Energy Management
Energy costs are soaring at record rates across the United States as many commercial offices are already reeling from the remote work culture shift. Increasingly high energy costs are motivating building owners to reduce operational costs by improving their facilities’ energy efficiency. Along with the increased energy costs, many companies are interested in becoming more environmentally conscious as part of their corporate ESG strategies.
ACCO offers comprehensive energy management services for all types of commercial buildings to find ways to save money and improve efficiency. ACCO can be your one-stop shop for all energy efficiency requirements, working to benchmark your facility’s operating efficiency and provide cost-effective energy management solutions that comply with local and state energy ordinances. In addition, we can help find incentives and rebates provided by local power companies that match your situations and needs.
We follow a four-step plan to build the right solution for you.
To begin the process, ACCO conducts an energy audit of the building to assess all energy-consuming equipment and systems. The energy audits are performed in accordance with the American Society of Heating Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE) standards. ACCO’s energy engineers provide Energy Utilization Analysis (EUA), by reviewing the most recent 12 months of utility bills for each account or utility meter. Additionally, the 15-minute interval or hourly utility data can be reviewed to understand a building’s daily electric and gas load profile.
Local city ordinances require commercial building owners to disclose annual energy consumption, which ACCO provides by benchmarking a building’s energy use and comparing it to the energy use of similar buildings, its own historical energy use, or a reference performance level.
Once ACCO’s energy engineers have conducted audits, portable data loggers can be deployed at customer sites to monitor HVAC equipment operating parameters and perform trend data analysis to investigate and diagnose the operation of various pieces of equipment. Additionally, ACCO can set up and monitor equipment and controls parameters via the existing Building Automation System (BAS) for further diagnostics and troubleshooting of HVAC equipment.
ACCO has helped many of our customers with feasibility studies of various HVAC, controls and alternative technologies. These studies consisted of an assessment of existing HVAC equipment, quantifying energy and demand consumption of equipment, assessing the impact of added load on existing electrical infrastructure and evaluating potential alternative equipment scenarios that can potentially result in better energy efficiency and reduced carbon footprint.
ACCO Engineered Systems is one of the top firms with the credentials and experience to develop quality energy efficiency projects that meet Investor Confidence Project (ICP) protocols. Many utilities offer financing mechanisms for energy efficiency projects that pass through stringent quality controls while meeting or exceeding minimum financial return.
ACCO’s energy engineers collaborate with public utility companies to qualify and develop customers’ energy efficiency projects for different incentives or rebate programs that offer financial benefits to offset part of a project’s implementation cost. ACCO can help your company with the application process and advise which programs are the most beneficial for your situation and needs.
In Investment Grade projects, the “Simple Payback” metric does not clearly reflect the financial merit of a project, and this is where the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) comes into play. At ACCO, our customers are presented with the total cash flow constituting components like upfront investment, energy cost savings, and maintenance and repair costs all discounted to the present value. This helps our customers in moving forward with projects depicting positive cash flow or in selecting one project over an alternative project.
After identifying the sources of excess/inefficient energy usage, ACCO will determine personalized solutions to improve your facilities’ energy efficiency. These solutions could include retro-commissioning, where highly trained technicians bring the system components back to their as-designed function and energy consumption. ACCO’s experienced service team can guide you through this process to provide updated recommendations and implementation, including equipment modernization, tenant improvements, engineering support, sheet metal, HVAC piping and plumbing.
Additionally, ACCO’s energy engineers can work with building owners to become Energy STAR certified. Buildings with the Energy STAR certification save energy, save money, help protect the environment by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings and improve the building’s market value. To be certified as Energy STAR, a building must meet strict energy performance standards set by the EPA. ACCO’s licensed professional engineers are experienced in submitting Energy STAR certification on behalf of building owners.