I have talked about sustainability in past, but I wanted to revisit the topic since Sustainable Engineering will be making a presentation at webinar hosted by the NM Economic Development Department. I wanted to share how Sustainable Engineering views sustainable and implements plans to promote it. The three pillars of sustainability take into account Environmental, Social, and Economic factors. Sustainable Engineering provides energy efficiency assessments, renewable energy designs, and resiliency planning. By prioritizing these three factors we help businesses and organizations become more sustainable.
Energy Assessments:
EPA ENERGY STAR:
We start out by gathering billing data from your utility company and standardize building energy consumption to compare to buildings in your same climate region and industry. This establishes an energy baseline from which energy efficiency targets can be set. Buildings that rank above 75% in their industry can receive an Energy Star Certificate.
ASHRAE Level 1, Level 2:
We conduct site walkthroughs of facilities to determine what energy efficiency opportunities might be available in accordance with The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditions Engineers energy assessment standards (ASHRAE). The final result is a report that provides a road map for energy efficiency upgrades along with a cost analysis of viable energy saving opportunities.
Energy Management:
We have partnered with the Department of Energy through their 50001 Ready Program to help businesses and organizations develop and implement an Energy Management Program for Continuous Energy Improvements. An energy management system goes beyond the initial energy assessment performed and requires a perpetual change in an organizations energy culture. Using the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology, businesses and organizations can find future energy efficiency opportunities.
After interacting with stakeholders and gathering data during the energy assessment process we are able to model building loads such as HVAC, lighting, building envelope, etc. to determine what are the most appropriate energy efficient systems that benefit the building as a whole. Diving down into how the customer is tied to the electrical grid, if they are even tied to the grid, and what utility rates they are paying gives us a better picture of how to design renewable energy systems and how cost effective they will ultimately be. For example, many commercial and industrial businesses pay demand charges, which generally cannot be offset by renewable energy systems alone. However, energy efficiency strategies and energy storage such as batteries and generators can reduce demand charges when tied to the grid. Our analyses depict an organizations carbon footprint through greenhouse gas inventories and opportunities for reductions. Finally, we show how the right combination of energy efficiency measures, renewable energy generation, and energy storage can increase a community’s energy resiliency, especially if they don’t currently have access to reliable electricity or energy.