Category Archives: Energy Management

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.

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.

Reports Say COVID-19 Will Dampen Long-Term Energy Demand

The economic and behavioral impacts of COVID-19 will significantly reduce global long-term energy demand, according to several recent reports. The pandemic has already caused a decline in greenhouse gas emissions; 2019 may go down as the year of peak emissions. However, its impact on reaching climate change goals will likely be small.

One report estimated that the current pandemic will reduce the amount of energy required to be used by humanity to be 8% lower by 2050. In addition to this, long-term behavioral changes in people’s travel, commuting, and work habits will likely cause a net decrease in energy usage. In general, these changes may lead to reduced gasoline and jet fuel demand in the transportation sector and reduced fossil fuel demand in the iron/steel industries (excess of commercial building space resulting in less construction).

Together with improvements in energy efficiency and the recent significant decline in coal use, several forecasts predict that global GHG emissions probably peaked in 2019, but may be flat or decline insignificantly 2050. Perhaps more important, we may not be able to prevent the rise in the average global temperature to be maintained below the 2°C rise goal from now. The pandemic may slow the time it takes to raise temperatures another 2°C, but predictions are that we will meet and exceed it around 2050.

CCES has the experts to help you to determine your entity’s energy use and GHG emissions. We can recommend and project manage the technologies and strategies to help you reduce your energy usage and GHG emissions to save significant costs and meet company sustainability goals. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Load Shifting Is a Critical Summertime Strategy

The reality is that the energy infrastructure in the US is falling apart. Utilities do not have the billions of dollars to upgrade systems to deliver electricity where needed. Aging equipment and systems has contributed to the problem. In addition, gentrification has raised power demands in neighborhoods that had a low demand, making it difficult to shift delivery. Even technology has contributed to the problem. It used to be that people would come home from work to a hot unit, put on the AC and wait some time to cool off. Now smart phones can turn on a unit’s AC while the person is still in the office so the home is nice and cool when he/she arrives. The AC is on simultaneously in many offices and homes.

Thus, more and more parts of the US are suffering brownouts and blackouts, particularly in the summer when cooling demand raises electricity usage greatly, and particularly during workdays in the afternoon when maximum power is needed. A problem with serving such a high peak is the diversification of sources of power. More utilities are producing or purchasing electricity from renewable sources, such as solar and wind. The problem is that these sources are not reliable. Renewable power will not help on a hot and humid high-demand day which also happens to be cloudy and/or windless. Renewable power cannot churn out the added power to make up for the peak. Many renewable plants are also many miles away from the cities that need the power.

Because the expense of maintaining the system and addressing interruptions is significant, many utilities now charge customers substantial charges for a high short-term demand for electricity during these hours. But this does not seem to deter many.

If changing behavior is not happening, operating more energy equipment (lights, AC, etc.) should help this problem. Another solution is load shifting, moving electricity consumption from a peak time period to another time to “flatten the curve” of electric demand. This can be helpful for by utilities even if the load shifting results in greater electricity usage because their concern is delivering power reliably during peak usage. For now, when activities occur is more important than how much power they use.

An example of load shifting is moving an industrial process to a different shift, such as overnight, rather than during the day. While this may cost the firm more in overtime or duplicate use of equipment at night and day, it can be made up in savings in peak demand cost by eliminating the high peak demand during the day.

Another example of load shifting revolves around energy storage for space cooling, so important in peak periods. Systems exist to make large quantities of ice during the overnight (far from peak) period and allow air to flow around the ice to cool it during the peak period. Power needed for such blowers is much less than for large AC systems, reducing power needed during the peak period. A related approach is charging batteries with grid electricity during the night and use it (and not grid power) during the peak period. These often result in a net increase in total electricity used; but this can reduce costs as usage during the peak, expensive period of summer workday afternoons is reduced. These are examples of storing cooling energy either as ice or in batteries.

Load shifting is something businesses should consider, not only to reduce total electric costs, but also to help the grid supply electricity reliably to the entire community and to promote intermittent renewable energy and thus reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based power plants.

CCES has the experts to evaluate your company or building’s electricity usage. We can recommend cost-effective strategies for your specific situation, such greater efficiency, renewable power, or load shifting, to streamline your energy management system and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

Major Changes to Building Energy Code Are Coming

The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) was all but finalized recently as members voted to go forward to finalize proposed changes to the energy code standards. The draft standards will be published shortly, followed by an opportunity for feedback and revisions before the final standards will be released, probably in late 2020. These standards are often used as a model for new laws and standards for new building design in many municipalities, states, and nations, saving energy usage and costs and cutting air toxic and greenhouse gas emissions from new buildings.

Buildings (residential and commercial) are responsible for about 40% of US energy usage and GHG emissions. Based on the probable final 2021 IECC standards, new buildings will reduce covered energy usage by over 10% on average compared to buildings meeting the 2018 IECC, and by more than 1/3 compared to the 2009 code.

IECC members voted late last year overwhelmingly in support of a number of proposals to strengthen energy efficiency requirements, such as requiring high-efficiency water heating; electric upgrades to allow easier future conversions to electrified equipment; increased installation of electric vehicle charging stations; and an optional pathway for municipalities to encourage construction of Net Zero or ultra-energy efficient buildings that meet their remaining energy needs with renewable energy.
One additional probable change compared to the 2018 IECC is that this edition will likely give building owners flexibility to meet standards in different, science-based, but non-prescriptive ways.

Some critics have complained that the IECC changes too often, every 3 years, and that adversely affects planning. On the other hand, technologies improve so quickly. Also, of course, when a building is built new, it will stay in existence and function (and use excess energy and emit greenhouse and air toxic gases) for decades. One does not want to “miss the boat” of having buildings incorporate proven, improved design or technology to lock in GHG emission reductions.

Speaking of energy codes, ASHRAE’s code, 90.1, was last revised in 2019. ASHRAE is already researching changes to their code that will be published in 2022.

CCES has the experts to help provide technical assistance to help you meet IECC, ASHRAE and other energy standards to minimize your usage and GHG emissions of existing or new buildings. We can help you economically reduce energy usage that not only save significant costs but enhance worker productivity and reduce O&M costs and effort. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Roadmap for You to Reduce Energy Usage

As mentioned in another article in this newsletter, it is critical these days for your business to lower expenses, such as your energy costs, to be able to bounce back. Reduce energy usage and still be productive and make your staff and customers comfortable. There is no “magic wand” to achieve this; careful planning is needed. But success can happen! What follows is a roadmap, an approach that works to reduce energy usage and costs smartly.

• Determine your goals; determine your limits. Are you going “all in” on energy savings? Or just looking for economic opportunity? Both are valid, but it’s important to map it out. Conduct meetings with your Facilities staff, tenants, vendors, etc. to discuss the topic.

• Review utility bills and oil invoices. Determine energy use by metered usage. Benchmark your energy. Ideally, create a profile in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to keep track and compare yourself to similar buildings. Review your utility bills. Are you properly classified? Who is your energy supplier? Are you under contract? Are you paying a fair rate? Can you take advantage of Demand Response and related programs to get paid for using little-used equipment?

• Conduct an initial energy assessment of areas or operations that you control and can upgrade. Count lights and plug load equipment. Learn the capabilities of equipment (HVAC, motors, pumps, etc.). Estimate your energy usage based on operations (i.e., number of hours operated). Does this estimate match up with your utility bills?

• Conduct a more thorough energy assessment and identify energy conservation measures (ECMs), strategies to reduce energy usage of key end-use processes that use a significant amount. What are the ROIs and simple paybacks of feasible ECMs?

• Identify opportunities for on-site renewable power (solar, CHP, geo-thermal, etc.)

• Evaluate and choose the ECMs for you, such as LED light retrofits, lighting controls, building envelope upgrades (roof, windows), HVAC repairs or upgrades, VFDs for motors, building automation systems (BAS). Which ones and in what sequence? This also includes identifying and applying for government and utility incentive programs.

• Implement your chosen ECMs. This is a lot of work. It is worth it to hire an experienced energy project manager to bring in bids, select the best vendor(s), and oversee work to ensure you are getting the savings that should occur. So you focus on your business!

• Measure and report results. Was the effort worth it? Are there future potential projects?

• Implement a regular commissioning and maintenance program. What is the use of procuring new, advanced equipment if it will not be properly maintained? Consider such regular commissioning and maintenance an investment, not just to maintain their energy efficiency, but also for them to last longer before needing to be replaced.

You know that smart energy upgrades are a great investment of resources, with an excellent ROI and payback. Emphasis on the word “smart”. This little guide shows you the necessary steps to do your upgrade right and maximize the cost benefits.

CCES has the technical experts to do a complete energy evaluation and project manage the energy upgrades that make the most sense for you. We are here to help you save lots of costs and have others pay some of the bill. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

5 Good Reasons To Apply Energy Conservation As Part Of Business Bounce Back

As this is written, the US is debating when and how to re-open businesses to bounce back economically yet maintain safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. While public health and economic experts debate strategies, eventually, businesses will re-open. Good energy management should be a part of the plan for any business. A smart energy conservation program has the following major advantages:

1. It is crucial to cut costs. For nearly all businesses, revenue will be slow to recover. With, sadly, many deaths and high unemployment, there are simply fewer customers to sell to. Thus, cutting costs is crucial to have any chance to make a profit or be viable. Being energy smart is a proven way to reduce expenses. What’s particularly powerful is that one-time actions to reduce energy usage and demand save costs year after year. After all, it’s not like after year 1, you’ll put back in the old, inefficient equipment! Energy conservation has a great ROI and a continual source of cost savings!

2. Financial advantages of being certifiably green. Consider raising the level of your building to LEED or Energy Star-certified. Studies have shown:
o 5-16% rental premium
o 6-31% sales price premium
o 3-6% occupancy rate increase

3. Competition for commercial tenants. Many predict that commercial building occupancy rates will drop in the future as more firms will allow staff to work from home. That means reduced occupancy and more competition to attract tenants. One way to beat the competition is with an energy efficient building allowing a landlord to charge less or, if the tenant pays utilities, reduce their expenses, a good way to attract those who must minimize costs. Plus, smart energy upgrades raise a building’s sales price.

4. Good for sustainability reports. More companies are compiling and posting sustainability reports and scorecards. More energy efficient workspaces, whether leased or owned, are big steps to showing positive results to stakeholders.

5. Others will foot part of the upfront costs. Many companies do not have or are reluctant to spend the needed funds upfront on energy upgrades. While our focus is on COVID-19, many parts of the country also have energy management concerns. Utilities and governments have reason to offer financial incentives to those that do energy upgrades, often paying as much as half the upfront cost. What a great opportunity to get a high ROI, attract more tenants, with others pay some of the upfront costs!

CCES has the technical experts to help you upgrade your energy systems in a smart and financially beneficial manner. We know incentives and can get you the greatest package you qualify for. We can not only tell you where it is best to upgrade, but we can project manage the upgrade to maximize the benefits with the least disruption. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

What the COVID-19 Pandemic Teaches Us About Climate Change

The world is fighting hard to minimize the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on news reports, some nations have carried out policies that have achieved moderate success, while, in other cases, there has been failure. The crisis can provide us insights for ways to act for the next big global crisis we face: climate change.

The “good” news of the COVID-19 pandemic is that global actions can be implemented quickly when faced with a crisis. Except for a couple of outliers, just about every nation in the world did act, although some were painfully slow. Many nations deserve credit for actions, imperfect as some are, given that there is no “playbook” for handling this crisis. We are learning about the coronavirus “on the fly” and thus, prescriptive remedies (do this and the virus will disappear) do not exist. It is human nature to be careful and not embark on a strategy unless one is sure of success. That is not the case here. Nations implemented extreme lockdown measures, at the risk of upsetting their populations and causing economic hardship, to slow down the virus’s spread, without a guarantee of success (how compliant would people be? would it actually slow the spread?).

Another bit of “good” news coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the efforts to combat the spread of the virus, such as the lockdown and closing of many businesses has resulted in noticeably cleaner air, as much data now confirms and pictures demonstrate. For those who worry we can never reduce greenhouse gas emissions, here is proof that it can be done. Now, how can we keep reducing levels even more as businesses re-open and people begin to move toward “normal”? Can some of these changes (telecommuting, home school, reduced auto/plane travel) become permanent?

However, the COVID-19 pandemic teaches us hard lessons in case of a future crisis or for dealing with climate change. Ultimately, the world was poorly prepared, despite warning signs, such as other pandemics (SARS, MERS, Ebola) causing huge numbers of deaths in recent decades. If we had planned for this pandemic using the lessons of past ones, COVID-19 would not have been avoided, but probably would have been less deadly. We now see early warning signs of climate change-caused effects on Earth. We should plan and invest smartly to lessen future climate change worst-case scenarios.

Another lessen is that national borders do not hinder the spread of the coronavirus. Thus, coordinated national and international planning and communication are critical. Even the many robust local responses to COVID-19 may be for naught if other places are more lax in containing the virus hastening its spread. We learned cooperation is critical for distribution of equipment (ventilators) and PPE. Thus, we must make an effort to coordinate a global response to climate change. Reducing global GHG emissions and coping with its worst physical impacts will similarly require concerted global action.

Finally, what will our economic recovery be like? It is an opportunity not just to bring economic activity to life, but, with a concern for climate change, we can recover smartly by favoring energy efficiency and clean energy which would also address the next crisis, climate change. It is a simple fact that for most businesses recovery will be slow. With high unemployment, few people have the money to buy what they have to offer. Thus, revenue recovery will be slow. That’s all the more reason that companies need to cut their expenses, and reducing energy costs is a very good, long-lasting way to do so and put yourself in a more competitive situation. CCES has the experts to suggest proven, company-specific strategies to significantly reduce energy costs and manage their implementation for your benefit. To minimize the inconvenience to reduce your expenses. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

Best Practices to Protect Your HVAC Equipment

By Bud Hammer, Atlantic Westchester

As many facilities are having to reduce operating hours or temporarily cease operations, it is important to still maintain your building’s environment as well as your bottom line. Building owners and operators are actually in a position to take precautions to help prevent spread of infections. When you return to full capacity at your building, the reassurance of improved air quality and facility safety is a must.

There are things that can be done with your HVAC systems to support a healthy indoor environment and help protect against the spread of flu viruses like COVID-19. Here are some recommended procedures to follow while buildings are closed or minimally staffed:

1. Keep HVAC systems running. Even if buildings are unoccupied, insufficient temperature and humidity control can lead to mold growth.

2. Reprogram standalone programable thermostats and adjust BAS/DDC temperature setpoints and occupancy schedules to avoid unnecessary spend.

3. Maintain a temperature between 55⁰F and 80⁰F and a proper indoor relative humidity (50% RH) maximum humidity of 60%– Viral transmission occurs at higher rates when indoor humidity levels are either very low or very high. Studies have shown higher person-to-person transmission levels occur when indoor humidity is lower than 40% RH than occur at 50% RH. This has to do with the evaporation process. Increasing the reliance on outside air can help increase the humidity in commercial buildings to an optimum level to help inhibit airborne transmission of viruses.

4. Use high-efficiency filters, preferably HEPA (MERV 13). Upgrade filters. High-performance filters (MERV 14-16) can remove particulates down to the size of the COVID-19 virus. Filters come in a variety of ratings. As their rating increases, so does the price. Standard pleated air filters entrap larger particles and are sufficient for most purposes, but they cannot scrub the air of bacteria and viruses. Improved filtration may be worth the investment given the great concerns about viral transmission. Supplies of these filters are limited.

5. Clean air ducts and coils.

6. Perform any preventive maintenance now (HVAC, power, and lighting assets) while buildings are unoccupied.

7. Exercise your emergency backup power systems to ensure uptime when needed.

8. Augment staff for increased connectivity to suppliers and reduction of potential downtime.

9. Increase the volume of outside air (OSA) to achieve more air changes – HVAC systems are the source of fresh outside air for occupants. Increasing the amount of OSA reduces the amount of recirculated air through the HVAC system. “Ventilation represents a primary infectious disease control strategy through dilution of room air around a source and removal of infectious agents” (CDC 2005). Replacing contaminated indoor air with fresh OSA is an important step in improving occupant health. ASHRAE is the organization that sets the standards for the HVAC industry. Its most recent advisory guidelines states that now is not the time for energy-saving techniques like demand control ventilation (DCV) that reduces the amount of OSA. We recommend increasing outside air levels to 20% – 40% of the air handling capacity of the HVAC unit. The mild temperatures of spring reduce the energy penalty that this action would otherwise create under more extreme summer or winter outdoor temperatures. Units equipped with variable speed fans can cost-effectively accommodate an increase in ventilation rates.

10. Ensure equipment is in proper working conditions. All of the above recommendations assume equipment is in proper working condition and supply fans run continuously whenever the building is occupied. Commercial buildings should never run in the “auto” mode unless steps are taken to periodically “over-ventilate” the building. It is common for retail and small offices to run fans improperly. Make sure to educate your tenants and facility teams on the importance of running fans continuously. It is established in the building codes and national standards.

Atlantic Westchester (AW) is a commercial Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) company dedicated to making buildings smarter while providing the highest quality service in the industry. Since 1961, AW has catered to clients across the NY metro area with proactive maintenance, remediation and installation services based on their unique facility needs. Our professional, well-trained team works as a trusted partner to provide our clients with intelligent, energy-efficient solutions that optimize building performance, lower operating costs, and improve comfort. For more information, AW’s website is: https://www.atlanticwestchester.com/ or contact Ms. Cathy Hoffman at choffman@atlanticwestchester.com or at 914.666.2268.