Tips for More Energy-efficient Buildings
- Always Be Monitoring – As the saying goes, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Nowhere is that truer than with energy. Comprehensive energy-management dashboards allow real-time monitoring, tracking and identification of more ways to save. Benchmarking—before and after upgrades—allows you to see how your building (or factory) compares with others.
- Employee Engagement is Key – All Detroit-based General Motors’ employees are invested in reducing the facility’s overall energy from plant managers all the way down to the people on the line. Everyone takes responsibility for shutting down lighting and other non-essential systems at the end of the day. New York-based L’Oréal USA also runs a global sustainability program called “Sharing Beauty with All” (or “Y’all” at the North Little Rock plant), which celebrates employee participation, ideas and success.
- Look Outside Your Four Walls – It’s easy to understand why a manufacturer would stay laser-focused on what’s going on inside on the shop floor. But thinking outside the box (and the plant) to engage with local businesses and the community can improve efficiency, too. GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck facility is heated by steam that comes from a local waste-toenergy facility. In return, GM sends back the condensate to create savings for everyone.
- Harness Your Resources – There are resources all around you if you’re willing to collect them. GM has its own pond system to collect rainwater that is used in cooling towers and to make high-purity, paint-shop water. GM and L’Oréal USA also have onsite solar arrays that provide a percentage of their facilities’ electricity demand.
- Bring in Fresh Eyes – Even the most seasoned energy managers can learn a thing or two from an outside perspective. Conducting energy “treasure hunts” can identify obvious and hidden opportunities to save. This is what SWAP is all about.
retrofit Covers the Better Buildings Challenge Swap
Photos: U.S. Department of Energy