September 16, 2011
CHICAGO, IL – Sieben Energy Associates (SEA) recently completed its latest set of projects for the ComEd Retro-Commissioning Program. SEA’s engineering team concluded retro-commissioning projects at ten buildings in the Chicago area, reducing each building’s annual energy consumption by nearly 5% on average.
In its final report card for the 2010–11 program year from Nexant, ComEd’s program administrator, SEA received excellent scores for the identification of significant energy savings opportunities and customer satisfaction.
This program is part of ComEd’s legislatively-mandated Smart Ideas for your Business, an energy reduction initiative that is intended to postpone or eliminate the need for utility investment in new electric generation, distribution, and transmission. Energy use reductions in participating buildings help offset demand growth due to new construction or rising consumption at other facilities.
SEA has been a major service provider for the ComEd program since its pilot year and is currently engaged in another set of retro-commissioning projects under the program. As a service provider, SEA performs building site visits, analyzes building systems and energy usage data, and identifies custom measures to reduce building energy use. During these projects, SEA works closely with building staff, ComEd, and Nexant.
The RCx process is designed to optimize a building’s energy-consuming systems. A typical project starts with analysis of building energy use, proceeds to development and implementation of energy-saving measures, and concludes with measurement and verification of savings.
"The quickest, easiest, most cost-effective way to reduce the energy usage and carbon footprint of a building is to ensure that equipment is operating at its peak efficiency," said Chris Philbrick, SEA’s Director of Retro-Commissioning. "Investigation and analysis of data from a building’s automation system provide the greatest opportunities for improvement. SEA’s advanced diagnostics and testing identify these opportunities during the RCx process."
In the past year, SEA worked with a variety of building types, including five commercial office buildings, two hospitals, two hotels, and a data center. RCx services from SEA reduced each building’s annual electricity consumption by an average of 530,000 kWh.
The majority of energy-saving measures SEA identified through retro-commissioning had a simple payback period of one year or less. These innovative energy efficiency solutions will provide the buildings with lasting benefits at minimal cost.
In every retro-commissioning project, SEA forged a strong relationship with the building owner. SEA’s top-tier ratings in customer satisfaction reflect SEA’s commitment to providing "Our customer service satisfaction rating is gratifying, but not surprising," said SEA Vice President Jerry Burin. "We recognized throughout these retro-commissioning projects that our building owner clients bought into the concept and had developed a partnership with us to achieve the greatest possible results."
The ComEd Retro-Commissioning Program is an important opportunity for buildings to improve their performance through energy efficiency. Among other program selection criteria, peak electricity demand must be 500 kW or greater. ComEd pays for all of SEA’s retro-commissioning service fees in buildings selected to participate.
About Sieben Energy Associates
Sieben Energy Associates (SEA) is a strategic and technical consulting firm that specializes in energy efficiency, sustainable design, and strategic energy management solutions. Since 1990, SEA has helped hundreds of clients in the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors identify ways to reduce their energy costs, strengthen their sustainability profiles, and implement green solutions for new and existing buildings. SEA helps clients to reduce operating expenses, increase shareholder value, and manage the risks of global climate change.
Contact: Sarah Alice Barnes
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