ENERGY SERVICES
joulEnergy offers a wide variety of professional energy engineering services aimed at increasing Net Operating Income (NOI) for commercial buildings. These services include but are not limited to:
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ASHRAE LEVEL II ENERGY AUDIT
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The first step toward any significant reduction in energy expenditure begins with an energy audit. In an effort to standardize the depth of a commercial building energy audit, ASHRAE has classified three audit levels with the scope of each built on top of the previous.
An ASHRAE Level II Energy Audit includes high level elements of a Level I Audit, such as a building benchmark, an energy baseline, and an end-use profile. In addition, it also includes a detailed summary of the building's equipment, systems, and operations, as well as savings calculations, implementation cost estimates, and a financial analysis for identified energy cost reduction measures. |
DID YOU KNOW?
An ASHRAE Level II Energy Audit is required every five years in San Francisco for buildings greater than 50,000 square feet. [1] |
RETRO-COMMISSIONING
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Existing Building Commissioning, or Retro-Commissioning (RCx), is a systematic process designed to ensure a building is operating at levels of peak performance. It is one of the most rigorous and effective ways to identify system-level operational improvements and decrease a facility’s energy consumption. Existing Building Commissioning typically includes:
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DID YOU KNOW?
An extensive study by Lawrence Berkeley National Labs found that retro-commissioned buildings [2]
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ENERGY STAR BENCHMARK
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ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager has emerged as the industry standard for building benchmarking as it provides a simple method to compare energy usage in your facility to similar buildings throughout the country.
Buildings that exhibit energy performance in the top 25th percentile may earn the ENERGY STAR label once a Professional Engineer verifies that the building continues to provide a comfortable environment for occupants per relevant ASHRAE and IESNA standards. |
DID YOU KNOW?
Studies show ENERGY STAR buildings have a
An annual Energy Star Benchmark is required by the City of San Francisco [1] as well as California Law AB 1103 [5] |
LEED FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS
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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a collection of rating systems that provide a framework for green building design, construction, operations and maintenance. The appropriate rating system depends on the type and state of the facility. Within each rating system, buildings pursue various sustainability credits to earn points towards Silver, Gold, or Platinum certifications.
The LEED for Existing Buildings rating system helps building owners and operators quantify the impact of various improvements to their operations and maintenance program. The goal is to maximize operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impact |
DID YOU KNOW?
LEED Certified Buildings have been found to have*
In San Francisco, new construction and alteration projects that commit to LEED Gold certification receive priority in queues for Planning Entitlements, Public Works, and Building Inspection, typically reducing the overall process by 1-6 months. [7] |
ENERGY SIMULATION MODELS
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When analyzing the effect of multiple complex and overlapping improvements to a facility, energy models provide the most reliable and accurate results.
EnergyPlus is an energy analysis and thermal load simulation program developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Based on user inputs that describe a building's physical make-up, EnergyPlus models heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, other energy flows. |
DID YOU KNOW?
Energy modeling is required to earn up to $1.80/ft2 for qualified HVAC and building envelope improvements through EPAct Section 179D tax deductions. [8] |
ENERGY SAVINGS MEASUREMENT & VERIFICATION
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Measuring energy savings is inherently difficult because it involves measuring something that doesn't exist. To measure the savings achieved by implementing an efficiency measure, post-implementation energy consumption is typically compared to a model that predicts pre-implementation consumption.
The two most commonly cited standard industry protocols for measuring savings are
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DID YOU KNOW?
Evidence shows that energy efficiency is the least expensive, most quickly deployable, and cleanest of all energy resources. [9] However, to ensure your project yields the savings you expect requires transparent evaluation by a professional following a standard procedure. |
* Statistics do not distinguish between LEED-EB and other types of LEED Certifications
[1] City of San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Environment Code - Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance. http://www.sfbos.org/index.aspx?page=11414
[2] Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory http://cx.lbl.gov/2009-assessment.html
[3] Kok, Nils, Maastricht University, PRI Workshop, January 2009
[4] Fuerst, Franz and McAllister, Patrick “Green Noise or Green Value? Measuring the Price Effects of Environmental Certification in Commercial Buildings,” School of Real Estate and Planning , Henley Business School. April 25, 2009.
[5] The California Energy Commission. http://www.energy.ca.gov/ab1103
[6] CoStar Group, “Commercial Real Estate and the Environment”. Q1, 2008
[7] SFEnvironment http://sfenvironment.org/article/larger-projects-commercial-amp-multifamily/priority-permitting
[8] United States Government Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 179D. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/epact_2005.pdf
[9] Eldridge, et Al. "The 2008 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard". http://www.aceee.org/topics/emv
