Penn Future - - Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future: Working to Protect Pennsylvania's Environment and Economy

Capital project suggestions

Check your lighting.

Sensors save.

Type of space	Savings with occupancy sensors
Private office	13 - 50 percent
Open-plan office	20 - 28 percent
Classroom	40 - 46 percent
Conference room	22 - 65 percent
Corridors	30 - 80 percent
Storage areas, closets	45 - 80 percent
Source: E Source

First look to install occupancy sensors for common areas that include restrooms, conference rooms, and supply and copy areas.
Lighting retrofits are the most cost-effective capital improvement with the shortest payback period – usually 5 years or less.
- Change old-fashioned incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) wherever possible. CFLs use 25 to 30 percent of the energy of incandescent lamps and last up to 10 times longer. Switching to CFLs can yield savings of up to $20 per lamp per year.
- Upgrade fluorescent bulbs from T12 to T8. This investment saves up to 30 percent of lighting energy and decreases an electric bill by as much as six percent. In many cases, using updated fluorescents will also reduce your hazardous waste disposal costs, since newer types have far less mercury. Payback typically takes fewer than three years.
- Super T8 lamps, with reduced-power ballasts, can save an additional 15 to 20 percent.
- Replace old-fashioned incandescent exit signs with LED ones. LEDs use at least 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs.
- Replace magnetic ballasts with basic electronic ballasts to save a minimum of 12 percent of energy consumption -- more if you invest in premium electronic ballasts.
More resources for efficient lighting are available from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Make your building more efficient.

Check and repair any leaks in seals and insulation around building partitions and ductwork in the HVAC system.
Install high-efficiency doors and windows whenever possible. Consider air curtains and doors, since air curtains help to contain heated or air-conditioned air. They provide sizeable energy savings and personal comfort when applied in industrial or commercial settings. Glazing, or films for windows, is another option, particularly for buildings in which window replacement is neither cost-effective nor practical.
Create more shade by adding overhangs, light shelves, and fins or slats to buildings.
Upgrade roofs by increasing reflectivity, installing vegetation and/or increasing insulation.

Upgrade office equipment.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, office equipment makes up about 16 percent of an office's energy use.

The ENERGY STAR® label guarantees equipment is highly energy efficient and more kind to the environment. Choosing ENERGY STAR® products when replacing old models will reduce energy costs to power each piece of equipment by 15 to 30 percent. More generally, look for equipment with features that will enable you to better manage energy usage.

Check your Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system.
Heating, cooling, and ventilating commercial buildings is responsible for more than half of commercial building energy use and costs.

Reduce heating and cooling loads as your first step in maximizing HVAC system energy performance. More efficient lighting systems and office equipment and window and roof systems, can reduce cooling loads and reduce size and cost of the HVAC equipment.
Install programmable thermostats. The upfront cost ranges from $50 to $200, but will save money in the long run by preventing the heating and cooling of unused spaces.
Seal ducts. Ten to 20 percent of the air from an HVAC supply fan is wasted through leaks in commercial buildings.
Perform preventive maintenance on rooftop equipment. Replace HVAC filters at least once every three months, insulate rooftop refrigerant lines, clean condenser coils and shade coils from the sun if possible.
Make sure the building operator is properly programming the HVAC systems utilizing features such as: night setback, seven day programming, start times, and discharge air limits.

More resources for HVAC systems are available from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Consider demand response.
Businesses can save energy and make money by signing up for demand-response programs. These programs allow electricity suppliers to reduce customers’ energy use based on demand and financially reward those who participate.

Demand-response programs are typically administered by local utilities, regional transmission organizations and third-parties. By enrolling in these programs, businesses can receive payments for voluntarily reducing their electricity use when wholesale electricity prices are high, or when heavy demand threatens the reliability of the region's electricity grid. Peak hours are those times when electricity use is at its highest, typically between noon and 7 p.m.

Within our region, PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization (RTO) that oversees the electric grid in all or parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia, offers three types of demand-response programs.

Summer Emergency Load Response Program: Customers receive PJM payments for agreeing to reduce 100 kW or more of their electric consumption in the event of a PJM emergency.
Economic Load Response Program: Customers receive PJM payments when they voluntarily reduce their electric consumption during times of high PJM wholesale prices.
Synchronized Reserves Program: Customers receive PJM payments for reducing electric consumption on less than 10 minutes notice if an unexpected PJM emergency event occurs, like a power plant or transmission line failure.

As of April 2010, there were more than 6,000 commercial and industrial customers with demand greater than 100 kW and more than 45,000 small commercial and residential sites participating in PJM's demand-response programs.

Payments within the PJM program vary based on the amount and timing of electricity curtailment. Payments can range from a few hundred dollars up to the six-figure level.

Participation in PJM's demand-response program is generally done through companies known as Curtailment Service Providers, or CSPs, that are members of PJM. A current, complete list of these CSPs is available on the PJM Web site.