Fall is Almost Here – The Perfect Time in Texas to Improve Your Energy Bottom Line

By M. Hatton

July is hot and humid once again. However, now is the time to start planning the efforts required to properly tune up your HVAC systems for the fall/winter/spring shoulder seasons: the best opportunity in Texas to improve your facility’s energy efficiency due to moderation of the summer cooling season. Key to your success is focusing on several HVAC optimization initiatives including:

• Cold deck reset proportional to outside air temperature and/or dew point.
• Air handler static pressure reset strategies due to more neutral cooling/heating requirements.
• Air handler scheduling; morning start-up times for your administrative areas may be changed to start up closer to occupancy time.
• Economizers (central/north Texas) should be tuned, mechanically adjusted, and checked to ensure that their software optimizes coordination with the appropriate outside air or dew point temperature.
• With regard to cooling towers, verify whether your chiller plant can utilize the cooler condenser water temperatures available during off-peak seasons.

Lighting systems are another simple area to focus on that provides fast payback (ROI) yet requires minimally disruptive maintenance/construction. Many healthcare facilities have focused on upgrading buildings to the 28-watt T-8 lamps and high-efficiency ballasts. In addition, in areas with exterior daylight access (your parking garage or sky bridge), consider installing ambient lighting dimmers which have been documented to reduce electricity (wattage) by greater than 60%. There may still be utility company rebates available to further improve the lighting project ROI.

Education and people are an often overlooked component of your energy management program. When was the last time your teams held an educational and focus session to kick off a new initiative? Goal setting works! Do we assume our frontline operators and technicians are focusing on the same goal as management? Have we provided technical education to support a new HVAC optimization strategy with your central plant?

Off-peak seasonal maintenance is mandatory to maximize central plant efficiency. Often overlooked in our industry is the importance of water treatment (especially in a remote building or wing’s "closed loop"), basic burner combustion tuning for water heaters and boilers, and heat exchanger maintenance for water side components (i.e., your chiller condenser bundle). Steam traps and PRV relief valves are another system that requires regular maintenance to eliminate leaks (wasted Btu).

Measurement/Benchmarking is a key step to determine how your facility is performing: internal to yourself (year/year) or to regional/national peers (Energy Stardatabase). Every facility needs to focus on measurement/benchmarking as part of an Energy Efficiency Performance Improvement project. How do you get started? Use Excel, a simple database, and/or the Energy Star Portfolio Manager® process (www.energystar.gov). If you do not have the analytical resources in-house, there are numerous external partners who can assist with this process.

What’s holding you back? ASHE’s Energy to Care Initiative, ENERGY STAR, and your peers can assist you with this bottom-line improvement project.