New Lease of Life for an Old Building

How does an old office building reduce electricity consumption by over 40% without sacrificing productivity and comfort? It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks and achieve genuine savings by managing your energy.

Previously, Local Power gave you the lowdown on the importance of energy management and having insight into your business’s energy use through Energy Audits and Energy Management Plans/Programs.

This month, we turn our attention to a shining example of a business that walked the talk, going from a 2.5 star NABERS rating to 4+ by putting great energy management into practice.

From 2010 to 2015, we oversaw the successful implementation of an Energy Management Program that we produced for the owners of a CBD office building with multiple tenants, which consisted of the following actions:

– 2010 – HVAC upgrades through installation of variable air volume (VAV) boxes and replacement of pneumatic with digital controls
– 2010 – LED lighting upgrades to common areas
– 2012 – Ongoing monthly energy reporting commenced
– 2013 – Additional HVAC optimisation
– 2013 – 30 kW solar PV system installed

The result of these actions and continual monitoring of the site was a 41.7% decrease in site electricity consumption.

The ongoing monitoring of energy has resulted in a continuing downward trend of electricity use since its inception. This managed reporting service keeps the client mindful of their energy use and efficiency.

All this was enabled by the business owners first understanding how they were using the electricity in their building, then acting on the recommended areas for improvement that we’d identified in the report.

Spending a small amount of money on this kind of report might’ve seemed a lot at the time, but it turned out to be a great investment for the property owners in the long run.

It really pays to audit your energy use and devise efficiency improvements with good planning. Every business should have an Energy Management Plan, because with savings like these, how can you deny the benefits?