are located, there are municipal benchmarking policies in place in Boulder and Denver, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Of course, even if there’s no official requirement in your local area, that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from doing some clever benchmarking of your own.
How Will Benchmarking Impact Your Bottom Line?
To answer this question, let’s take a look at some of the benefits highlighted in an article originally published by one of our Service Logic affiliate companies, Midwest Mechanical. They operate in Chicago, where city-wide benchmarking for commercial buildings is mandated by law. Here’s how the energy engineers at Midwest describe the results:
“In its short implementation history, benchmarking has already helped Chicago's largest occupants realize significant cost savings … ranging between 13 and 24 percent. These savings can be realized in a number of ways. Monitoring air conditioners, data centers, and sensors are simple places to start.”
Where else will benchmarking have an impact?
Further evidence from Midwest Mechanical shows that the impact goes beyond each commercial building’s operational expenses and affects the local environment as well.
“Buildings in the city of Chicago spend $3 billion annually on energy costs, and… energy use drives 71 percent of Chicago's greenhouse gas emissions. Taking steps to reduce energy costs through air conditioner usage, and monitoring data centers and building censors can help reduce your building's footprint on the local environment.”
Could your local urban and rural environment benefit from this level of improved energy efficiency at commercial buildings? Absolutely.
Based on a study produced by SWEEP, a strong commitment to high efficiency standards in the city of Denver alone could result in incredible savings over a ten year period, both in money and resources:
- Savings potential in 2020: 22%
- Avoided new power capacity: 2,213 MW
- Net dollar savings (2010-2030): $4.8 billion
- Net increases in jobs by 2020: 6,960
- Water savings by 2020: 2.5 B gallons/year
How to apply commercial building energy benchmarking
While benchmarking isn’t government mandated everywhere, starting the process on your own is fairly simple:
- Establish a baseline by collecting accurate data about your building’s current energy usage. If you have a modern building analytics system currently installed, you may already have this data right at your fingertips. If not, you can call in a trained technician from Tolin Mechanical to perform an operational assessment to establish that baseline.
- Take steps to make improvements in your facility’s energy efficiency, using the baseline data and new data you collect month over month to track your progress.
- Work with the professionals at Tolin Mechanical to see how your building’s energy usage compares with similar buildings in the area. Our energy engineers can assist you with tracking this data, as well as recommending improvements unique to your location.
It takes time and effort — and may require a modest investment — to make real progress saving energy within your commercial facility. Establishing an effective benchmarking program can be an excellent first step toward making a difference, both for the environment and for your facility’s bottom line. To learn more about managing energy usage and expenses for your building in Colorado and Arizona, we welcome you to contact us today.
