Finding room in your budget for facility upgrades is never easy.  If you are a facility manager, you probably have a wish list of upgrades you would like to make, but getting budget approval for new infrastructure is easier said than done.  If you are in the “C” Suite, you would like assurance that you are making a good investment in infrastructure upgrades, but the financial benefits of such upgrades may be unclear.  Envinity can help bridge the gap between corporate and facilities through our proven approach to strategic energy planning.

Our Energy Management Plans are tailored to address the unique financial and infrastructural needs of our clients.  We do not see finances and facilities as separate concerns, but as equal concerns in a solution that will address the nuts and bolts of energy planning and facilities upgrades within the constraints of budget and corporate strategy.  Our detailed, year-by-year implementation plan and corresponding cash flow analysis will show you how energy efficiency can pay for your capital upgrades in the short-run and contribute to your bottom line in the long-run.

In any facility, there is always room for quick fixes – energy-efficient lighting or a tuned up HVAC system, for example – but we see energy planning as an opportunity for long-term improvements and financial returns.  Here are three reasons to consider doing a comprehensive Energy Management Plan:

• Be Proactive: Facilities are always aging, and chances are you’re due for an upgrade somewhere along the line.  Don’t wait for things to break; be proactive and manage your risk by installing modern, reliable systems that will ensure smooth facilities operations for years to come.

• Be Strategic: Short-term solutions and quick fixes only get you so far.  If you want to recognize the long-term gains of energy efficiency, we recommend doing a comprehensive survey of your facilities. Equipped with that knowledge, you can make a long-term plan that will benefit both facilities and finances.

• Be a Leader: No one wants to lag behind their peers.  Don’t settle for business as usual; take the initiative and move to the front of your peer group in energy efficiency.  Upgrade your facilities to become ASHRAE certified and be recognized as a leader in sustainability.

When you are ready to take the next step, we have the technical expertise and business experience to develop an Energy Management Plan that fits your facility requirements and strategic goals.  Features of our Energy Management Plan Include:

• An age of plant analysis

• An ECM (Energy Conservation Measures) analysis with projected cost savings

• A road map with our recommendations organized by strength of investment

• Customized financing scenarios, including rebates, performance incentives, grants, and tax benefits

• A twenty-year cash flow analysis demonstrating savings from Day 1

Clients who have worked with Envinity to develop an Energy Management Plan almost always continue the relationship into project implementation.  

Retro-commissioning is the art of re-tuning existing systems for enhanced energy performance.  Like the commissioning process for new buildings, retro-commissioning seeks to improve how building equipment and systems function together, and it is often the first project that our clients pursue after the development of an energy management plan.

Why conduct retro-commissioning?  The reason is simple – building performance degrades over time.  Commercial buildings frequently undergo operational and occupancy changes that disrupt the mechanical, electrical, and control systems, hindering performance.  These disruptions can be even worse in modern buildings with complex systems, where small issues can create unintended and undesirable ripple effects throughout the system.

Unfortunately, most buildings have never gone through any type of commissioning process, and even well-constructed buildings experience performance degradation over time.  No matter how well-maintained the equipment may be, if your system operates inefficiently or cycles more often than needed, it will waste energy and could become less reliable over time.

Retro-commissioning can often resolve problems that occurred during design or construction, or address problems that have developed during the building’s life.  Retro-commissioning improves a building’s operations and maintenance procedures to enhance overall building performance, making existing capital assets work harder for you.

Envinity has a track record of turning small investments into big returns through retro-commissioning projects.  In a recent project at a healthcare facility, one of our commissioning engineers identified measures to help the client save $8,000 a month.  The savings from that project will be reinvested in a chiller plant upgrade projected to save an additional $100,000 per year.

Contact us today to find out how Envinity can help improve your building’s performance through retro-commissioning.

Envinity engineers not only offer the expertise of facility energy management, but are well equipped to offer all of the traditional mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) design services.  Envinity also work with clients through bid management and construction administration.  Our streamlined process will help you make necessary upgrades to your facility without getting in the way of your operations.

Envinity specializes in the following project types:

• Chiller replacements and controls upgrades

• Boiler replacements and controls upgrades

• Building automation system upgrades

• Geothermal and Waste Heat Recovery

• Fuel conversions

• Air system balancing and optimization

• Lighting upgrades

Our engineers have decades of collective experience doing building systems upgrades, and we enjoy getting our hands dirty to help a building reach its maximum performance.  

Even the most technologically advanced buildings can have sub-optimal performance if they are not properly commissioned.  If you want to reduce the lifetime energy usage of your building, consider hiring Envinity to commission your building’s energy systems.  It’s one of the best investments you can make.

The term commissioning has its origins in shipbuilding.  To be deemed ready for service, every ship must pass a number of milestones. Equipment is installed and tested, problems are identified and corrected, and the ship’s crew is extensively trained.  A commissioned ship is one whose materials, systems, and crew have successfully completed a thorough quality assurance process.  It’s no less important with a building.

Envinity has helped “launch” numerous buildings through our rigorous program of testing, optimizing, and training.  When our team commissions a building, we put it through an intensive quality assurance process that begins during design and continues through construction, occupancy, and operations.  Our process ensures that your building will perform as intended, and that building staff will be ready to operate its systems and achieve the best possible performance.

Did you know that the energy savings from an Envinity-commissioned building typically pays for the commissioning agent in less than a year?  Just ask our friends at Guthrie Health, who hired us to commission a new intensive care unit.  In that one project alone, we identified $180,000 in initial cost savings, $40,000 in energy savings, and $40,000 in utility rebates.

If you have a building that’s ready to set sail, contact us today to ask about our commissioning services.  Or if you have a building that never went through the commissioning process, visit our Retro-commissioning section.

According to a report by the Lawrence-Berkeley National Laboratory, “Monitoring based commissioning combines ongoing building energy system monitoring with standard retro-commissioning practices with the aim of providing substantial, persistent, energy savings".   

Envinity is now combining its expertise in retro-commissioning with sophisticated software and data analytics to better manage building performance and efficiency.  Our process involves data mining to identify issues and engineering analysis to address the issues.  Our MBCx solution identifies and prioritizes the faults and resolutions.

Contact us to learn more about our powerful monitoring based commissioning process.