Turning Capital Projects Into Energy Projects

Many commercial and institutional facilities have ongoing capital projects for replacing old equipment, ongoing maintenance, and expansion. Many of these projects are carried out with a focus on first cost, simplicity, and expediency, at the expense of energy and operational improvement. This article will describe how a typical capital project for New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) was re-focused to become an energy savings project by broadening the scope beyond the mechanical room, shifting capital to energy savings measures, and taking advantage of energy incentives to offset costs. Key to the effort was the hospital's aggressive program to reduce its energy costs through conservation. These efforts have earned the hospital the Energy Star Partner of the Year award for 2004 and 2005. The original project scope was the replacement of air conditioning units with higher tonnage units, duct cleaning, and other maintenance efforts. An “energy focused” analysis of the building, including an energy model for the occupied space, recommended high efficiency, smaller air conditioners, retro-commissioning of the air distribution system, variable frequency drives on condenser water pumps, and an energy management system in lieu of duct cleaning. The recommendations added little cost to the project and identified the potential to save over 1,500,000 kWh a year in electrical energy. In addition, approximately $200,000 in incentives were identified for the project under the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA's) Commercial and Industrial Performance Program (CIPP) and Peak Load Reduction Program (PLRP). This article will compare the project scope and cost before the analysis and after the analysis. The energy conservation measures identified for the project and the M&V strategies used to confirm the energy savings will be discussed, along with some of the pre- and post-installation data.