The Building Manager’s Guide to Developing a Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP) Recently, I had the pleasure of presenting a seminar at PMExpo in Toronto. The goal of my presentation was to help Building Managers understand the need to develop a comprehensive Strategic Energy Management Plan.
This simple case study presents the argument for Measurement and Verification and System-Wide Commissioning/Re-commissioning as part of an energy retrofit project. Measurement and Verification (M&V) is a process used to identify the specific impact produced by a material change. With respect to energy retrofit projects
The premise of condensing technology is to have low return water temperatures and as the low temperature water passes through the boiler, it reduces the temperature of the flue gas much lower than older non-condensing boilers. As the flue gas temperature drops below 130F, water
A refrigeration system is a combination of equipment connected in a closed circuit. A refrigerant is cycled through this circuit absorbing heat in one space and rejecting it to another. Many different compounds are used as refrigerants, but unfortunately many compounds that make excellent refrigerants
One of the vital standards all buildings must be designed for is ASHRAE Standard 62.1 – Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. Engineers and Designers use these standards to ensure all areas of any building receive the minimum mandated ventilation rate, also known as fresh
It is a very common occurrence in the experience of Efficiency Engineering for there to be 1-3 years between a recommendation/design being made and it’s actual implementation. Many of our retrofits cost well into the 6 figures and even 7 from time to time, as
A client recently approached Efficiency Engineering (EE) to review the HVAC system serving a pool and adjacent community center spaces for an apartment complex. The building has experienced a prolonged period of uncontrollable indoor air conditions and poor air quality in and around the basement
It is now possible to achieve the savings of a condensing boiler without the capital costs! During the past couple of design projects I have performed, a boiler retrofit project in Sarnia and a Social housing building in Toronto, I observed an interesting development. I
Efficiency Engineering has operated out of Cambridge for over 25 years to help building owners save energy. Its foundation is based on heating plant retrofit projects in Ontario where capital upgrades are value-engineered to be right-sized for the building and operate more efficiently. Lately we
In this brief discussion we take a quick look at the differences between designing and operating a dedicated domestic hot water (DHW) boiler plant and a combined heat and hot water (CHHW) plant producing the domestic hot water indirectly via a heat exchanger. In drawing
