Looking for ways to minimize energy expenses? Participating in strategic energy management and consulting programs enable you to boost energy performance and reduce utility costs.
What’s a Strategic Energy Management Program?
Strategic energy management (SEM) programs provide long-term solutions, tools, and education to help your business minimize energy consumption and save money. Your service provider traditionally offers these energy efficiency programs because they understand your building’s infrastructure and provide additional insight into your systems. Many companies participate in SEM collaboratives after weaving building automation systems into their facility operations.
How Do SEM Collaboratives Work?
There are five steps a company must take to ensure an effective strategic energy management program:
Create an Objective and Measurable Plan
A SEM program coach helps you identify and implement a foundation to improve energy savings. This can be making adjustments or changes in your current equipment or suggesting different energy-saving practices. A plan lays the groundwork for a more energy-efficient workspace, but it’s up to the building owners to take action and put the plan into play.
Participate in Collaborative Workshops
Workshops are action-oriented and allow you to learn from energy experts and collaborate with peers. Participating in workshops helps you understand what energy-saving tactics have worked for them in the past and what has failed. This enables you to learn from their mistakes and only perform strategies that provide positive results.
Engage Building Employees and Tenants
Developing an internal energy team of employees or building tenants enables you to stay persistent with energy savings. The goal of the energy team is to evaluate equipment efficiency and utility bills each month to discuss if the energy-saving efforts are going according to plan and what could be done if they do not see a change. As an incentive for energy team participants, they have the opportunity to earn money from the energy efficiency program for their engagement efforts.
Monitor Energy Efficiency Progress
Tracking your energy usage progress is essential to understanding if your plan is effective and results in cost savings. If you do not see any positive impact, it may be time to reassess your plan and discuss new objectives with your internal energy team or SEM program coach.
In addition, the process may seem slow and like it’s not making a significant impact, but it will over time. By evaluating results, you can see where your company is at in their energy-saving efforts. It’s important to celebrate the successes—no matter how big or small—to make continuous improvements toward a cost-effective energy solution.
Repeat the Process
Ensuring building energy efficiency is a continuous action, not a one-and-done deal. It’s crucial to continue the process to increase the savings of your company’s financial resources. The longer you engage in energy efficiency programs, the more likely you are to maintain adequate energy performance and cost savings.
Energy Management Systems for Commercial Buildings
Building automation systems (BAS) are computer-based systems that give building owners, facility managers, and property managers the ability to track monthly energy bills. In addition, automation systems alert you when there may be a discrepancy in your building’s equipment.
BAS solutions are user-friendly and enable you to operate and manage various building components from a single platform. They allow you to control commercial building systems such as:
Building automation systems are a key element to your strategic energy management solutions. They allow you, your internal energy team, and your SEM program coach to quickly access different components of your building and pinpoint where you use the most unnecessary energy. BAS integration is seamless for facility operations and can significantly impact your company’s bottom line.
Frazier Service Company Is Your Expert Energy Management Provider
At Frazier Service Company, we serve many industries with their energy conservation efforts. We help Atlanta businesses like yours through energy consultation to improve building performance and minimize costs. Discover the Frazier difference and contact us today to schedule a building energy efficiency assessment with our certified engineers and technicians
