From Energy Audit Action Plans to Actual Savings
Jim Kelsey, P.E., LEED AP®, kW Engineering
In recent years there has been increasing attention directed towards the energy use of existing buildings, especially energy-intensive technical facilities (e.g., laboratories). One important way to reduce the energy use of existing buildings is by identifying energy efficiency opportunities through building assessments, commonly referred to as energy audits.
While energy audits are commonly used, there is great diversity in the services delivered to customers and little industry standardization. ASHRAE has promoted best practices by publishing an updated version of the special publication "Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits." The goals of this publication are to provide a reference guide for what to expect from an audit, establish guidelines for the level of audit effort (i.e., 1, 2, and 3), and to introduce good audit procedures for energy auditors.
This presentation will discuss energy audits, measuring implementation, tracking progress, and demonstrating results, with emphasis on the laboratory environment. Topics will include definitions of energy audit levels of effort (currently referenced by LEED EB®), how to build a successful team, successful approaches to site visits, incorporating onsite measurements, and how to turn an energy audit report into an action plan for building owners and their staff.
Jim Kelsey is a founder of kW Engineering, an energy efficiency consulting engineering firm with offices in Oakland and Long Beach, California. Mr. Kelsey has been in the energy efficiency business since 1989. He founded kW Engineering in 1998 in order to do the work that he loves: developing technically innovative and reliable ways to save energy. Mr. Kelsey's first degree was in physics from Rice University before receiving his master's in mechanical engineering from the Solar Energy Lab at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a licensed mechanical engineer in California and Nevada and a LEED AP. Jim is a past president of the San Francisco Bay Area Association of Energy Engineers and was named its Energy Engineer of the Year in 2002. Mr. Kelsey led the rewrite of the ASHRAE publication "Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits, 2nd Edition," is a voting member of ASHRAE's Standard 100 – Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings, and serves on the Board of Directors for the California Energy Efficiency Industry Council and the Technical Advisory Board of the USGBC's Best Buildings Challenge. Mr. Kelsey teaches energy auditing methods for commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings at Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Pacific Energy Center and currently oversees kW Engineering's delivery of integrated energy audits and corporate energy action plans to utilities and private clients.