REVIEW 

The first step to take to understand performance and target savings right away

1. Schedule Energy Time

Schedule regular energy time within your team and governance meetings to allow colleagues to regularly review energy performance against targets and discuss new ideas and actions. This ensures the team maintains its focus on energy and sustainability targets over time and increases the chances of sustained progress.

Energy time works best when reviewed by the whole team during a monthly meeting.

2. Use Team Dashboards and Scorecards

Dashboards are data and information management systems that visually display and monitor energy performance indicators and success measures so the team can review them. Dashboards can be displayed in digital or paper formats.   Scorecards present the status and progress against planned actions and overall energy performance of a department, process, or organization. They are customized to meet the specific needs of a team or organization.

Use tools such as dashboards, balanced scorecards or RAG reports (Red, Amber and Green) to help make quicker and better decisions, reinforce behaviors and maintain momentum.

3. Involve Colleagues in Energy Audits

Energy audits are a systematic analysis of energy use and energy consumption within a defined energy audit scope. ISO 50002 specifies the process requirements for carrying out an energy audit in relation to energy performance. The same principles apply to other utilities resource use such as water. The standard methodology is applicable to all types of organizations, and all forms of energy and utilities use.

For a more effective audit, actively involve building users in the process, and consider how their actions and behaviors influence energy performance.

4. Identify Significant Resource Users (SRUs)

SRUs are people who have hands-on control of, or who can significantly influence, energy and other resources use within an area. Identifying SRUs and other stakeholders is quite often key to review energy performance and identify opportunities and priorities for energy performance improvement; it is good practice to take into account attitudes and behaviors of SRUs as they impact on overall sustainability performance.

Use stakeholder mapping tools to define the key roles and persons involved in actions for better resource use. A RACI matrix, for example, is a responsibility chart which shows who is Responsible and Accountable for related activities within an organization, and who should be Consulted and Informed of actions being taken.

5. Discuss Consumption Profiles

For energy-consuming systems, where half-hourly consumption data is available, talk to colleagues about what effect they think they can have on the shape of the daily and weekly consumption profiles. These can be considered along with any other relevant variables which significantly influence consumption; typical variable may include weather, service or production levels.

The impact of activities or behaviors, with respect to resources use, can be captured in consumption profile templates and used as a benchmark to compare future performance against.

REDUCE 

Prioritize engagement activities that engage colleagues to reduce consumption of resources.

1. Challenge Time schedules

Most energy consuming systems and equipment in the workplace are set to run automatically to programmable time schedules. When setting time schedules, engineers often have to make assumptions about operational practices and behaviors. As most of us are risk averse, this means that most systems run for much longer than they need to. Work with local operators (who best understand local service requirements), review and challenge the operating hours of all equipment and systems that consume significant utilities use.

Reduce times schedules in partnership with local users. Reducing operating times by 1 hour a day can reduce consumption by 5% or more.

2. Just Do It

‘Just do it’ (JDI) is a proven easy to remember, convincing and motivational mantra to stimulate colleagues to make quick low risk actions.  Why wait to do something if it’s the right thing to do and it can be done now?  This helps to make actions quick and intuitive for everyday champions involved; procrastination is often the main reason for little or no achievement.

A JDI mantra needs to be positioned alongside your other rapid actions processes. Champions need be able to distinguish between ideas and actions they can act on individually and those with greater risk that require team discussions, consensus or management approval.

3. Start a 100-day challenge

A one-hundred-day-challenge is a useful framework to create a sense of urgency to help teams focus on a particular challenge, and break down barriers, to see what they can achieve in a fixed timeframe.   100 days is typically the time it takes to break and remake habits. The results achieved through collaboration are often outstanding.

Set a 100-day plan upfront which brings the team together focused on the task.  Encourage teams to share ideas and remember to celebrate success.

4. Nudge Colleagues

Nudge theory uses positive reinforcement to influence behaviors.  It can help people review their existing behaviors, target obstructive ones to correct them, or create new habits.  People like to make fast, effortless and emotionally charged decisions; nudge interventions are typically indirect, free of choice, respectful, positive and about self-discovery.

Guide colleagues to make the more sustainable decision by making the better option more easily available and attractive to do.

5. Organize Collaborative Workshops or Events

Workshops and events are great opportunities to bring colleagues together to develop awareness, instill desire, enhance capabilities, and create the green sparks needed to kick-start change.

Organize Big Green events to create these connections, raise people’s spirits, improve collaboration, boost motivation and identify and act on quick wins – these are all often key ingredients for successful and long-lasting performance improvement programs.

REUSE 

Once reduction interventions are in place, reinforce actions with interventions that enhance ability.

1. Start a Competition

Competitions are proven to be powerful tools in influencing peoples’ behaviors. In fact, competition drives peoples’ motivation pulling on our human natural desire to compete and to compare performances. Competition helps drive continual improvement through innovation, enhanced quality, better knowledge and motivation.

Organize competitions involving teams from different operating areas to improve performance and strengthen team building.

2. Run Awareness Campaigns

Use awareness campaigns to communicate key issues, solutions and benefits to everyone across the organization to enhance their knowledge and understanding. Regardless of the channels used (champions, guides, toolbox talks, posters, videos, etc.), it is important to frame the messages well. Evidence suggests targeted information passed on by colleagues is likely to be more effective than general information provided through printed material such as posters and stickers.  It is a common mistake to think awareness campaigns alone change behaviors; for them to work, they need to be part of an integrated approach.

Run an awareness campaign to engage and educate colleagues and reinforce hearts and minds on energy and sustainability topics.

3. Toolkits

Tools and toolkits support everyday champions to make it easier to break down barriers and overcome challenges to deliver action at scale.  Rapid action processes help colleagues quickly implement standard operating procedures and, if appropriate, develop their own local solutions.  Smart phone or web apps can use process or social networking to help connect activities; take care when using in-house only systems as they can alienate any external members of the team.

Put in place a toolkit that makes implementing actions easier for colleagues.

4. Challenge for Sustainable Habits

The way significant resource users (SRUs) conduct work has a strong effect on energy consumption and waste production.  The 21/90 rule is one popular method that can help SRUs build new habits: someone commits to a personal or professional change in activity for 21 straight days then, once they've established the habit, continue to do it for another 90 days for it to become a way of life.

Encourage colleagues to form new, more sustainable habits.  Use communications to promote good actions that colleagues and opinion leaders take.

5. Create Checklists

If developed well, checklists are one of the easiest ways to stimulate ideas, enhance knowledge and facilitate quick action for champions. Break down a task into smaller chunks or objectives, assign each person one or more tasks they can focus on, and enjoy the satisfaction of checking off the list the completed actions.

Create your own checklists to share with colleagues as a guide with simple ideas and clear instructions.  Be careful about using checklists without a good understanding of the whole process.

RECYCLE 

Connect colleagues and recycle ideas, actions and feedback to seal change longer-term.

1. Launch Your Program

A high profile launch event led by the CEO or a senior director reinforces the importance of any program. This may involve a short event involving key colleagues, with follow-up communications to catalyze action. Use persuasive techniques or imagery to instill in building users a feeling of responsibility, for example, promoting a “switch it off” campaign.  Be careful about solely relying on press releases, posters and print.

For a launch, consider empowering colleagues to use storytelling as an interesting way to engage and persuade others to get involved, without falling into the trap of greenwash or using jargon.

2. Use Online Forums

Online forums provide the opportunity for people to connect and have conversations as part of a community of practice. They can be extremely useful tools to encourage discussion on specific topics of interest, increasing communication and collaboration amongst forum users. Forums are also easy places to go to when seeking new ideas, assistance and support, encouraging anyone to ask for help if needed.

Engage your colleagues by creating your own local community of practice within the workplace. Supplement this by tapping into existing, external forums as appropriate.

3. Lead by example 

Studies show that role modelling or using social norms are very effective ways to spread change. Use role modelling to create new better practices.  Consider which social norms demonstrate to others good simple behaviors and how colleagues can make a difference.

Be a role model and create social norms for colleagues to aspire to or imitate.

4. Share Case Studies

Sharing case studies both internally, within an organization, or externally through industry networks and clubs, is a great means of discovering new ideas and learning about new ways of doing things to drive continual improvement.

Create your own case studies to record and share lessons and experiences, and demonstrate the results of your activities with colleagues and associates.  Draw on external case studies for new ideas.

5. Ask for User Feedback

User feedback is a very effective method to learn about and target important issues that you may not have been aware of. Asking building users for their opinion is also a great way to engage them, and promote good practices. A mix of techniques (events, workshops, questionnaires, interviews) give you a good authentic picture of how your local organization is doing.

Ask about the working environment and your energy and sustainability initiatives, and peoples' motivations and awareness. This feedback can be used to calibrate physical monitoring of the working environment.

RETHINK

Challenge mindsets, look for new ways of doing business and trial new ideas.

1. Introduce Smarter Design Interventions

Use design interventions and environmental restructuring to alter the physical and consequentially social context to enable step changes in energy & sustainability performance. Examples are relocating equipment for easier local control or redesigning workspaces for a better use of natural sunlight or natural ventilation for greater efficiency. This may include use of electronic feedback systems or devices. Note that electronic feedback systems need to be managed carefully as studies show their effectiveness can often easily diminish over time.

Discuss new workplace designs that enhance your ability to continually improve energy & sustainability performance.

2. Realign for the ‘Win Win’

Use the ‘Win Win’ philosophy to target business and personal co-benefits at the same time to make what you’re doing more positive for all the people involved.  Psychologists tell us that it’s often the co-benefits that are typically the drivers of success.  Therefore we need to find out what motivates people on a personal level; to do this, we can draw the classic motivational theories of Maslow, McGregor or Hertzberg.

Discover our Net Zero ‘Win for All’ philosophy, to help you make sure all stakeholders are engaged and championing better sustainability performance for All.

3. Start Innovation Trials

Innovation trials are frameworks that provide a safe context for people to experiment and try out new ways of doing things, in a managed way, without fear of failure. This technique normally involves collaboration, monitoring, measurement and analysis techniques to demonstrate results.

Use innovation trials to test new ideas, habits or technologies for best practice, and instill confidence in participants and outside skeptics. Use successful trials as a basis for business cases for rolling out the approach.

4. Bust Myths

Break any misconception or stereotype about energy saving technology or practices. For instance, it has been a common misconception to believe that switching lights on and off consumes more electricity than leaving them on for short periods. In reality, even fluorescent tubes have historically consumed over 500 times more energy if left on for 15 minutes than the energy required to restart them.

Be careful about direct myth busting of complex issues as it can sometimes be problematic.  Consider working with an opinion leader to trial various scenarios to help bust associated myths.

5. Report how low you can go

After reviewing the potential of opportunities across the 5-R challenges (Review, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink), look to report on how low you think consumption could eventually go (over time). 

Use these reports in engagement communications to help stretch mindsets and heart-sets to stimulate creativity, imagination and connections for a step change in better energy & sustainability performance.

Summary

Use this checklist to help you create a buzz and engage your colleagues to get more involved with energy & sustainability action on the ground.

You will know what works best for your organization.

This checklist provides 25 engagement techniques that can be adopted at different stages of a program, aimed at sparking initial interest, showing business and personal benefits, keeping momentum going and instilling a sense of excitement about the future.

But wait… there’s more! Check out the second of our two checklists for more advanced behavior change engagement techniques to get further insights and ideas.

Download

If you would like a downloadable summary checklist of this, please contact us. 

• It’s in Microsoft Word, but it can easily be converted to another Word processing format, such as Google Docs. It’s read-only, so you’ll have to save your version onto your own drive to be able to modify it.
• You can then modify and develop this simplified checklist to suit your needs as required. Complete it on line or print it out (but remember: think before you print!)

Ways 1 to 5 are a few highlighted programs that an organization can work with to make their Net Zero pledge official, but make sure to consult the full list of Race to Zero Partners to ensure your organization chooses the method best-suited for your goals and individual needs.

Ways 6 to 8 below highlight how to achieve external recognition for effective action.

REVIEW

The first step to take to have an understanding of lighting performance and target savings right away

REDUCE

Target improvement measures that directly decrease lighting energy consumption first

REUSE

Once loads have been reduced, then prioritize routine and maintenance improvement practices (that don’t require significant investment)

RECYCLE

Talk to colleagues, share experiences, and try out proven lighting approaches and technologies used by others

RETHINK

Challenge your mindsets, look for new ways of doing business, trial new ideas, invest in more energy effective lighting technologies; review business cases and ROI

Summary

Look to continually improve your lighting systems and energy performance. New technologies are generally always more efficient and come with guaranteed savings that will repay the initial investment. However, without due consideration of alternative options, the initial investment can sometimes end up being more costly than necessary.

Following the above checklist in the right order will help ensure you minimize lighting investment costs, by right sizing solutions, and maximize energy performance and savings in the most cost effective way possible, in a way that also involves colleagues and other stakeholders.

Keep it simple and think holistically by always considering task and general lighting requirements, types of fittings, efficiency levels, lighting equipment, lighting quality, appearance and total life costs (i.e. initial purchase, installation, maintenance, annual bill, return on investment, etc.). Carefully evaluate all viable measures for comparison, and create your own action plan for continual improvement.

Download

If you would like the downloadable summary checklist of this, please contact us.

• It’s in Microsoft Word, but it can easily be converted to another Word processer, such as Google Docs. It’s read-only, so you’ll have to save your version onto your own drive to be able to modify it.
• You can then modify and develop this simplified checklist to suit your needs as required. Complete it on line or print it out (but remember: think before you print!)

If you're interested in more detail about lighting design and principles check out CIBSE's lighting publications.

Introduction

More organizations are appreciating that behavior change can be one of the quickest and cheapest ways of delivering energy savings and environmental performance improvement at scale.

However, many organisations still struggle with their change programs and become disillusioned as energy savings don’t result or because they quickly fall away over time. Creating lasting change is usually not a simple process. There is no silver bullet that works for everyone. All organizations are different. They may have to use several different techniques to make it work.

As there are hundreds of different change models and techniques, this CPD article concentrates on drawing out some common principles using the ISO 50001 continual improvement framework of Plan, Do, Check, Act.

Learning objectives include:

• explain why behavior change is important;
• identify common behaviors, concerns and probable consequences;
• plan for the catalyst for change; and
• consider techniques to deliver energy performance improvements.

Growing pressure 

Pressure to improve energy performance is growing all the time. UK energy prices are double what they were a decade ago. The Carbon Trust estimates that most organizations can save 10 per cent off their energy bills through no or relatively low cost measures. These rely on changes in people’s habits and behaviors to be successful.

The European Environment Agency has also presented evidence of the potential, suggesting 5-20 per cent savings are possible by engaging and involving people for better energy performance.

The Carbon Disclosure Project reports that behavior change is one of the most cost-effective carbon measures undertaken by top energy intensive companies in terms of internal rate of return (>72 per cent) and return on investment (124 kgCO2/$ spent).

As the UK spends over £23bn a year on energy, this represents significant potential for UK plc to reduce our environmental impact, enhance our overall competiveness and safeguard employment.

Off the back of the new global commitment to limit climate change (Paris, December 2015), we have a lot to do in a short time. People solutions are able to deliver significant energy reductions at scale and are usually quick to implement as generally they don’t rely on capital investment.

Not only are these measures often quick and low cost, but they also help to right-size, reduce the cost and enhance the ROI of subsequent investments in energy demand and supply technologies.

Behavior change is a critical part of an integrated approach and, in line with the energy hierarchy, would normally be prioritized first.

Avoidable energy waste 

Most energy managers realize there is often significant, avoidable energy waste inherent in nearly all facilities and operations; this seems inevitable at the moment.

More often than not, there is the technical potential to achieve good levels of efficiency but it is the behavioral factors that have been the limiting factor, from decision making to the actions of everyone who work throughout an organization. There are many cases where technology is simply not delivering anticipated energy savings in practice.

Reasons are often down to the behaviors, perceptions and psychology of the people involved. One helpful way to think about behavioral risks is the 7 Dragons of Inaction, set out by the psychologist, Robert Gifford. According to Gifford, these include the following:

Hierarchy of Needs 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, for example, can be useful to target co-benefits that help inspire people to get involved. Rigid interpretation of his model suggests that once a need is satisfied the person moves onto the next level. However, it is also true that most people’s desires, at any time, can include elements of all the motivational drivers:

1. biological: health and fitness benefits, a more comfortable working environment;
2. safety: improved skill sets and performance, work security;
3. belongingness: being part of a community of practice, enhanced morale;
4. esteem: competition, achievement, recognition; and
5. self-actualization drivers: challenge, new experiences, etc.

A strategy that taps into co-benefits, as well as promoting saving energy, carbon or cost, is often a good recipe for success as it creates a good Win/Win for the people involved.

Successful organizational change relies on individuals discovering change for themselves one person at a time. ISO 50001 follows this premise:

• it requires everyone to be aware of the importance and benefits of improved energy performance and how their activities impact on energy use;
• for those who impact on significant energy use, significant energy users (SEUs) need to be competent in their knowledge and ability and received training as necessary; and
• organizations must provide a process whereby anyone can make comments or suggest improvements.

This applies to anyone working for or on behalf of the organization. 50001 promotes their involvement using activities such as empowerment, recognition, training and rewards and participation.

Delivering action and change through a network of everyday champions is a tried and tested approach. Everyday champions would normally include SEUs, ambassadors (who aim to influence top management) and key connectors (who look to influence everyone else).

Energy management team 

An energy management team is also a requirement of 50001. A strong team often includes a good mix of expertise, credibility, local staff and senior managers.

Everything communicates during change; even doing nothing tells colleagues what you expect them to do! It is important to communicate well to gain and build trust. Everyday champions have a key role in communicating the vision and leading by example.

We know awareness type campaigns, by themselves, often have low impact. They need to be part of an integrated approach.

One useful model to help understand change at an individual level is Prosci’s ADKAR model of five building blocks: its starts with Awareness; then comes the decision to get involved, Desire; after desire comes Knowledge and Ability to make change; and for change to be sustainable, Reinforcement is needed.

We need to communicate to achieve each of these to establish successful change.

The challenge is usually keeping communications simple, using every day and consistent language and positioning across all the channels (digital, video, print, live events, etc.) and be mindful of technical language when it is necessary to use it.

Developing a common language is often required. For example, relating stories out of actions being taken and related successes, is often a more interesting way of communicating without falling into the traps of greenwash or too much jargon.

To kick start a change program, it is good practice to focus in on a few objectives and inject some urgency into the process.

Pareto’s 80/20 principle states that 80 per cent of the results will come from 20 per cent of the effort. We target quick and easy results to generate some green sparks, for example using tactical initiatives such as Green events, Energy treasure hunts, gamification and 100- day energy savings challenges with focused support, training and toolkits.

Just do it, ‘JDI’, is also a mantra used by techniques such as Kaizen, Lean or Six Sigma to help create the momentum needed.

Typically, for energy intensive organizations, 5-10 per cent of the workforce can be SEUs. A person is an SEU if either they have hands on control of significant energy use or have decision-making capability to impact significant energy use. This includes procurement and design colleagues as well as operational staff.

Nudge, prod or persuasion 

Target behaviors are often about delivering customer service as efficiently as possible and taking pride in doing a good job. Nudge, prod or persuasion techniques are generally more effective than command and control approaches but success will depend on the circumstances.

Change is an incremental process; it takes time to change habits and we need to continually refine the approach as we go. To do this, monitoring and feedback from SEUs tells us about energy performance, motivations and actions. Using a mix of techniques (questionnaires, workshops, etc.) often gives a good authentic picture of how we’re doing.

Nudge theory 

Nudge theory, for example, can be used to help review existing influences and target unhelpful ones. This is about analyzing choices available and making the better ones more attractive to do. Nudge interventions are typically indirect, free choice, respectful, positive and about self-discovery. ISO 50001 ‘checking’ specifies:

• periodic review of variables, energy performance indicators (EnPIs) and assessment of the effectiveness of action plans, activities and models;
• ensuring measurement techniques are credible and accurate; and
• investigation and response to any significant deviations in energy performance.

Ultimately, continual improvement is demonstrated by measurement and verification at high level. If progress hasn’t been made, then the approach needs rethinking.

To understand the impacts and benefits of changes in behavior, this also usually needs to be done bottom-up against established energy baselines as well, for example by comparing service provision (e.g. heating, lighting) against use (e.g. occupancy). This is now becoming more practical as local wireless sensors become more cost effective.

Delivering energy savings is hard work. Even if there is high motivation, we know ‘hard things’ are often not prioritized. By making actions easier to do, there is more chance ‘doing the right thing’ becomes a habit and business as usual.

If people have access to progress reports and EnPIs that relate to them, e.g. through dashboards, trackers or apps, this helps them make quicker and better decisions, reinforces behaviors and maintains momentum. Checking looks to review the effectiveness of indicators and support processes to ensure they’re helping to oil the whole process for the people involved.

It helps if activity is also integrated with other business requirements and systems. Approaches such as Six Sigma and Sociotechnical systems can help review how joined up it is with, for example, quality, technology, processes and other goals.

Further Reading: 

• Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, BS EN ISO 50001:2011 
• Achieving energy efficiency through behavior change, what does it take? European Energy Association, EEA Technical Report 5/2013
• Creating an awareness campaign, Carbon Trust Guide 56, updated 2013
• Leading change, John Kotter, Harvard Business Review, first published 1996

The Challenge

Are you interested in developing your own big green solution for your workplace? 

This makes total sense:

Involving colleagues at work is one of the quickest and cheapest ways of reducing carbon emissions and cutting utility costs for your organization at scale. 

Most organizations typically waste 20-30% of the energy they buy (#CarbonTrust). 

Governments are asking businesses to improve their energy efficiency at least by 20% to help meet our Zero Carbon climate change goals (#CleanGrowthStrategy).

Others say we all need to improve our energy productivity by at least 3% every year (#ThreePercentClub).

We know many organizations struggle with their programs and become disillusioned as energy savings don’t result or because they quickly fall away over time. 

How do you create the green spark and engage colleagues to deliver quick wins, i.e., develop your own big green solution? 

Once you do, how do you generate the momentum and benefits longer-term? 

There aren’t many step by step guides available that help take the mystery out of behavior change.

It’s not as hard as you think!

When we first started with people solutions, we massively surprised ourselves on what we achieved. So we thought we’d share some of our ideas & approaches within courses – hopefully to give you ideas & help you avoid the usual pitfalls & discover benefits for yourself.

A big green solution need to blend technical, strategic & behavior change measures

TECHNOLOGY alone will not solve it all 

Many of us focus 99% of our effort on the technical solutions, but this often requires large investment & only delivers half of the savings.

Best practice STRATEGY tells us: 

1. First focus on lean conservation measures to minimize costs & right-size investments.
2. Then, think about more efficient & clean energy technologies you can invest in.
3. Finally, use green energy supply options to lower the carbon impact of your energy use (#EnergyHiearachy). 

Put PEOPLE first at the heart of success 

Save 5-20%+ energy consumption by involving and engaging people (#EnvironmentAgency).

People approaches yield high ROI (#CDP reports say > 124 kgCO2/$ spent & IRR >72% for behavior change measures).

The ‘Big 3’ Ideas to help you deliver success:

What’s going to drive this for you? What’s going to make it rewarding & fun?

How are we going to deliver continual & sustainable improvements longer-term?

Step 1: Engagement

Center on engagement to get commitment and setup a vision to kick off with

What’s your current utilities bill?

For your organization and metered zones:

• What areas are you targeting? Schedule your local sites, buildings and areas being targeted
• What was your consumption for last year? This is for each utility source and area
• Are there any expected changes that will impact on energy and water use?

What are the needs & expectations?

Talk to local top managers and other stakeholders:

• Are there any energy and environmental policies in place?
• Are there existing plans and budgets for improvement programs?
• Does the organization use management standards? E.g. ISO 50001 for energy
• What are the legal and other stakeholder requirements that apply?

It is essential key top managers are on board:

• To understand opportunities, challenges & priorities
• To ensure plans and roles are joined-up, approved and resources made available
• To communicate the importance of better performance and savings made
• To ensure buy in for performance measures and interest in the results
• To celebrate success and say thank you to the everyday champions involved

We find many organizations still typically rely too much on awareness-raising campaigns and top-down standards & assurance processes, so miss out on potential results.

A starting vision:  Local Ownership

Step 2: Accommodate inspiration

Target the Win for the colleagues and the community through accommodating inspiration 

How good is energy & environmental performance in practice?

Anyone can be an everyday champion by typically spending 20 minutes a day thinking about & working on how to do things better.

Set-up regular Energy Time

Step 3: Coordination for better service

Coordinate your approach on continuing improving service and the Win for Customers

Target avoidable waste that adds no value

Use streamlined ISO 50001 for coordinated continual improvement

Challenge why Energy is Consumed

Heating, ventilating & air-conditioning systems are typically the largest energy consumers in most buildings; many systems run for longer than needed.  A hospital reviewed the operating times of their HVAC systems & found that most could be switched off for 2 to 3 hours a day without affecting comfort, saving 10% in fan running costs >> These quick wins saved $107,000 a year & set up their catalyst for change.

Step 4: Coordination for better returns

Coordinate your approach to also deliver the Win for the business partners involved 

Focus coordination with Pareto 80/20

Coordinate communications to colleagues

Coordination for continually better value 

Too much equipment still runs 24/7. For escalators, the simple thing to do is to turn them off overnight, when not in use, & maximize this “off” time — this generates interest & quick win savings. Only then is it worth investing in run-on-demand controls to slow escalators down during lull periods. A local everyday champion can optimize the controls; savings of $1,000–$2,000 a year per escalator is often possible. Further savings can then be made by making the stairs more attractive to use than the escalator!

Step 5: Collaboration

Connect together teams to generate the Win Win and energize change 

Collaborate using local events

Develop Hearts and Minds that stick

'Win Win' is a Good Thing

Lighting in buildings can still account for 20% of total energy costs. Staff working in a shopping facility targeted poor lighting that was receiving customer complaints. Upgrading the light fittings not only reduced energy consumption by 60%, saving $19,000 a year with a 2½-year payback, but also significantly improved the lighting ambience in that area; a classic “win–win” for those involved.

Step 6: Momentum

Put in place ways to develop momentum for continual improvement

Principles for a Community of practice that sticks

For critical mass, we need at least 2-5% of colleagues to be everyday champions to lock it all in.

• Make it local - develop a strong local team, give everyone a compelling reason to get involved, and help them understand their local energy performance.
• Make it focused - focus and coordinate efforts for the 'Win Win' while also giving it a sense of urgency.
• Make it continual - reinforce and adapt for change, communicate and communicate again, and always ask what’s next?
• Make it desirable - celebrate the ‘Win for All of us’ through benefits for energy and sustainability, the organization and for the people involved.
• Make it theirs – develop and refine the solution so it belongs to everyone involved – follow your instincts; ultimately, you will know what works best for your organization…

Best of luck and enjoy the process!

The “Big Green” concept was born out of success of working with teams at an airport (2007-2010). We surprised ourselves delivering an average of 15% savings across the airport in less than three years; the best areas saving 30%+. Regular workshops and events helped turn discovery into success. Directors reinforced key priorities, celebrated industry awards and were confident in letting everyday champions lead it all up locally for themselves.

REVIEW 

The first step to take to improve understanding of HVAC performance and target savings straight away

1.  Measure & review internal air quality and temperatures

• Walk the internal spaces, talk to building users and ask for their feedback. Consider organization policies, industry good practice and operating requirements for the HVAC systems, etc.
• Look at local control settings and temperature dead-bands – systems should be controlled to higher temperatures in summer and lower temperatures in winter.
• Domestic hot water temperatures should be high enough to minimize risks (e.g. over 55°C to protect against Legionella infections), but not too hot. Involve service partners to help identify any performance issues and discuss opportunities.
• Particularly, target areas that are either too hot or too cold, or areas where windows are often left open when AC or heating systems are running.

4.  Comply with national building regulations and international standards

• Conduct research to see whether the HVAC system complies with national legal requirements.
• Look for opportunities to implement operational policies, objectives and targets that are consistent with international best practice standards.

5.  Measure efficiencies of significant energy users

• Energy efficiency is a measure of the relationship between energy output and energy input.
• This can often be inferred by measuring losses associated with the plant under consideration, e.g. for boilers using flue gas analysis and temperature measurements.
• Often simple adjustments and regular maintenance can easily improve efficiency levels.

7.  Review existing maintenance contracts

• Consider whether the specification for maintenance contracts is still appropriate and that service partners are delivering what is required.
• Consider opportunities for improvement, for example through training or making provisions for more proactive value-based maintenance rather than solely reactive and preventative routines.

REDUCE

Target improvement measures that directly decrease HVAC energy consumption first

1.  Consolidate operational activities

• Group operational activities, HVAC systems and controls into common activity zones.
• Create unoccupied spaces, and ensure they are not being air-conditioned when empty.
• Reduce volume of centrally stored domestic hot water if it is not required.

3.  Maximize use of natural ventilation

• Check natural ventilation window systems are operable and any possible cross ventilation paths are not being blocked (including through wall partition grills if necessary).
• Use night cooling to pre-cool any thermal mass in the building to minimize AC loads.
• For mixed mode systems, ensure AC systems are switched off when natural ventilation is being used.

4.  Challenge HVAC operation times:

• Continually review and trial reducing the main system operating time schedules (for boilers, chillers, fans, pumps, etc.) as much as possible whilst still meeting business requirements.
• Ensure systems are switched off during the seasons they are not needed for.
• Consider use of automatic controls to help reduce operating hours of the main systems, for example by using optimum start/stop controls for heating and cooling systems.
• Continuously look to improve all control settings and their commissioning set-ups.
• Ensure any frost protection set points are appropriate.

6.  Appoint a ‘key-connector’ champion

• Empower a local champion to coordinate and connect feedback from building users with HVAC performance improvement activities being undertaken.
• Use local communications to make sure building users understand the operation of the systems and the benefits of good operational practices; for example, using windows and blinds to reduce air-conditioning loads, keeping windows and doors closed when heating and AC systems are switched on, and agreeing and maintaining thermostats at optimum levels.

REUSE

Once loads have been reduced, prioritize routine and maintenance improvement practices (that don’t require significant investment)

1.  Raise awareness and make use of staff training

• Empower colleagues who best understand local requirements to contribute to optimizing the operation and control of local HVAC systems.
• Raise awareness so local users understand the impacts of their activities. For instance, the risks of any obstructions that might impair thermostats or local heating and AC emitters. Ensure other heat sources aren’t having averse effects on local systems.
• Involve local champions in checking and challenging the area’s basic control settings: ensure timeclocks are reset after clock changes, automatic controls are not unintentionally left in manual mode (in ‘hand’), and that settings are not set-back to very safe levels.
• Check that system operators, service partners and contractors are all adequately trained, and can carry out energy performance reviews and proactive maintenance activities as required; they should be competent, have the relevant qualifications and have received adequate safety training to deal with any risks.

3.  Routinely check for any asset degradation

• Look for obvious (unintentional) air leakage draughts within conditioned spaces. Look for and eliminate leaks within air and water distribution systems.
• Check existing draught seals and catches for draughts around windows, doors and any other penetrations through walls.
• Use good external covers for wall AC units and fans when not in use.
• Draught reproofing is often one of the most cost effective ways of reducing building fabric losses.
• Check that there are good levels of thermal insulation on distribution pipework and duct work when it passes through untreated or external areas.

4.  Consider distribution system remedial measures ($)

• Target oversized systems and challenge the way air and water flow rates are controlled within distribution systems; look for opportunities to reduce system flow rates. For example, make use of variable speed drives (VSDs) on fans and pump, while still meeting occupancy and statutory requirements.
• Look for opportunities to reduce losses from heating/cooling distribution system temperatures and how system distribution temperatures may be automatically adjusted during periods of lower load; for example, using heating system compensation controls.

6.  Continually recommission the HVAC systems & controls

• Regularly review, challenge and optimize the control settings for the significant systems.
• Look for opportunities to challenge distribution system temperature and/or pressure control set-points to improve controllability and energy performance.
• For steam systems, optimize feed-water and blowdown processes, as they can be extremely wasteful of energy and water.
• Rationalize sequence and load control of significant HVAC energy users (boilers, chillers, condensers, etc.) so they operate as efficiently as possible and aren’t cycling too frequently.

RECYCLE

Talk to colleagues, share experiences, and try out proven HVAC approaches and technologies used by others

2.  Research ideas and actions used by others

• Discuss opportunities within external industry networks and forums.
• Organize presentations from suppliers to understand the latest functions and attributes of the systems you have, and find about the latest good industry practices and opportunities.
• Procure replacement parts consciously by considering the lifetime impact of energy consumption and costs.
• Consider changing to greener alternatives, for example using ‘natural’ refrigerants to minimize the risk to global warming.

4.  Reinsulate with enhanced insulation and air-tightness measures ($$)

• Check current levels of insulation, for example using or a thermal camera (thermography) survey to identify areas of poor insulation, draughts and air leakage paths.
• Replace or add in additional insulation where it is defective or missing; always ensure there is adequate ventilation levels and protection against any risk of condensation.
• Upgrade windows and doors, with improved levels of insulation, if appropriate.
• Ensure AC spaces are thermally separate from non-conditioned spaces; consider the use of reflective foil behind radiators to reduce heat losses.
• Air pressure testing can be used to check overall levels of building air tightness. Smoke pencils can identify local air leakage paths.

5.  Recirculate unused hot air ($)

• Many warehouses and high spaces are heated through air systems, so most of the hot air ends on the ceiling – consider using de-stratifying fans or air jet circulation systems to recirculate the heat back down to the comfort zone to reduce overall heating requirements.
• Minimize the heat loss through warehouse doors by using draught proofing, curtains, or by making deliver entrance doors smaller.
• Look for local air pre-heating opportunities, for example using supply air coming through warm atria or roof spaces, or waste heat from air-cooled condensers (e.g. from computer rooms).

6.  Recover HVAC system waste heat ($$)

• Use heat recover from exhaust air, for example using economy or enthalpy control for recirculation air systems or heat exchangers, run-around-coils (RACs) or thermal wheels within extract ventilation ducts.
• Check performance of any existing heat recovery systems and continually recommission and fine tune controls as necessary.
• Consider investment in new heat recovery systems.

RETHINK

Challenge your mindsets, look for new ways of doing business, trial new ideas and invest in more energy effective and sustainable HVAC solutions; review business cases and their ROI

2.  Reinvent infrastructure using efficient fabric and lean design approaches ($$$)

• Engage a design team for a building refurbishment program.
• Look to upgrade the fabric to best practice insulation standards.
• Design for natural ventilation, or mixed mode with high efficiency plant, where possible. Look for opportunities for passive solar design.
• Energy performance simulations can target the most cost effective opportunities for improved insulation and better energy performance. One of the highest standards for the building fabric is the ‘Passivhaus’ standard, which can result in very low heating and cooling demands.

 3.  Upgrade to more efficient clean HVAC systems ($$$)

• Upgrading central plant can often achieve 5 to 25% reduction in overall consumption, depending on the efficiencies of the existing plant. Consider converting constant volume ventilation systems to variable air volume where on-demand control makes sense.
• Upgrade motors to premium efficiency (IE3) or even super premium efficiency (IE4) motors. Use large ducts and pipes to minimize distribution energy consumption.
• Consider replacement larger fans (with limited capacity control) with modular plug fans. Use EC (electronic commutation) DC motors for fan-coil units.
• Look for opportunities to use more sustainable or environmentally friendly fuels and refrigerants, and low or zero local emissions heating and cooling systems.
• If using combustion boilers, only consider condensing type boilers that recover heat from the flue gasses. Absorption chillers can be run from waste heat from district heating systems.

6.  Set operational principles to save energy

• Early on in the development process, set an energy effective vision including policies, strategies, metrics and targets designed to drive constant improvement.
• Based on regular occupant feedback and BMS checks, design the energy-optimization strategies to ensure the benefits of the design intent and to drive continual optimization and improvement are realized in use.
• Synthesize these strategies into a set of key principles, useful to significant energy users, who can then implement better operational practices and behaviors.

7.  Report how low you can go

• As part of any redesign process, forecast operational energy consumption; (include low and high), and most probable energy consumption levels.
• Involve operations and facilitates colleagues in the process to ensure forecasts are more realistic.
• Develop consumption models that will also help review new saving opportunities and drive continual improvement of operational practices and behaviors going forward.

SUMMARY

There are usually always many opportunities to reduce energy consumption within HVAC systems.

We find that following the 5-R categories helps ensure the remedial measures are considered in an order that are not only ensure lowest overall cost but that also right sizes subsequent investments in new HVAC technology.

Download

If you would like the downloadable summary checklist for this, please contact us. 

• It’s in Microsoft Word, but it can easily be converted to another Word processer, such as Google Docs. It’s read-only, so you’ll have to save your version onto your own drive to be able to modify it.
• You can then modify and develop this simplified checklist to suit your needs as required. Complete it on line or print it out (but remember: think before you print!)

For more detail about optimizing HVAC performance more generally, check out CIBSE's top tips: Temperature in Indoor Workplaces (Thermal Comfort) and Ventilation in Buildings

Follow Prosci’s ADKAR model to understand how to deliver effective behavior change techniques to improve your energy performance.

Introduction

People-focused solutions (behaviour change) are often one of the quickest and most cost-effective ways of delivering energy savings and energy performance improvement at scale for any organization.

According to the energy hierarchy, energy conservation should be prioritized before investments in clean technology and renewable energy sources, and behavior change and people measures are a key first part of this efficiency first principle, being low cost interventions.

This approach not only helps to assure the legacy benefits of previous energy investment programs but also the resulting energy savings helps to right size any subsequent investments in technology end energy supply solutions.

We need to look beyond technology, facilities, systems, processes, equipment etc., in terms of better energy performance. People are the ultimate consumers of energy; people will ultimately deliver the better buildings and sustainability improvements aligned to business needs. The secret is often being able to balance and integrate our technical and people solutions, with good strategic management controls alongside.

Our Series 12, Module 2 CPD article on behavior change (June 2016) covered the opportunities, challenges and other considerations to strategically plan and control for the catalyst for change.

This CPD module builds on this and focuses more on the tactical and practical tools and techniques that enable people solutions to deliver change at scale.

Learning objectives include:

• identify who we need to target to raise awareness;
• explain why people buy into the process on a personal level;
• consider what tools and techniques can help make it quicker and easier to do;
• plan how to develop the opportunity for local responsibility/ ownership and continual improvement.

There is no silver bullet that works for everyone. This article refers to a range of example tools and techniques (highlighted in ‘bold’) typically used by organizations in behavioral change programs, categorised by function.

All organizations are different so success will rely on the right combination of techniques so it works for the organization concerned.

For behavior change to be successful and enduring, critical mass theory suggests we need to typically involve at least 2 to 5 per cent of the population. For an organization with say 4,000 employees, this means we would reach a tipping point if we energized 80+ colleagues to think about better energy performance every day. For the UK, with approximately 33m employees, this means more than 1m people overall need to be involved.

John Adair, best-known for his action-centered leadership model, says:

“Organization comes into being because there is a task to be done that is too big for one person”.

According to his model, as well as defining the task (with purpose and milestones), there are two other fundamental objectives:

1. to create the group; and
2. to meet the needs of the individuals.

Creating and bringing together an energy management team is a fundamental part of any energy management strategy. This needs to be managed around the three main pillars of delivering action: motivation, opportunity and capability. This often involves significant energy users (SEUs): those who either have hands-on control of significant energy use or have decision-making capability to impact on significant energy use. This may include top management, procurement and design colleagues as well as estates and operational staff, HSE managers and anyone else under the control of the organization, such as consultants, contractors and service partners.

Awareness

It is essential that top management understands the opportunity and what is required in terms of financial and other resources so they can demonstrate their commitment and define energy policies.

Energy audits are a traditional tool that highlight energy improvement opportunities and lay the foundations for developing business cases.

Recommendations are better if the process involves your people. Opinion leaders, for example, can be included in surveys, night walks or innovation trials that highlight the energy inefficiency that is inevitably there; they then become ambassadors for change influencing colleagues.

Energy treasure-hunts, for example, are a way of engaging SEUrs on a more general level, allowing them to put an energy improvement hat on and look at areas they know well. Key-connectors (energy champions) often can have a role to play in making connections between people and activities, helping to identify the best opportunities and critical challenges.

This is also often a good opportunity to talk to and listen to colleagues about their working environment and people’s motivations and awareness. Using a mix of techniques (events, workshops, questionnaires, interviews, etc) often gives a good authentic picture of how we are doing. John Adair also said

“Communication is the sister to leadership”.

Communications can help increase people’s knowledge or understanding through education. Evidence suggests targeted information passed on by peers is likely to be more effective than general information provided through printed material such as posters and stickers.

Peers may use storytelling as a more interesting way of communicating without falling into the trap of greenwash or too much jargon.

Everyone within the organization’s control ultimately needs to become aware of the importance and benefits of improved energy performance and how their activities impact on energy use.

It is a common error to think awareness campaigns change behavior. Awareness increases knowledge but, to be effective, it needs to be part of an integrated approach.

Desire

 A classic war time quote, originally attributed to Eisenhower, says

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because they want to do it for themselves”.

To deliver this 'Win Win', we need to understand that people love emotive connections: What is going to spark change? What is going to make it desirable? This is not necessarily going to be energy saving or environmental improvement in itself! Psychologists tell us that it is often the co-benefits that are the drivers for success so we need to find out what motivates people on a personal level.

We need a compelling vision, or big idea, to get people excited. To develop this, we can draw on some of the classic motivational theories of Maslow, McGregor, Hertzberg, etc.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, for example, suggests that people are motivated by biological needs (health, working environment, etc.), safety needs (improved skills sets, work security, etc.), belongingness (part of a team, enhanced morale, etc.) and then esteem (achievement, recognition, etc.); once these are satisfied, we focus on selfactualization drivers that are related to new experiences and fulfilment.

Incentivization is about linking challenge with reward. This may include prize draws, financial rewards and/or social rewards drawing on competition, recognition and/or achievement. This is different to coercion which uses penalties.

Studies suggest that social rewards (e.g. based on league tables) are often more effective than financial rewards but this would depend on the circumstance. The key message is not to rely too heavily on incentivization as there is a risk of reversal if the incentive is taken away.

Energy performance partnerships, structured in the right way, can help engage, empower and incentivize the teams involved, either through in-house initiatives such as energy crediting (bottom-up tracking of savings linked to people and teams) or structured as part of a wider remit of shared benefits under an energy performance contract.

In practice, our compelling vision needs to include a range of motivators as people and teams often have multi-desires at the same time.

Knowledge

To be successful, we need to have the understanding, knowledge and competence that makes the process quick, easy and intuitive for those involved.

Training is about teaching skills, mind-sets and behaviors. Note this is different to education, although both are often used in workshops. Industry accredited training is useful (and often desirable) for developing the necessary competence and confidence for SEUrs and others to become everyday champions for better energy performance.

Pareto, the engineer economist, famously surmised that ‘80 per cent of the results come from 20 per cent of the effort’. We should look to target the best opportunities to facilitate easier action.

Coaching can be used to help people focus their efforts by understanding the challenges and developing their own solutions. Gamification is another type of training that can help focus on particular skills through iterative experience; instant feedback also draws on competition, recognition and reward opportunities.

Big green events are also used to bring together teams to develop awareness, desire and capability to create the green sparks to kick start change. Motivation here is often about collaboration, making connections and celebrating success.

Heating, ventilating and AC systems are typically the largest energy consumer in most buildings and these systems often run for longer than needed. Using workshop events involving local colleagues, a hospital reviewed the operating times of their HVAC systems. For areas continuously used 24/7, they found they could switch off some of their systems for two or three hours a day without affecting comfort; other systems could be switched off completely. These quick wins meant the hospital quickly saved £83,000 a year in reduced energy consumption (for little investment) and set up the foundations for making more improvements in the future.

Ability

After knowledge comes ability to make change. Enablers here are about increasing means and reducing barriers to increase capability or opportunity. Techniques include empowerment, local controls (of equipment), dashboards (to facilitate local control), balanced score cards (to manage priorities) and hands on support, available as required.

Studies have shown that enablement, building on other interventions, is often a defining factor of the more successful behavior change programs, particularly when it promotes enhanced local responsibility, ownership and control.

Energy time incorporated into regular team meetings allows teams to continually develop their own priorities, standard operating procedures (SOPs), etc., to facilitate their ability for action. Suggestion schemes also allow colleagues to offer their own ideas for energy performance improvement.

The mantra ‘Just do it’ (JDI) is one way of breaking through barriers. This needs to be a managed process: for best results, you need to find the right balance between the ‘quick wins’ and the more ‘desirable but harder’ actions; the latter would rely on more sophisticated tools such as a quick action toolkits. These quicken the processes to facilitate the team’s ability to respond to opportunities within a credible timeframe.

Building habits enhances ability. The 21/90 rule is one popular method to build new habits: commit to a personal or professional goal for 21 straight days then, once you’ve established the habit, continue to do it for another 90 days for it to (typically) become a way of life.

Role modelling, or social norms, provide examples for people to aspire to or imitate. This can draw on energy leadership models, case studies, recognition and reward, opinion leaders, etc., to enhance incentivization (and competition) and create new habits. Role modelling, in this way, is shown to be an effective technique by studies.

Design interventions (also known as environmental restructuring) aim to alter the physical or social context to facilitate ability. This may involve, for example, relocating equipment for easier local control, use of electronic feedback devices, apps, etc.

A restaurant re-fit design, for example, included smaller, more efficient modular equipment in the kitchen, i.e. multiple toasters, fryers, dishwashers, etc. This enabled the team to switch it all on and off more easily using fire-up schedules; for example, more toasters are now switch off earlier and fryers are held off until lunchtime. In operation, the resulting restaurant is now consuming half the energy compared to the equivalent previous design solution (set as the energy baseline).

Smart phone or web apps can offer support for everyday champions to deliver action at scale. They tap into social networking to connect people; though take care when using in-house only systems as they can alienate the external members of the team. Electronic feedback systems need to be carefully managed as studies show their effectiveness can often diminish over time.

Automation technologies and controls also have great potential for energy saving. Traditionally they are considered to be ‘tech only’ solutions. However, in practice, these rely on a social and behavioral context as well. Negotiation with and acceptance of new technologies by colleagues should be a fundamental part of any (continuous) commissioning process; if done well, this can often create enhanced energy savings for the organization longer-term.

Reinforcement

Albert Einstein reportedly used a wonderful simile:

“Life is like riding a bicycle; to keep your balance you must keep moving”.

This is the philosophy the quality pioneer Walter Shewhart used as the mind-set for continuous improvement; encouraging a constant state of driving process improvements to be a way of life.

Continual improvement is the more practical, slightly differing, notion focused on driving improvement over periods of time, with intervals of interruption; this is used as the basis of the Deming’s development of the Plan-Do-Check-Act iterative cycle on which all our management systems are now based.

ISO 50001, the energy management systems standard, is often the secret to locking in energy improvements longer term. In practice, continual improvement here means periodically reinforcing our gains and behaviors as well as being alert for new (cost-effective) opportunities as they arise.

On each iteration, energy reviews are used to take the time to understand reality, where to focus our efforts and redefine the core objectives, targets and action plans.

Operational controls, design standards and procurement processes set out the restrictors to ensure target behaviors are achieved by reducing the opportunity for other behaviors. Psychologists tell us it is usually better to tell people what to do, rather than what not to do.

Monitoring and targeting, internal audits and management reviews provide the preventative maintenance processes to help reinforce behaviors as well as ensuring we identify opportunities and problems quickly enough to maintain the right momentum; these may use aM&T, dashboards, checklists, trackers, apps, and other such techniques.

Einstein also said

“A person who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new”.

Continual learning, innovation and leadership can also be a key ingredient for developing and sustaining the momentum we need. This often means developing a culture of action-based learning and continuously developing skills and performance with a clear line of sight on the bigger picture.

We are learning all the time which interventions bring the best results. Studies have shown that developing social and physical enablers, particularly involving enhanced local responsibility/ownership and control, is often one of the most effective ways to deliver change.

We can gain mastery by learning from our experiences and developing confidence and resilience, often through perseverance. Making connections with others is a way of drawing on new ideas through, for example, industry networks, clubs and collaborative projects.

Whatever techniques you use, the basic principles of people solutions do not change: it needs to be desirable, focused, easy, continual, but most importantly it needs to be owned by the people involved.

Behavior change is not rocket science but it is hard work. You need your own blend of leadership and management that comes from a combination of good understanding, strategic thinking and a hands-on approach. You will know what works best for your organization.

Further reading

• Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, BS EN ISO 50001:2018.

• Another brick in the wall, Talking Heads, by Michael McGowan, Energy in Buildings and Industry Magazine, September 2018.

• Selling energy savings, retail article by James Brittain, Energy in Buildings and Industry, October 2017.

• Behavior change for low-cost energy savings, by James Brittain, CPD module 02, Series 14, Energy in Buildings and Industry Magazine, June 2016.

• Intervening to change behavior and save energy in the workplace: a systematic review of available evidence, by S. Staddon, C, Cycil, M. Goulden, C Leygue, and A. Spence, Energy Research & Social Science 17 (2016), Elsevier.

• Ten steps to change, by John Mulholland, Energy in Buildings and Industry Magazine, July/August 2014.

REVIEW

The first step to take to improve understanding of performance and target savings straight away

REDUCE

Target improvement measures that directly decrease energy consumption first

1. Last person off switch

• This involves a simple switch on a circuit that includes all the relevant process equipment, with the switch often positioned near the exit door to an area.
• This can be a simple way to ensure all equipment is switched off at the end of the day (or shift).
• The risk is that this also becomes a ‘First person in’ switch. Be careful about including equipment that doesn’t need to come up with the first person in – see fire-up schedule idea below.
• Check all production plant for complete shutdown when switched off.

2. Use fire-up schedules to manage the start-up/switch-off of significant consumers

• A fire-up schedule is an idea we’ve often introduced to processes such as restaurant kitchens, which schedules out all the significant services and consumers, within an area, and their agreed operating times.
• This type of schedule can be used to facilitate discussions with colleagues to target when equipment is running unnecessarily. It can also help to trial ideas to reduce running hours in a managed way. 
• For example, look at ways to delay starting equipment up for as long as is possible at the beginning of the day or shift. Take into account any time required to reach operating conditions e.g. for heating ovens or compressor systems.
• Where a service is required 24/7, and there is multiple provision, consider itemizing out each consumer and reducing service levels during periods of low demand e.g., shutting off some operating theatres overnight when otherwise they would all be left on.
• Use the fire-up schedule to routinely and continuously challenge operation times of equipment in a managed way.

3. Use local timers to switch off independent equipment ($)

• Simple local timers are still often the easiest way to locally control local equipment and motors – as long as someone is responsible for checking and optimizing the time settings.
• This is used, for example, to avoid machines being left on for long periods without being used, e.g. for vending and food dispensing refrigeration equipment which otherwise would be left on all the time.
• Also consider use of local times where intermittent operation of equipment still produces the same results if operation was continuous e.g. for some mixing, blending or water pumping processes.
• Be careful about having too many timers that need checking and optimizing. The risk here is that they are all switched on permanently as they are too many of them to effectively manage.
• Use an operating schedule to discuss and optimize equipment timings with colleagues who best understand the operating needs of the system. Routinely challenge operating times to reduce consumption further.

4. Turn down system flow-rates

• Identify opportunities to reduce flow-rates at full load for air ventilation or pumped water systems e.g., using variable speed drives on system fan or pumps motors.
• Minimize any unnecessary overall system pressure losses - target any combined throttling control in the system provided by say fixed dampers, valves or other fixed pressure drops.
• Under part-load conditions, use variable flow controls for more efficient part-load operation – typically, only 20% of full load energy consumption is required for half load flow volume.
• Consider isolating the centralized load of any local equipment and machines while being unused; for example, unused machines can be isolated from a central extract system by fitting local dampers on a variable air volume (VAV) centralized system.

5. Turn down temperature or pressure control set-points

• Operating control set-points for many systems are usually determined at design stage based on assumptions; because we are generally risk averse, set-points are usually set on the high side.
• For process heating systems, look to reduce flow water temperatures or system steam pressures to reduce overall system energy losses.
• For cooling processes, set the highest system cooling temperatures possible.
• Reduce control static pressure set points in variable air volume distribution systems as much as possible; look to reduce it to the point where all terminal unit controls are as open as possible at full load.
• The pressure set-points for air compressors, for example, are usually set at around 7 bar (100 psi). Reducing a compressor operating pressure from 7 bar to 6 bar can reduce power consumption by 2-4%.
• Continually challenge temperature and pressure set-points based on actual requirements to achieve energy savings.

6. Enhance insulation levels ($)

• Enhancing insulation levels can reduce heat energy losses for hot water heating systems, industrial heaters and fryers, etc., and reduce cooling energy losses from chilled water systems.
• Enhancing insulation can also improve system control at temperatures in use.
• Look for opportunities to increase insulation levels (e.g. for cold room storage areas) and draught proof against any possible air leakage around doors e.g. look to fit curtains to tunnel-oven entrances.
• If you can, we usually recommend increasing insulation levels to as much as can be easily fixed within organizational criteria for return on investment.

7. Appoint a local performance improvement champion

• We find the biggest opportunities to reduce consumption often come about by connecting up different people with different perspectives.
• A local performance improvement champion acting as a key connector can coordinate local discussions and activities to help optimize overall process performance including its energy and water performance.
• Many centralized compressor systems are often left running for the whole working day; keeping them running on stand-by, even if at minimum levels, can still consume 20-70% of their full load power.
• Set hot water temperatures to lowest permissible agreed settings.

8. Use decentralized systems ($)

• In the right circumstances, decentralization can be an energy effective strategy to reduce distribution system losses for process systems.
• Look at opportunities to separate out different types of loads to avoid having central systems running longer than otherwise would be necessary. 
• In some application, e.g. dentistry, local micro-motors can be used in place of compressed air.
• Review hot water requirements and consider replacing centralized hot water generation with local direct (or instantaneous) generation to minimize storage and distribution losses.

REUSE

Once loads have been reduced, then prioritize routine and maintenance improvement practices (that don’t require significant investment)

1. Raise awareness and train colleagues

• Empower colleagues - discuss and agree standard operating principles and management policies for process systems. Develop practices to minimize energy losses. For example, locate chilled food for longer-term storage at the back of chilled storage containers.
• Raise awareness so local users understand the impacts of their activities. Involve local champions in checking and challenging the area’s basic control settings: ensure timeclocks are reset after clock changes, automatic controls are not unintentionally left in manual mode (in ‘hand’), and that settings are not set-back to overtly safe levels.
• Ensure switches and local controllers are clearly labelled and accessible.
• For multiple equipment installations, look to switch units on/off to match demand.
• Switching off equipment during breaks, or when operators are away from the process, can save up to two thirds of normal energy consumption.
• Check that system operators, service partners and contractors are all adequately trained, and can carry out process performance reviews and proactive maintenance activities as required; they should be competent, have the relevant qualifications and have received adequate safety training to deal with any risks.

2. Make sure to enable energy savings features

• Many systems and processes come with pre-programmed energy savings features; however, we find that may are never enabled or switched off.
• Raise awareness of the energy efficiency potential and intent of system and equipment designs. Discuss the opportunities with suppliers and other specialists.
• Look to activate and continually review automatic standby levels and switch off modes whenever possible.

3. Carry out regular maintenance

• For all significant process consumers, check latest supplier requirements for system maintenance. Without a maintenance routine in place plant, equipment, pumps, fans, etc., utilities consumption can significantly increase. Maintenance also extends plant life and reduces the likelihood of breakdowns.
• Motors require regular cleaning and lubrication to bearings and associated drives; also check cooling fans and vents.
• Regularly clean fan blades, pump impellers, etc. Keep filters and distribution systems clean to minimize pressure drops.
• Include checking of compressors, evaporators and condensers; check all refrigeration systems for level of charge.

4. Optimize efficiency of transmission systems e.g. motor drives

• Involve suppliers and service partners in the optimization process.
• For motor drives, look to reduce losses as much as possible: check for belt tension, pulley alignment and lubrication. Consider replacing V-belts with modern flat low friction belts.
• For electrical transmission systems, look at opportunities to reduce voltages at transformers. Many systems run at higher voltages than required which can lead to additional energy losses.

5. Routinely carry out inspections for leaks

• Look for and eliminate leaks within process systems.
• Water system leaks can be highlighted by monitoring for consumption with all water consuming equipment switched off. Underground leaks can sometimes be highlighted using thermography.
• Leaks in compressor systems can also go unnoticed for a long time and be expensive. In compressed air systems, losses can be as much as 40 to 50% of the generated output. Try to listen and see if there are any audible air leaks within the system. Also, check for safety valve leaks and whether any manual drain valves have been left marginally open. Be careful about using metal clips on airlines, as these can cause leaks.
• For ventilation systems, minimize duct and damper air leakage which can also impact on performance and controllability.

6. Use variable speed drives (VSD) on motors ($)

• A variable speed drive (VSD) is a type of motor controller that can vary the speed of an electric motor by varying the frequency and voltage supplied to the motor.
• Used in an energy effective way, reducing the speed of a pump or fan by 20% can halve its running cost.
• Other names for VSDs are variable frequency drives, adjustable speed drives, adjustable frequency drives, AC drives, micro-drives and inverters.
• For some applications, using multi-speed motors can also provide energy effective control for part load operation.
• Many VSDs aren’t being used as effectively as they could be. Set up and continually optimize and improve the control settings to make the most out of the VSD investment.

7. Retrofit equipment controls

• Involve suppliers and system specialists to discuss opportunities to retrofit additional equipment controls to reduce consumption and enhance performance.
• Look at energy efficiency controls; e.g. consider use of ‘start on demand’ controls for escalators and travellators. Consider soft-start motor controllers on freezers, refrigerators, and chilled display cabinets.
• Look at water efficiency controls e.g. use of control systems for water system urinals, push or knee operated controls for taps, etc.
• For electrical distributions systems, power factor correction can help to reduce the reactive power fed back into the local electricity grid – thus reducing any additional costs you may be charged for by the local utility company for excess power factors.

8. De-rate plant provision if oversized (and practical to do)

• Target oversized processes and plant that have poor efficiencies:
• Pumps may be de-rated by changing to a smaller impeller, by trimming the impeller, or by adjusting the pulley size.
• Consider reconfiguring significantly oversized three phase motors from delta to star wiring.
• Reduce hot water storage and generation by using smaller units with quicker recovery times.
• Partition off any areas unused in cold storage containers (and switch off or de-rate associated evaporators).

RECYCLE

Talk to colleagues, share experiences and try out proven approaches and technologies used by others

1. Survey process users, operators and service partners

• Gain feedback from operators and users on current performance of local processes and ask for their ideas for improvement opportunities.
• Talk to suppliers and industry specialists to obtain informed opinions about comparative levels of process system performance, including energy/water performance, and ideas they have to improve overall performance.

    2. Use monitoring and targeting (M&T) techniques ($)

• Too often, unexpected energy and water waste goes unseen in process systems.
• Automated consumption monitoring of production processes and demand can help support the identification of avoidable energy/water waste. Half-hourly consumption data is typically used to do this.
• Particularly target excessive demand used out of normal operating periods.
• Consider use of load shedding to reduce maximum demand at peak times – this could be facilitated using local control systems or full building energy management systems.

3. Improve procurement policies

• Ensure equipment and motors are of the correct size for the application, once opportunities to reduce load have been considered.
• Once appropriate size has been determined, look to make use of efficiency rating labels to help establish energy and water effective procurement policies.
• For example, fitting High Efficiency (IE2) or Premium Efficiency (IE3) motors can reduce motor energy consumption by up to 5% for the same power output demand compared to standard new motors; this investment typically payback within 1-3 years. 
• Think again about policies to repair/rewind motors as this practice reduces motor efficiencies. Only rewind motors when absolutely necessarily. 
• When replacing equipment, look to recycle old machinery and equipment as possible.
• Discuss industry standards and opportunities with specialists.

4. Recover kinetic energy ($$)

• Kinetic energy is the energy of mass in motion. We can sometimes capture this energy before it is lost. 
• Traditionally, this has been expensive to do, but certain applications are becoming more cost effective, or help to raise awareness of avoidable waste issues to capture hearts and minds.
• Regenerative braking, for example, can be used to recapture some of the energy that would normally be lost by braking systems. Cycling generators and kinetic pavements (harnessing the power of footstep) can also be used to generate electricity.
• To minimize distribution losses, look to recycle this energy for nearby power loads or charging points, particularly if you can keep it as a 12volt supply.

5. Recycle waste heat ($)

• Look for opportunities to recycle waste heat from process systems. For example, waste heat from coil coolers, or air-cooled compressors may be used to pre-heat water for other purposes, such as for domestic hot water.
• Using a thermal camera (thermography) can help to identify equipment that gives off high levels of waste heart.
• When considering application, first look for opportunities to recycle the heat within the same process, e.g. using hot-gas recirculation to reduce temperature stratification and promote better heat transfer. 
• Then consider whether heat can effectively be recovered from the process.

6. Recycle water/effluent discharge ($)

• Look for opportunities to recycle wastewater from water systems. The potential will depend on the levels of cleaning required.
• If possible, recirculate water for other purposes, without requiring significant remedial measures. For example, either directly (e.g. using greywater for gardens), or indirectly (e.g., using water for industrial cooling applications).
• There may be opportunities to recover collected rainwater, or process water such as from sinks, to be used within applications such as toilets.

7. Learn from continually optimizing equipment settings and controls

• Look to continually learn by iteratively challenging control settings and looking to stretch performance in use.
• Work with specialists to review and fine-tune control schedules, differentials, loops, etc., to minimize losses at low loads.
• If experience shows that the level of control at low loads is insufficient, consider replacing control valves or terminal units with correctly sized components.
• In particular, pay attention to optimizing plant sequence and load controls, operating pressures and free cooling and heating cycles.

8. Use KAIZEN case studies - share your experience with colleagues

• KAIZEN is the Japanese word for “change for the better”. This Asian philosophy is based on continual improvement that can be applied to any process in a way that involves everyone.
• Look to use standard kaizen case-study templates to capture experiences and actions and share them with colleagues.

RETHINK

Challenge your mindsets, look for new ways of doing business, trial new ideas and invest in more energy effective and sustainable solutions; review business cases and their ROI

1. Innovate approaches & processes ($$)

• Review all systems in terms of energy and water performance, and understand the value they add (or don’t add) to the overall process.
• Brainstorm alternative approaches to meet process requirements. For example, pay attention to alternative heat treatment processes, furnaces, washers, dryers, etc.
• Design out utility requirements if possible, e.g. using waterless urinals.
• Look for opportunities to relocate services to benefit from economies of scale e.g. a restaurant supplier centralized some of the cooking of meals within larger kitchens to distribute to their simplified local restaurant outlets.

2. Replace oversized equipment ($$)

• Using oversized equipment (compared to the required demand at peak load) can significantly increase their energy and resources consumption.
• Target significant consuming process assets and equipment, and review how they perform at peak load, low load and part-load scenarios. Consider whether they are under energy effective control at the different levels of load.
• Rethink whether any changes in size, or other remedial measures would improve the performance of any oversized or undersized assets.
• For example, correctly sized motors ensure good levels of energy efficiency particularly for part-load operation. Consider replacing oversized motors with correctly-sized units to be a better match for the application and load.

3. Re-energize belt driven motor drives to be direct drives ($)

• Direct drives can be more energy efficient than belt driven motors as there are less moving parts; this means lower energy costs and less maintenance.
• A direct drive motor means the load is directly connected to the motor, without mechanical transmission elements such as gearboxes or belt and pulley systems.
• If re-engineering the motors isn’t cost effective, consider ways of reducing the friction and the energy consumption penalty of the mechanical transmission elements e.g. within the belt system.
• Discuss opportunities with specialist suppliers.

4. Upgrade to more efficient, cleaner equipment ($$)

• Look for opportunities to replace old inefficient process equipment with modern equivalents.
• Reconsider how part load operation can be controlled efficiently. Choosing high spec, efficient and smaller modular units of equipment can make it easier to switch equipment on and off to meet demand.
• Look for opportunities to reduce levels of friction (which increases energy losses) within distribution systems; for example, use larger ducts and pipes to minimize distribution energy consumption.
• Look for opportunities to use more environmentally-friendly fuels and refrigerants, and low or zero local emissions heating and cooling systems.

5. Rethink die-back control set-ups to be more on-demand ($$)

• Some approaches to control part-load operation are based on a dieback control philosophy; for example, when a materials’ handling process waits a fixed time period before going into suspend mode or switching off after any material has passed through.
• Control time delays are usually set up to avoid any risk and to double-check the smooth operation of the process. However, this comes with an energy consumption penalty.
• The good news is that there are always opportunities to reconfigure control set-ups to be more ‘on-demand’ with near instantaneous on/off control, which can significantly reduce the energy consumption of the process. This usually works well with multi-motor based systems.
• Discuss opportunities with operations colleagues and trial possible ideas. Continually rethink control set-ups in line with delivering best value for operational requirements and continually challenge the controls set-ups.

6. Use nearby located waste heat or renewable energy sources ($$$)

• Enquire in the local area as to whether there are any opportunities to use, recover and recycle any locally generated waste heat and power; either to power the process, or heat the facilities e.g., using waste biomass that would have otherwise been disposed of.
• If proposing biomass CHP or heating systems, review the local medium-term availability and sustainable supply of the appropriate renewable fuel sources. In addition, consider the impact of any local air emissions from the combustion processes.
• For process heating requirements, also look at opportunities to integrate solar thermal or photovoltaics into building roofing systems.

7. Set-up continual improvement processes

• Early on in any rethinking and redevelopment process, set an energy effective vision including associated organizational policies, strategies, metrics and targets designed to drive continual improvement. For example, this can be applied to the use of motors as a motor management policy.
• Set up the basic strategic checkpoints to regularly review overall performance and drive further continual optimization and improvement.
• Make use of tools such as dashboards to regularly communicate progress. 
• Synthesize the design intent into a set of key principles, useful to significant energy users, who can then implement the better operational practices and behaviors required.

8. Report on how long you can go

• As part of any rethinking process, forecast operational energy and other utilities consumption; think about low, high, and most probable energy productivity consumption levels.
• Involve operations and facilitates colleagues in the process to ensure forecasts are more realistic. Use this information as part of the energy improvement process for both colleagues and operational best practices.
• Develop consumption models that will also help review new saving opportunities, and drive continuous continual improvement of operational practices and behaviors going forward.

SUMMARY

There are always many opportunities to reduce the utilities consumption of process systems using performance improvement techniques.

We find following the 5-R categories helps ensure that remedial measures are considered in an order which, not only ensures lowest overall cost, but also right sizes subsequent investments in new process technology.

Download

If you would like the downloadable summary checklist for this, please contact us.

• It’s in Microsoft Word, but it can easily be converted to another Word processer, such as Google Docs. It’s read-only, so you’ll have to save your version onto your own drive to be able to modify it.
• You can then modify and develop this simplified checklist to suit your needs as required. Complete it on line or print it out (but remember: think before you print!)

For more detail about developing an approach to optimizing the energy performance of process systems, check out ISO 50001 and other related standards.

Written by James Brittain and Monica Landoni

James Brittain, Director of the Discovery Mill, has teamed up with his associate Kristina Allison from Lighting Enterprises to explain what is meant by lighting health-checks to help organizations answer some key questions.

Introduction

There are two key questions that organizations have to ask about their lighting. The first is: Do you know how good your existing lighting performance is? And the second is: How much more potential do you have to improve it?

When the answers to these questions are known, "where you need to be" can be compared with "where you are at the moment", and a lighting improvement strategy and action plans can be positioned to help close the gap and deliver more energy-effective lighting in the workplace.

Lighting typically accounts for between 10-30% of the total energy consumption cost of buildings.

Lighting heath-checks can be used as part of an Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) type energy audit, an ISO50001 energy review, or as a general performance check for the working environment to identify where energy performance improvement opportunities exist.

Energy Effective Lighting – Think Win-Win

We define "energy effective" lighting as the optimum level of lighting service that delivers best overall value to the organization and its business plan.  This represents "where you need to be."

This typically takes into account the impact on work productivity, reasons for enhanced lighting, security and safety requirements, operation and maintenance costs and overall energy and environmental performance.

By undertaking the health-check against this measure, we can easily identify ineffective lighting installations and thus recognize the opportunities to improve lighting performance overall to deliver increased energy savings, reduced costs and to generally give a better overall working environment.

This often translates into multiple business benefits, a win-win, to the organization.

Counting the People Factors

There are two simple tests we use to assess the people factor requirements for buildings.

First, we look to measure the actual utilization of the space by using people or occupancy counters. This can be done relatively simply by introducing temporary monitoring into buildings as part of the health-check review.

Even though our buildings are available for use 365 days a year, in practice many are only used Monday to Friday during core working hours.  The 3000 hours a year for our example office building is equivalent to 125 days a year, which equates to 34% overall utilization for the building.  When we take into account the fact that average total occupancy at any one time for this type of building is typically 45-65%, this utilization falls to less than 20%. This means that, on average, our lighting systems in the UK are only needed for less than 20% of the total time. Often, we find that lighting systems are left "on" for significantly longer periods than needed.

Second, we also look to speak directly to building users, whenever possible, to ask for their feedback on what they think about their lighting; this often includes asking about the levels of artificial lighting, day lighting and about opportunities to improve the system overall. We do this through simple discussions and interviews or further investigations, if required, by using a simple batch-type questionnaire.

During a recent building user questionnaire survey at an airport, lighting was identified as the most liked aspect of the working environment. The airport recognizes that its buildings are critical to delivering their business plan but they need to save more on running costs. Lighting has been targeted as the next key opportunity to make significant energy savings. We estimate that there are over $250,000 of energy savings available through replacement and upgrading the fittings and by introducing better lighting controls. We believe many of these projects will repay the money invested over a period of between 1 and 3 years.

Lamp and Luminaire Checks

Once we have analyzed the people factors, we move on to look more at the lamps and luminaires, initially in terms of the service that’s been provided.

We know the types of lamps used can insignificantly impact on occupant health, wellbeing and productivity. 

Offices are quite often now re-lamped with cooler bluer-colored fluorescent lamps or LED luminaires. This is because research has shown that this increases the perception of brightness resulting in increased alertness and mood. This is related to the "color temperature" of the lighting and is measured in degrees Kelvin. 

The amount of, and quality of light delivered is also a key factor. We look to take measurements using a "lux" meter at various points on the working plane and consider the results in terms of the task being undertaken and the people doing that task.

People in their forties, for example, may need twice as much light as those in their twenties to work at their optimum productivity.  Some tasks need a good reproduction of color and so lamps and luminaires with better color rendering characteristics need to be employed. 

Having reviewed the service levels, we can then assess performance in terms of efficiency and costs. To do this, there are a number of factors we need to take into account.

• Any overprovision of light levels means that the system is working harder and producing more light than it needs to.
• Consider the overall design approach using general and task lighting as appropriate.
• The type of lamp, luminaire and associated control gear or drivers will significantly impact on energy consumption and performance.
• The effective useful life of the installation is determined by "lamp life" (fittings failing outright) or "lumen life" (the degradation of light output below effective levels).
• The light-output ratio of the luminaire is a factor. If the reflectors, for example, don’t surround the lamp adequately, it can lead to significant losses in effective light output.
• The frequency of cleaning and dust left on luminaires also impact on effective light output. Maintenance costs of re-lamping and cleaning regimes.
• Are there opportunities for greater harnessing of natural daylight, for example, by using daylight blinds?

Even though the use of LED is often compelling, we don’t believe that a "blanket approach" should be taken for replacing existing systems with LED. A stated life of 50,000 hours is significantly more than the average 12,000 hours for a standard fluorescent lamp. It is important to think about useful life and the length of time the LEDs will maintain at least 70% of their rated lumen output (L70). Retrofitting for LED needs to be carefully thought about and a whole life cost assessment of the differing options, using the same timescales, can be an important part of the health-check review. 

On-demand Energy Performance

"Energy effective" lighting is a pragmatic measure of performance based on current requirements, assumptions and technology.

We often think of ultimate energy performance as being the point when we are absolutely confident that a system is only using what it needs – we call this ultimate level of service and performance "on-demand". It’s the ideal scenario and is very hard to reach, and is about pushing boundaries and finding new ways of doing things.

By understanding the potential "on-demand" energy performance of a lighting system, we can further analyze how much more potential there may be to save energy and think about the actions that will help to deliver even better value, both tactically in the short term and strategically in the medium to long term.

The opportunity to get closer to "on-demand" levels is often related to the use and performance of lighting controls.

A health-check would normally look to map the lighting zones within a building with a schedule of the controls, sensors and settings employed, and would include a review of their appropriateness and performance. This is a useful output of a health-check in itself.

Aspects of controls we look at would normally include the following:

• Sufficient levels of switching to enable luminaires to be switched on and off, as well their ability to control specific areas being illuminated. Often assigning responsibility is a good way to ensure lighting is switched off in shared spaces when they’re not in use.
• The ease of use of available switches, looking at their positioning in terms of accessibility and proximity to lighting circuits. A multi-switch panel should have clearly labelled individual switches to avoid lights being turned on by mistake or when not needed.
• The use of programmable time switches to switch lighting and lamps off when it is anticipated that there is sufficient daylight or when space is normally unoccupied.
• The use of light sensors to monitor lighting levels and automatically switch off or dim down lights when they’re not required.  Constant illuminance control can be an effective way of controlling light levels in a space that benefits from good daylighting. Intelligent lighting controls should be user friendly and easy to use.
• The use of presence detectors and occupancy sensors to avoid lighting being left on when a space is unoccupied.  Depending on operational requirements, it may be more appropriate for lighting to dim down to a set-back level if no-one is present in the space at the time.  Systems may include passive infrared (PIR), temperature and/or microwave sensors.

Opportunities to save energy can often be found by challenging the existing control strategies and settings.

When we looked at the lighting performance of an underground railway station, we found a T8 florescent lighting scheme was running continuously 24 hours a day, consuming over 100,000 kWh of electricity a year.  By using people counters we found that the average utilization of the space was less than 20%. Taking into account opportunities for upgrading the lamps and controls, the potential short-term savings opportunity was estimated at 50%, with a further 25% available in the longer term through better control of lighting for the space.

We also often find modern lighting controls that are no longer performing to their original design intent. Specifying a continuous approach to system commissioning is a key part of the on-demand energy performance philosophy. 

Lighting Health-Checks – The Opportunity

The future of lighting is rapidly heading towards LED technology as the dominant source of artificial light used in buildings. New lamps and luminaires are being developed, increasing in light output and falling in price, making it a great opportunity to upgrade your lighting at the moment.

Because of this rapid pace of lighting product development, we now recommend that it is prudent to undertake a lighting system health-check at least every 3 to 5 years.

We can find that replacing an installation that is 10 years old with today’s technology can potentially halve the overall operating costs, improve the lighting quality and may lead to payback in less than 3 years, at which point it begins to contribute to the bottom line.

As the total cost of lighting is usually a fraction of the cost of the wage bill, there are usually also people reasons to improve installations as well to improve the overall working environment.

Recommendations of a health-check are application specific and focus on the actions that will make the biggest difference. This should include delivering a continuous optimization of energy performance in the longer term. The object is to make systems "fit" and then make sure those lighting systems stay fit.

Once you’ve undertaken a health-check, and made the changes as required, you can be confident that your systems are "energy effective" – fit for purpose, fit for your customers and fit for the planet.