Monthly Archives: August 2020

Need To Tighten Your Building? Look At Windows

Up until recently, tightening your building envelope was the last thing a building owner invested in. The amount of money that had to be spent, the disruption to operations of tenants inside, and total electricity savings for cooling and gas/oil for heating was just not worth it. Simple paybacks of 15 or more years made such projects not worthwhile.

The weakest point of a building envelope is the window. Windows are clear, one’s outlook to the world. But even a “good” window will not keep conditioned air in a building from escaping as well as even a “bad” wall, given its construction and material. While one would be tempted to build a windowless building, it sure would be hard to lease; who would want to work or live in a windowless space? However, replacing windows has a long payback. Building owners in most cases literally would rather wait for their windows to break or openly leak drafts of air before replacing.

But there has literally been a revolution in recent years in technologies for windows to strongly consider if you need to cut energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions and meet new complex rules, such as New York City’s Local Law 97.

Window inserts from IEG can be installed to improve the insulation properties of windows greatly. They have been shown to improve the comfort level of building or storefront window and decrease noise proliferation, as well. Each one can be installed in a matter of minutes, minimally disrupting tenants, with no demolition and construction and no scaffolding. Recent testing by an independent firm showed that these inserts increase the overall window U factor by 50-63% (the lower the U, the better the window insulates). And inserts are more economical. Recent proposals to add them to windows in several high-rise office buildings showed a payback of 6 years, better than 15 years if replacing existing windows. See https://www.ienergy-group.com/

A different approach is to replace old single-pane and even double-pane windows with triple-pane windows with gas filling the gaps which can offer greater insulation. They not only allow users to be more comfortable but reduce nighttime condensation and allow surface temperature to be close to room temperature.

Thin triple pane-designed windows can improve window insulation by about 40%. Given the increase in the amount of material and engineering, it will be more expensive than a double-pane replacement. However, as material costs have dropped in recent years, the price differential has dropped, as well.

In addition, to window inserts or triple-pane windows, the building owner can use other strategies to improve the building envelope, such as external shading and maximizing windows where the sun shines can also allow building owners to save energy use.

CCES can provide for your firm specific workable strategies to improve your building envelope so you waste less energy without impacting your operations– and project manage what you select to ensure the savings and for you to get the best workmanship for the right price. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

Talking Points: Reduce Your Energy Waste

Part of a series taking important new concepts and wording them so you can pass basic information to your colleagues and contacts. And why these are important.

Background
When building owners or managers hear about energy efficiency, they tend to shrug their shoulders. They know it’s important and useful. But it’s rarely a high priority. Thus, that means it won’t be addressed in the near future, if at all. “There are many other things on my plate I have to do now”, the manager says.

Who am I to argue with that? However, I will make argue that improving energy efficiency will likely provide so many benefits that some of those other headaches in managing a building may be reduced and you will have extra money (without raising rents or going deeper in the budget) to address those concerns. So, addressing energy efficiency, in the proper, professional way, will make your life easier.

Why Is Energy a Concern?
Simply put, nothing in a business gets done without energy, whether it be simple lights, operating machines, your comfort. We take for granted that lights go on when we flick a switch; the computer, the coffeemaker turn on, etc. Electricity needed does not appear magically. It is there because of a complex infrastructure starting with a plant burning a fuel (or using renewables) to create electricity which is then transported, in many cases, hundreds of miles, to get to our building. Many things can go wrong (fuel availability, the way the plant operates, transmission lines, etc.). On top of this, energy demand is growing with economic growth and people buying more “stuff” and driving bigger cars. “Smart” technology was supposed to save us, but not always. It used to be you come home from work on a hot day to a hot home, so you then put on the AC and suffer a little before cooling off. But now you can turn on your home AC from your office, thus, both your office and home ACs are working at the same time. Multiplied by many, many thousands – a big electric burden. In the summer of 2019, New York City’s utility purposely caused brownouts in certain neighborhoods to keep the whole system intact. It has been well chronicled that many parts of the US have poor energy infrastructure.

In addition to availability (where would your business be without electricity, even for minutes?) is the cost. Energy costs (electricity, gasoline, etc.) are rising faster than inflation. But it’s worse than that. While inflation has more or less been steady, energy prices tend to be quite volatile, making the expense of energy a real “bull in the china shop” for many companies, hard to keep track of and to budget.

Perhaps the biggest concern. Why does a company want to make its utility rich, especially for energy wasted? Isn’t that money more useful in your budget? The good news is that there has been a revolution in reducing energy waste and saving you cost.

The Many Financial Benefits of Energy Efficiency
So the real issue is energy management, of which reducing energy waste is important. Here are ways a smart, comprehensive energy program will benefit your business:

• It’s Not So Expensive. Conventional thinking is that incorporating smart energy features is prohibitively expensive. Generally, not true. Most energy strategies (LED lights, solar, better HVAC) have dropped in price because there is more interest and competition. Also, many utilities and governments want to save on infrastructure, so they offer tax or other incentive programs to pay part of the upfront cost of a smart upgrade directly to you.

• ROIs and Paybacks Are Great. Most important is the payback. How much will the energy strategy save you in energy usage and, thus, costs? When will you get that initial outlay back and how much extra money (“gravy”) will you have during the life of the technology? ROI is a great measure. If a strategy is planned right, you can get an ROI of 20, 30, 40 or more % per year. I always say, what bank pays 20 or more % annual interest? What Wall St. investment pays this with no risk? The answer, of course, is nobody. But this is achievable in energy. Even if you don’t have the money upfront, these ROIs make it clear you can borrow the upfront and come out ahead, especially now with historically low interest rates.

o Skeptical? Here is a real-life example. A commercial building explored upgrading their lights to more modern, energy efficient ones. They spent $79,000 in a recent year just on electricity for lighting. We recommended lamps that produced more light and used one-quarter of the wattage of the existing ones, saving about $60,000 per year on electric costs. The price tag: $150,000 (which included not only the bulbs, but all new fixtures and code installment), of which the local utility would pay them $50,000 upon installation. A net of $100,000 spent, saving $60,000 per year means a 1.6 year payback of the $100,000. The lights were warrantied for 7 years (will likely last much longer). Based on this and the annual cost savings, that’s $300,000 in “gravy” over the last 5 years from the $100,000 cost. What investment matches this return risk-free (the lights work and really use less electricity)?

• Reduced O&M. Most energy upgrades result in reduced O&M costs. LED lights do not “burn out”; efficient HVAC equipment are effective longer, etc. For example, most LED lights are warrantied for 7-10 years, unlike fluorescent tubes which typically last about 2 years. This means your maintenance staff has more time for high-priority projects, plus reduced accident risk (ladder falls). Longer-lasting bulbs also means fewer needed in reserve, freeing up your budget.

• Reliability. A more energy efficient building means a more reliably functioning one, again, reducing your O&M needs and staff. One also gets satisfied renters, as reliability means better productivity and their businesses are doing better.

• Higher Rents, Better Tenants. By reducing energy waste and being more reliable, you can maintain the tenants you have and/or attract more tenants who understand the importance of reliability and cost savings. And a building’s resale value is higher because potential buyers know that energy costs will be lower.

• Environmental Progress. While this article has focused on financial benefits, let’s not forget that energy efficiency results in indisputable environmental benefits, too, particularly in this age of a greater portion of the public being very worried about Climate Change. Energy efficiency means less energy needed, directly resulting in lower greenhouse gas emissions (one’s “carbon footprint”). More and more governments and the public think this is important and you can undeniably be a “hero” to many with efficiency.

CCES has the experts to help you assess your buildings and help you get started with a useful, beneficial energy program. We can organize it for you seamlessly to save you aggravation. We can also manage the projects you select to provide the maximum financial benefits. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

The Importance of Staying Careful

We engineers understand the concept of deviation from the norm. While a process and all its steps have been worked out, it is second nature for engineers, workers, businesspeople, etc. to gradually introduce shortcuts, “improvements”, “innovations” to the procedures. Next thing you know, the process has changed with or without the approval of those tasked with maintaining it.

I observed this once a couple of decades ago. I was performing an air emissions inventory for a major chemical manufacturer. I was given the recipes of some of the compounds they were manufacturing. I analyzed the equipment, chemicals, processes, etc. to estimate which emissions at which steps from which equipment at which rate. Things were going well and I was developing the emissions profile for a certain 100+- step process. I went into the production area with my recipe to confirm what was going on. When I discussed the steps with some of the workers, they quickly pointed out that many of the steps of the recipe had been changed. It was no longer current. They were changed for various reasons (they wanted a step to proceed faster, they wanted to save water or other chemical usage, etc.), but were changed without telling management. The yields of the compounds were still good and nobody in Management suspected a thing. I informed Management who investigated and saw that major changes had been made. They turned out not to cause any significant change in quality or yield, but certainly upset a lot of people that changes were made out of convenience without informing supervisors. Deviation is a normal process but should not be a habit.

So when performing any function, new project, etc. be careful to stick to the plan. There is method to what might appear to be madness. If you object or believe an alternative way would benefit the company, tell your managers and clearly communicate your hopes and concerns. Don’t just make changes on your own, even if they appear to be “innocent” ones or merely tiny deviations from the steps.

Why do I point this out? Our lives have changed because of COVID-19. It is now pretty established what we must do to protect ourselves and our communities: in public, wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth; social distance, where possible; and wash hands and disinfect surfaces often with soap- or alcohol-based cleaning products. But again, with anything that is done repetitively over time, there is the temptation to make a few changes, import some short cuts, let one’s guard down, say it is all right to not wear my mask this one time. This is not good. Unlike a minor change that may have no effect on the process, a minor change that introduces the coronavirus into your body can be deadly – not just to you, but to others, as well.

And don’t forget, the coronavirus does not have a brain. It cannot be cowered or shamed by a politician. It does not say “You’re careless, but you are nice, so I won’t enter your body.” It doesn’t give mulligans. While we can analyze a chemical or other process and evaluate the effects of changes, one deviation in practice can be fatal for the coronavirus.

Be careful and safe everybody and don’t let down your guard!

CCES has the experts to help you plan to address health & safety issues and energy and environmental issues of all types for your company, building, and space. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Take Advantage of These Times And Upgrade

Who could have imagined it? Your building, your space is empty or nearly so. Your staff is working from home. Your downtown with fewer cars, buses, subways, even fewer pedestrians and shoppers. This is what the COVID-19 pandemic has done.

If you are the property owner or manager, these are difficult times. You are worried about your own and your staff’s health. Many of your tenants have told their staff to stay home, yet you need to continue to spend energy to cool/de-humidify the spaces at least somewhat to prevent mold or other impacts. And maybe some of these tenants are not even paying you the rent. No one knows the long-term impacts of returning to “normal”. How will your city bounce back in the short- and long-terms?

So why upgrade now? Why pay attention to energy at all? Because there is a strong belief by many that commercial real estate will go through major changes, especially in the long-term and we finally put COVID-19 behind us. Will tenants return even when the pandemic is over? Will some return, but as a smaller version of themselves because more people are working form home?

Whatever the exact answers to these questions will be in your area, it is likely that there will be a glut of commercial real estate. Renters will enjoy a surplus of choices when their current leases terminate. What can a property manager/owner do? Now is the time to invest. Make your spaces more user friendly so you become more competitive in this market. Prepare your spaces for the next health concern with more space between stations and health stations available, too.

And also upgrade to reduce energy waste. However things turn out, it is likely that revenue for a building owner will not reach pre-pandemic levels – at least not for awhile. Therefore, it will be imperative to cut costs, and energy is a good one to cut, as there is much waste in energy usage and many strategies to reduce such waste pays back the initial cost in a reasonable amount of time. Then you have long-term cost savings to pass on to your potential tenants and can demonstrate that yours is a superior building. Both of these will put you in a competitive position.

Reducing energy waste is quite achievable. There have been great improvements in technology to save energy. However, many effective upgrades may involve making capital and/or structural changes to a building, such as your boilers or HVAC systems and the piping that comes from them, replacing or upgrading windows, and replacing failed steam traps, some deep in the walls. But keep in mind, if there is ever a good time to do such projects, it is NOW for two reasons.

First, capital is now easy to access. Yes, upfront capital costs of such upgrades and technologies may be daunting, but interest rates are at historic lows. Energy upgrades have the deserved reputation of highly profitable investments. Therefore, firms that specialize in loaning money for energy projects will charge lower interest rates than for other loans because the returns are high and risk of failure low. A well-designed upgrade can have ROIs of 20, 30, 40% or more return per year. So, borrowing at, say, 7% interest to move forward on a project that will return 25% per year is a “no-brainer”. And with PACE financing, the process is even simpler.

Another factor why now is the time to do even complex upgrades is that there are fewer tenants in the building. Property managers by nature are afraid of any effort that might disrupt the lives of a tenant. But in these days with many tenant spaces currently empty or under-utilized, this is the time to implement a major upgrade, such as equipment replacements, new windows or inserts, or breaking walls to get inside them to replace steam traps, while only minimally inconveniencing your tenants. And they’ll appreciate the cost savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions. Better to do these project “now” than after the tenants return to business “as normal” and then you need to scramble to cut costs.

Energy conservation and waste reduction are items you the property manager can get not only great financial benefit from but it will also put you in a more competitive position to attract good, reliable tenants. With many offices empty or under-utilized and money plentiful, NOW is the time to do smart, capital-intensive projects to save significant long-term costs, while cheap money is available, and inconveniencing few.

CCES has the experts to help you develop a plan and project manage your energy upgrade using cost-effective strategies to get the greatest energy cost reductions in the smoothest way. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.