Operations & Maintenance
Best Practices for Energy Management
Acknowledgements
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Building Technologies Office Award Number DE-EE0010930. Specifically, this resource has been adapted and localized for California from a guide originally developed for The Building Energy Hub with permission from the Illinois Green Alliance.
The Building Energy Hub included the following acknowledgement: “The original Operations & Maintenance Best Practices for Energy Management Guide is the result of a collaborative effort among the Institute for Market Transformation’s Building Innovation Hub and the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington Educational Foundation (AEF). We would like to thank Wes Huffman, AEF Executive Director, for his extensive contributions to this document. AEF works with the local real estate market to develop talented building engineering and maintenance professionals. Learn more at www.aobafoundation.org.”
Introduction: Best Practices for Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Energy Management
This document seeks to provide property owners/facilities managers, as well as operations, engineering, and maintenance personnel, with a guide for O&M procedures designed to increase energy efficiency. Building operations staff can use this guide as a template for creating a manual tailored to their own specific facilities or to complement existing materials on building systems, equipment, and other processes and information tailored to individual properties or companies.
High-performing buildings offer building owners and managers lower operating costs, potentially higher commercial tenant rents, and a higher resale value than traditional buildings. Energy efficiency is a central component of creating such a building and achieving these outcomes. In this document, we outline the “make or break” role operations and maintenance (O&M) play in achieving and maintaining the increased energy efficiency and added value for property owners and their portfolios.
As organizations seek to improve energy efficiency through O&M practices, they must examine all aspects of the building. While there are many ways to define the systems and subsystems of a building or property, the common divisions are:
Structure
Envelope
Building systems (Mechanical and electrical)
Interior
Envelope and building systems have the most significant impact on energy use, so the guide contains sections detailing strategies and opportunities associated with those systems in greater detail.
Ten Steps to Operational Efficiency
Build a company mantra focused on energy efficiency and create a cycle of continuous improvement in performance of building systems.
Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Platforms
Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), which consistently analyze equipment and systems for signs of trouble go a long way toward creating an efficient, high-performing building.
Reactive, Proactive, and Predictive Maintenance
The most cost-effective maintenance approach is a combination of preventive and predictive maintenance that appropriately balances regular maintenance and periodic diagnostic measurement.
Commissioning and Retro-Commissioning
Retro-commissioning (RCx) focuses on fine-tuning existing systems to operate as originally intended and is a cost-effective strategies that building owners and facility managers can implement to optimize building performance, reduce energy consumption, and lower operational costs.
The Role of the Envelope in Energy Efficiency
It is critical to examine the building envelope before making any significant investments in internal system upgrades.
Building Systems and System Components
This section offers guidelines, tips, and suggestions for improving the efficiency of several common components of buildings and building systems.