LEXINGTON, Mass. – Commercial facility operators and building managers can significantly reduce their costs for electricity, fossil fuels and water by completing courses in building energy performance, according to a new study released today by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc.
The findings were the result of an evaluation of the Building Operator Training and Certification (BOC) program, a competency-based curriculum for building operators that NEEP and its sponsors launched in 2000 to improve operation and maintenance practices that impact the energy efficiency of commercial buildings. Since its inception, the BOC has trained more than 500 students and certified over 425 of those in energy efficient building performance. In order to be certified, building operators must demonstrate competence in evaluating building energy consumption, HVAC equipment inspection, lighting surveys, indoor air pollutant sources and pathways, and facility electrical distribution.
The evaluation found that, on average, the facilities served by students who completed the BOC curriculum saved, on an annual basis:
·
0.5 kWhs of electricity per square foot
·
1.95 MMBtu (million British Thermal Units) of fossil fuels (gas/oil) per 1,000 square feet
·
0.162 gallons of water per square foot
At current retail energy prices, those savings translate to an estimated savings of $20,000 per facility per year.
According to Fouad Dagher, a lead senior engineer of National Grid in Northborough, Mass., one of the founding sponsors of the BOC program, the evaluation results validate the program in a way that every commercial building owner and operator can recognize and appreciate.
"It's one thing to be able to talk about energy efficiency and all its related benefits," said Dagher. "It's another to be able to tangibly demonstrate that learning about building energy performance in a course like the BOC will result in substantial energy cost savings for your facility. This evaluation shows us the very real benefit of optimizing a building's energy performance."
Several BOC graduates lent their voices to the program evaluation, testifying to the effectiveness of the program in improving the energy performance of the facilities they operate.
"The BOC Course opened my eyes to preventative maintenance items that were being overlooked, and reinforced maintenance practices that were already in place," noted Joe McPherson, maintenance manager at Pease International Airport / Pease Development Authority (PDA) in Portsmouth, N.H., where he is responsible for more than 58,000 square feet of facility space and more than five million square feet of grounds. "It gave me a renewed interest in the work that I'm doing, and I've tried to pass this on to my crew. It's at the forefront of the individual's mind when they come back from the course, encouraging them to dig further into the specifics of their facilities. You develop a new relationship with your facilities."
"Since taking the BOC course, I have been able to save money, save energy, and improve occupant comfort at my facility," added Chris Mozian, process control systems engineer for the Bayer Corporation in Berlin, Conn. "For example, I have spotted inefficient filters on new equipment and installed better ones to increase the life of the HVAC units."
The evaluation, conducted by Research Into Action, Inc., of Portland, Ore., included telephone surveys of BOC students, qualifying supervisors, teachers, administrators and sponsors. Among students and supervisors, 80 percent were satisfied with the BOC program, while 90 percent said the training has led to improved comfort or savings of energy or money.
"What's very gratifying for us is when we hear from students who tell us of the extra savings they've realized through the BOC program," said Alan Mulak, the program manager. "In addition to the energy and cost savings they've identified, there are other gains they don't necessarily think of when they sign up for the course, like building comfort, worker productivity and indoor air quality."
Mulak said the BOC curriculum continues to evolve and take on relevant topics for facility managers and building operators. For example, he noted, the BOC will hold a one-day workshop on Oct. 2, 2002 in Chelmsford, Mass. that will focus on indoor air quality, specifically in the areas of mold remediation and mildew control. Meanwhile, classes continue throughout the Northeast, including several locations in Massachusetts; in Hartford, Conn.; Portland, Presque Isle and Bangor, Maine; Manchester, N.H.; Providence, R.I.; Long Island, N.Y., and four New Jersey locations.
Sponsors of the BOC program include:
Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire
Cape Light Compact
Concord Electric Company
Connecticut Light and Power Company
Conectiv Power Delivery
Exeter and Hampton Electric Company
Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company
Granite State Electric Company
Jersey Central Power and Light
KeySpan Energy Delivery
Long Island Power Authority
Maine Public Utilities Commission
NSTAR Electric & Gas
National Grid
New Hampshire Electric Co-op
New Hampshire Governor's Office of Energy and Community Services
Northeast Utilities
PSE&G
Public Service of New Hampshire
Western Massachusetts Electric Company
Founded in 1996, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to steadily increase energy efficiency in homes, buildings and industry throughout the Northeast region of the United States.
For more information about the BOC or NEEP, or to register for the October BOC workshop or any of the upcoming BOC courses, call 781-860-9177, or visit www.neep.org.
This article courtesy of http://thaispa06.ru/.
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