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Energy Management Systems and Controls
With electricity costs ranging from about $1.00 to more than $6.00 per square foot per year, energy is a major operating expense for commercial building owners. (See our other business fact sheets for more details). Optimizing energy consumption can considerably reduce operating costs without compromising the quality of lighting, comfort or refrigeration of goods. Costs can be reduced by retrofitting lighting equipment, reducing losses in air-handling systems and properly sizing air conditioning equipment. But energy consumption can also be optimized by carefully monitoring and controlling the operation of a building’s energy-using equipment.
This fact sheet provides guidance on energy management and control strategies for small- to mid-sized commercial buildings which can result in considerable energy cost savings as well as a number of other benefits. Energy management and control technologies include a wide range of devices and systems from a simple timer that turns off a lamp or a bathroom fan, to centralized, computer-based systems that monitor, control and optimize building systems. Technologies that are most applicable to the small business sector include:- Programmable time controls
- Automatic lighting controls
- HVAC control systems and programmable/smart thermostats
- Energy management or building automation system