Analyzing Facility Energy Usage

Many facility managers are so preoccupied with day-to-day problems that they do not recognize the long-term energy-usage patterns of their facility. HPAC Engineering's March issue features an article that discusses ways to analyze facility energy usage.

Ron Auvil, a senior instructional consultant specializing in staff- and workforce-performance issues for a major HVAC/controls manufacturer, contributed the informational article to HPAC, which contends that identifying consumption patterns is key to devising appropriate energy-saving strategies and estimating payback. He presents two common measurements of facility energy usage, energy utilization index (EUI) and Energy Cost Index (ECI), and how to calculate them.

He goes on to highlight further steps, including finding energy usage by equipment type and using specific test instruments to identify areas of energy waste and energy loss. The methods presented are a good start to understanding the energy patterns of your facility. They can help show a "path" of energy coming into the building and being consumed by building systems.

http://hpac.com/iep/analyzing-facility-energy-usage-0311/