Building owners have to deal with energy and gas bills all year round, but the energy consumption profile changes depending on the season. Gas consumption tends to reach its highest point during winter, as buildings require a large supply of heat for both water and interior spaces. On the other hand, electricity consumption tends to peak on the hottest summer days, as air conditioning systems are being used at full capacity.
Electricity prices tend to rise over time and buildings can face progressively higher cooling costs each summer, even if their consumption has not increased. However, this also means that the savings opportunity grows every year.
Get a professional energy audit and reduce your building's energy and gas bills.
Here we will discuss three effective measures that can help building owners avoid sky-high energy bills during the summer. By upgrading to newer air conditioning systems, building owners can achieve the same cooling effect with lower energy consumption. LED lighting allows direct savings and quick payback, and the cooling load is slightly reduced thanks to its low heat emission. Finally, solar power systems can generate electricity for more than 25 years, but reach peak productivity during the sunniest months.
1)Air conditioning system upgrades and recommissioning
There are many types of air conditioning systems, and the ideal option varies according to the cooling needs of each property. Some buildings have unitary air conditioners for different areas, and their operation and energy consumption are completely independent. Other properties have a central cooling plant, from where cold water is distributed to fan coils throughout all areas of the building.
- An equipment upgrade can significantly reduce energy costs regardless of your AC system configuration.
- The complexity and cost of replacing AC equipment depends on the type of unit, but a professional engineering company can optimize your costs regardless of the size of the system.
Depending on the HVAC project , there may be other types of equipment you can upgrade besides cooling units, strictly speaking. For example, cooling plants use pumping systems to distribute cold water, and you can upgrade them with NEMA Premium Efficiency motors and variable frequency drives for speed control. The same measure can be applied to air handling units and cooling towers, which are also driven by electric motors.
An air conditioning system can also improve its performance with a professional inspection and recommissioning service, even if no equipment is replaced. Power consumption can often be reduced by correcting configuration errors and performing minor repairs. This may include excessively low temperature settings, variable speed fans that always run at maximum rpm, worn belts on engine-driven equipment, etc.
2) Upgrade to LED lighting
Building owners are now aware of the energy-saving potential of LED lighting , but the technology actually offers three types of savings. Because LEDs last much longer than older bulb types, they also save you a lot of replacements over their lifetime. An LED bulb is more expensive than an incandescent bulb, but it lasts 15 to 25 times longer. For an accurate estimate of the savings achieved, it is necessary to consider both electricity savings and avoided lamp purchases.
LED lighting allows additional savings when used in air-conditioned spaces. All lighting systems emit heat, but LEDs have much lower emissions than incandescent, fluorescent, and HID bulbs. When your lighting system is upgraded, the reduced heat emission is also subtracted from your cooling load. As a quick example, suppose a group of commercial buildings upgrades all lighting systems to LED and indoor heat emission is reduced by 100 kW.
- 100 kW equals over 341,000 BTU/hour, and this is subtracted directly from the air conditioning workload.
- Assuming an energy efficiency rating of 12, air conditioning systems remove 12,000 BTU/hour for every kilowatt consumed.
- In this case, reducing the cooling load by 341,000 BTU/hour reduces energy consumption by more than 28 kW.
Keep in mind that this is a very simplified example: to accurately analyze the interaction between your lighting and air conditioning systems, you need energy modeling software.
3) Installation of a commercial solar photovoltaic system
Solar panels generate electricity year-round and have a lifespan of over 25 years if you purchase quality brands. Buildings are exposed to higher rates of insolation during the summer and this heat gain increases the workload of air conditioners. However, you can also use this to your advantage by installing a commercial solar system. Photovoltaic panels can convert the solar radiation that reaches your property into electricity, which offers a double benefit: the heating effect is reduced and the kilowatt-hours generated are subtracted from your bills.
Solar power systems in the US qualify for a 26% federal tax credit regardless of their size and location, and this benefit remains available until the end of 2022. Just remember that the tax credit drops to 22% in 2023, and From 2024 onwards, there will only be a 10% tax credit for businesses and 0% tax credit for homeowners.
At the beginning of 2021, accumulated solar capacity installed in the US exceeded 100 GW, and by the end of the year it was more than 121 GW. The country could have around 464 GW of solar energy by 2032, or even 700 GW in an optimistic growth scenario. Fossil fuels still dominate the US electricity market, but solar energy is now the fastest growing source of electricity.
