Unfortunately, in the world of building design, feedback is often lacking. Most architects and engineers work on new buildings, and once commissioning is done, there’s little opportunity (or budget) to review the impact of design choices, positive or negative. Without a feedback loop from commissioning...
This week we celebrated an exciting day in our industry, National Energy Efficiency Day, also known as EE Day, with this year's hashtag being #EEDay2019. EE Day is the first Wednesday of October. Energy efficiency might not be on the tip of your tongue. But...
Did you know your business could receive incentives or no-cost technical support to investigate and implement energy-saving projects in your building? Utilities offer and procure energy efficiency programs to increase building energy efficiency. The goal of these program is to save energy by resolving inefficient...
We’ve seen an increased interest in Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) (aka Variable Refrigerant Volume or VRV) systems. Many view them as a panacea for a building’s HVAC needs. For building owners or managers with no prior experience with VRF/VRV units, we recommend considering the following...
I love my new Sense home energy monitor and I’ve only just begun using it. If you’re an energy geek too, I imagine you’ll enjoy monitoring your whole-house energy consumption as much as I do. Why do I like my new Sense Home Energy Monitor? It’s much...
There are many tools of the trade in the world of building energy efficiency. Knowing the difference between approaches, like the difference between a commercial building energy audit and retro-commissioning, can help you take the next best step to lower your energy bills, while meeting...
(Title Image Source: CA ISO) Time could be running out for American businesses and homeowners to receive the full amount of the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for installing solar (photovoltaic or PV) systems, and it couldn’t be worse timing for California. Beginning January 1, 2020, the...
While California has often been at the top of the nation’s leaders in energy efficiency, its recently stalled in its progress to regain the number one status. I believe that, until we solve our current issues with energy savings attribution for energy efficiency programs following...
We received a call from a client seeking “commissioning.” Their project was already in construction, and they thought commissioning meant “functional testing.” We explained why functional testing without design review is a waste of money. During testing, we might be able to find issues, but by...
Time-of-use (TOU) rates are available to all large California utility residential customers. Knowing how these rates work and how to maximize their Super Off-Peak usage rates is key to minimizing electricity bills. Here are some tips to navigate a TOU schedule. What is the difference in...