Also consider:
Building envelope
Check heating and cooling loss due to poor construction, missing or inadequate insulation and moisture intrusion. Correcting the defects can result in significant building efficiency.
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According to the US EPA, 45 % of office building energy costs can be attributed to space heating and cooling. Energy savings can make the case for an HVAC upgrade. It all begins with an energy audit.
"Using energy efficiently is cool again," says Paul Twite, referring to the current high cost of energy. Twite is a power quality engineer, a Level II certified thermographer and a co-owner of 24-7 Power, an electrical consulting and engineering service company in the business of helping other companies discover and fix their energy inefficiencies. 24-7 Power is also a full service manufacturers' representative for many of the instruments Twite uses in energy audits."
EPA studies show that a 15 cfm airflow differential can impact annual HVAC energy costs by up to 81 % depending upon the HVAC system and variations in climate.
Do the math on employee productivity:
Assume a 100,000 square foot office building with seven employees per 1000 square fee (per ASHRAE 62-2001), and an average salary of $30,000 per employee. Assume occupant dissatisfaction and/or absenteeism due to poor indoor air conditions reduces productivity by 2 % yielding $420,000 per year in lost productivity, or $420 per square foot. Increasing average HVAC energy costs of $0.64 per square foot by even 5 % to $0.67 is negligible compared to the productivity increases realized through a clean and comfortable indoor environment.
1 "Energy Cost and IAQ performance of Ventilation Systems and Controls, Project Report #4." United States Environmental Protection Agency, January 2000: 10.
See how the 975 AirMeter, 1735 Power Logger and TiR Thermal Imager can help you reduce energy costs.
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