The rising cost of energy is creating a new urgency for green technology, much of which will go into new and existing buildings. According to the United States Department of Energy statistics, commercial, industrial and government buildings account for one-third of all energy used in the United States, totaling more than $220 billion in annual energy costs.
Studies by Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, estimate building owners can reduce utility bills up to 50 percent by modernizing energy and water systems. Clearly, owners can achieve significant savings investing in green technology.
The most popular investments in green technology for commercial buildings are lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems. In addition, tax credits and rebates are making alternative energy sources, such as solar power, an increasingly popular investment. And new technologies, such as smart irrigation systems, are also quickly gaining acceptance. These investments have relatively short payback periods (the time it takes to recoup your initial investment with cash-generated savings).
Lighting and HVAC
Many companies are upgrading their lighting and HVAC systems. Agilent Technologies in Santa Rosa has been making modifications to its systems in recent years and plans to continue to do so. “We’re in the middle of a multi-million dollar, 2.5-year architectural site renovation project. We’ll upgrade portions of our lighting and HVAC systems during the process,” says Dave Shufro, manager of systems engineering. “We’ve made significant investments in our variable frequency drivers to manage our HVAC loads more efficiently. We’ve also upgraded our lighting systems to more efficient T8 fluorescent lighting.” With the help of federal tax credits and rebates from PG&E, Shufro estimates Agilent can achieve a positive return on investment within two years.
What makes Agilent’s investments particularly effective is its energy management and control system. From his computer, Shufro can monitor and manage energy systems throughout Agilent’s 800,000-square-foot office and research facility.
Solar power
Another popular investment is solar power. Cash rebates from the State of California, along with tax incentives at the state and federal level, are fueling a modern day “solar” gold rush. According to Clean Edge, a market research firm in San Francisco, nationwide sales are expected to grow to $51 billion by 2015.
Installing a solar power system can eliminate electric bills. Under California’s Net Metering law, which requires public utilities to credit any renewable energy producer at the “retail rate” for the electricity they send out to the power grid, businesses can receive an annual credit for the surplus electric energy created. The current expected useful life of most solar installations is approximately 40 years. Warranties typically run 25 years.
Water use
Property owners and managers are also purchasing smart controllers for outdoor irrigation. HydroPoint, based in Petaluma, is one of the early entrants in satellite-based, ET (evapotranspiration) controllers. “ET is the gold standard in calculating water needs for plants,” explains Christopher Spain, president and CEO. “Today, most people use time-based controllers for irrigation. The problem is that time controllers don’t adjust with the weather. ET takes into account wind, humidity, temperature and solar radiation.
“We’ve found a way to calculate the ET for all locations in the United States down to the square kilometer,” says Spain. “By sending that information wirelessly to controllers and adjusting for such things as slope, soil and sprinkler type, we can eliminate up to 70 percent of excess water use. For enterprise level users,” says Spain, “it takes only six to 12 months, on average, to recoup costs.” HydroPoint also licenses its technology to the Toro Corporation, which sells products under both the Irritol and Toro brand names.
Final notes and resources
With the opportunity to cut energy and water bills up to 50 percent and relatively short payback periods, building owners clearly have an incentive to invest in green technology. For owners that lease their property to tenants, however, the incentive is less clear. Depending on the terms of the lease agreement, the costs and benefits of capital expenditures to increase energy and water efficiency may or may not be shared between owners and tenants.
There are many resources where you can find more information on energy efficiency and best practices:
• Building owners who sign a letter of intent to join the EPA’s Energy Star Buildings program, www.energystar.gov, can receive a free copy of QuikScope software, which can calculate the savings and financial benefits of energy projects for both owners and tenants based on existing lease structures.
• Go Solar California, www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov, offers information on cash rebates and tax credits available to purchasers of solar energy systems in California.
• Pacific Gas & Electric, www.pge.com, offers information on current rebates and incentives available for various energy projects as well free energy audits to qualified owners.
• The United States Green Building Council website, www.usgbc.com, displays information on various levels of LEED certification for new and existing buildings.
• The Energy Efficiency Manual by Donald Wulfinghoff is an excellent reference that explains how various energy systems work and how to build project scorecards for any major energy initiatives you might undertake.
