Energy is typically one of the top three operating expenses for a commercial building. Yet many building owners and managers do not have a clear picture of where their energy dollars are going, or whether they are paying more than they should.
Here are the areas we focus on when helping clients get their energy costs under control.
Start with your utility bills
Before looking at equipment upgrades or capital projects, start with the data you already have. Your utility bills contain more information than most people realize:
- Rate structure analysis. Are you on the right rate for your consumption pattern? Utilities offer different rate structures and many buildings end up on suboptimal rates simply because nobody reviewed them.
- Demand charges. For commercial customers, demand charges (based on your peak electricity use in a billing period) can represent 30 to 50 percent of your electric bill. Understanding when your peaks occur and what drives them is the first step to reducing them.
- Bill anomalies. Sudden spikes or unusual patterns in your bills often point to equipment issues, metering errors, or billing mistakes. We have found cases where buildings were being billed for meters they did not own.
Understand your baseline
You cannot manage what you do not measure. Establishing a reliable energy baseline means:
- Collecting at least 12 months of complete utility data
- Normalizing for weather (heating and cooling degree days)
- Accounting for occupancy changes and operational shifts
- Calculating your Energy Use Intensity (EUI) and comparing it to similar buildings
This baseline becomes your reference point for measuring the impact of any changes you make. It is also the foundation of your benchmarking compliance filings.
Look at operations before capital
The cheapest energy savings come from operational improvements, not equipment replacements. Common operational fixes include:
- Schedule optimization. Are your HVAC and lighting systems running during unoccupied hours? Many buildings have schedules that were set during construction and never updated.
- Setpoint review. Small adjustments to temperature setpoints can produce meaningful savings without affecting comfort.
- Economizer operation. Free cooling from outside air is available more often than most operators realize, but only if economizer dampers are working properly.
- Simultaneous heating and cooling. This is more common than you might think, especially in buildings with multiple zones and poor controls coordination.
These changes typically cost little or nothing to implement and can reduce energy use by 5 to 15 percent.
Procurement strategy
How you buy energy matters as much as how you use it. Key considerations:
- Contract timing. Energy prices fluctuate. Locking in a rate at the right time can save significant money over a multi-year contract.
- Competitive procurement. Getting multiple quotes ensures you are not overpaying. Many buildings simply renew their existing contract without checking alternatives.
- Green energy options. Depending on your jurisdiction, renewable energy procurement may offer both cost and brand benefits.
Ongoing monitoring
The biggest risk to energy cost management is complacency. Savings from operational improvements can erode over time as controls get overridden, schedules drift, and new equipment is added without optimization.
We recommend ongoing monitoring of at least your major meters and key system parameters. This does not need to be complex. Even a monthly review of utility data against your baseline can catch problems before they become expensive.
At Alert Energy, we have monitoring systems that alert us when our clients’ costs start trending upward. Early detection means we can investigate and correct issues before they show up as a surprise on the annual budget.