Five Energy Tips For Managing A Building Through A Pandemic

The coronavirus has caused a paradigm shift in our society.  Certain things as we know them will never be the same.   Just think about how many offices, shared spaces, desks, and conference rooms lay barren and unused for the past 1.5 months across the world.   Even when a cure/vaccine exists for COVID19, how will companies continue to operate? Will companies continue to operate remotely?  How apprehensive will the workforce be to returning to their normal day-to-day?  These are all questions that need to be answered and those answers will have an impact on the future uses of corporate office space post-pandemic. 

While many unknowns exist about the duration of work from home, even more questions will arise when the workforce begins to trickle back into their routines.  Specifically, it is to be expected that companies will either reevaluate or revamp their Work From Home (WFH) policies based on the experience of their teams dating back to the beginning of the quarantine period.  Given the amount of data that exists to these companies today describing the productivity of their workforce, I would hedge a bet that a large percentage of corporate America is measuring task and productivity rates for their staff.  If that study yields an increase in productivity, I would guess that those companies are likely to attempt to increase or adjust their WFH policy post quarantine.  Even if productivity gains are not seen there could be pressure internally (from employees) or externally (government) to reduce the occupant capacity of certain spaces.    

Someone needs to answer the question, is it safe for me to sit next to my coworkers? And if so, how far do we need to be apart?  Does my office space meet those space needs? The open floor plan or shoulder to shoulder type office space that caught traction post-2008 financial crisis could see some resistance from its space occupants.  Typically these spaces operate under the assumption that they can fit more than one person at a given desk but after this pandemic, I would not be surprised if we see that number decrease to less than half a person per desk.  

Ultimately, all these questions create uncertainty for many people in varying positions, including building operators: facilities managers, engineers, plant operators, control technicians, energy managers, property managers, etc.  Most buildings, like most businesses, have an opening and closing procedure.  Someone has to be the first person in the office to turn on the lights, ensure the AC is set correctly, and maybe turn on the Keurig.  For building owners and operators managing hundreds of thousands of square feet, they rely on their building management system (BMS) or plant controls to run through all of those quality checks.  Setpoints are created to achieve optimal operational efficiencies or tenant comfort.  It can be difficult to control setpoints in your building if you don’t yet know what your operational schedules are going to look like.   

 
So this begs the question, how can a building operator look at all of this uncertainty as an opportunity?  Here are five tips and suggestions to take advantage of this downturn. 

1. Building Management System/Building Automation System Changes

If your workers or building occupants schedule changes for an extended period of time, so should your BMS schedule.  

• If you have a finely tuned BMS, look to change occupied to unoccupied periods 
• Remove the 9-5 schedule to a constant state, depending on who is continuing to use the space. 
• Adjust your setback temperatures to something a little more aggressive than usual.  You typically don’t want those temperatures floating too high or too low so your plant doesn’t have to work too hard to attain the setpoint once occupied.  If you know your space won’t be occupied for the rest of May and you are given ample notice for when people will begin to reoccupy those spaces, you can let those temperatures float a bit.  
• Monitor humidity levels based on space type.  Too high and too low can be bad depending on space use.  
• Decease the amount of Outside Air (OA) entering your building to the lowest it can go within code compliance. 
• Review the opening and closing sequence of operations.  Should you be running two pumps or one?  How do you improve efficiency in your chiller plant and lower your cost to generate a ton-hour of chilled water? Based on 50% occupancy as compared to Jan/Feb of this year, what is the most efficient way to maintain space temperature and occupant comfort? 

 2. Commissioning/Retro-commissioning 

Validating that meters and building data points are reading correctly is a great opportunity to improve plant and building efficiency.  

• Can you and your staff confirm that all of the BMS changes have been effectively implemented?   
• Are there other systems that can be looked at to confirm data accuracy?   
• During the gradual easing of quarantine restrictions, are you able to get contractors into your empty buildings to do work that is usually difficult based on having tenants?  

 3. Reestablish Your Building’s Utility Baseline

When was the last time you had zero occupants in your building for an extended period of time and how can we take advantage of that opportunity? 

• Electrically - what is your true minimum kW based on zero occupancy after you are able to adjust your building systems (heating or cooling)? 
• Gas and Steam - same question 
• How granular can you get with your utility data?  Can you benchmark this new baseline across your portfolio?  Can you look at meter consumption per square foot?  Account consumption per square foot of area served? After identifying your worst performer, can you look at your building system inventory to identify the oldest pumps, fans, AHUs, lights in that building? Don’t have an inventory?  Do you and your staff now have the time to create one due to a reduction in service calls? 

 4. Develop a Project Priority List 

What did you and your team learn about your building systems or equipment when reviewing all of the data points above? 

• i.e. Based on your building inventory, what is your oldest or most inefficient AHU?  What are your 3-5 oldest AHUs and can you bid out the replacement of those units in one package as part of a capital improvement program to potentially see a reduced cost from scaling up your project? 
• Where could you benefit from taking care of low hanging fruit?   
• Pipe and valve insulation 
• Lighting retrofits  
• Lighting controls upgrades - as space type changes and tenant comfort is still paramount, the ability to control things like lighting will become more of a need to have rather than a nice to have. 
• Check out Con Edison’s most recent version of the Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Program Manual  
• You can still get Utility Incentives during this time as vendors have come up with creative ways to document existing conditions.   
• Not sure where to start?  Utilize NYSERDA’s Flexible Technical (FlexTech) Assistance Program to complete an energy study of your building which can identify ECMs for you. 

 5. Review Your Energy Contracts

Energy markets right now are both dynamic and uncertain.  The historical precedents the industry is looking to for futures pricing or a market response can date back to the 1940s.  Getting a better understanding of your current contracts and futures positions is a great place to start. 

• Look at your utility contracts for Electric and Gas.  What is the rate you are currently paying compared to the futures contracts for that commodity?  
• Can you lock in future savings by taking a longer-term position because your consumption levels are relatively unchanged through this pandemic? 
• Is your procurement strategy historically more risk-tolerant or risk-averse?  Has the coronavirus pandemic changed that in any way? 
• Will your reduction in energy consumption resulting from COVID cause any liquidation penalties? 

Not everyone has the time, resources, or expertise to analyze their building in this way.  This is where firms like Gotham 360 can step in to create significant value for you and your organization.  Gotham 360 has experience analyzing building energy data, identifying energy conservation measures, managing energy conservation projects, and procuring energy.  We are your partner and trusted advisor during these challenging times.  If you are interested in undertaking any of the five points listed above for your company, Gotham 360 is here to help.