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Assessment of Load and Energy Reduction Techniques (ALERT) Retrocommissioning Case Study of Two National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Sites
Abstract
Portland Energy Conservation Incorporated
(PECI) in conjunction with the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) staff performed an
Assessment of Load and Energy Reduction
Techniques (ALERT) retrocommissioning evaluation
on several buildings located at the South Table
Mountain site and National Wind Technology Center
site located in Golden, Colorado. The
retrocommissioning process involved a coordinated
effort between PECI and NREL staff and was
completed in November of 2002.
Retrocommissioning (RCx), or existing building
commissioning, is an event in the life of a building
that applies a systematic investigation process for
improving and optimizing a building's energy-using
equipment such as the HVAC and other mechanical
equipment, lighting equipment, and related controls.
The investigation phase for this project identified 33
findings. This paper gives an overview of the project
and discusses a few of the operations and
maintenance (O&M) findings as well as capital
improvement recommendations that have the greatest
potential for energy savings. An update on the
progress of implementation will also be discussed.
The combined measures recommended for
implementation result in an estimated total annual
savings of 572,444 kWh, 54,114 therms, and a total
utility cost savings of $44,040, which correspond to a
7.0% reduction in annual energy usage and 4.4%
reduction in annual utility costs. With the measures
already implemented, and those in the process thus
far, the total estimated savings are 231,924 kWh,
51,550 therms, and $28,920 annual energy savings.
Implementation costs were estimated at $56,380,
which would result in a 1.9 year average payback. It
cost approximately $0.09 per square foot to perform
the ALERT RCx assessment.
Of the 33 measures identified, energy savings
were not calculated for 14 of them due to insufficient
data at the time or they are very general and difficult
to estimate. Most of the measures focus on O&M
improvements, and many of these measures have
been implemented, or under evaluation for
implementation. It is not unreasonable to assume that
the measures under evaluation, if selected for
implementation, could account for an additional 1%
energy and cost savings.
Citation
Luskay, L.; Haasl, T.; Schwab, J.; Beattie, D. (2003). Assessment of Load and Energy Reduction Techniques (ALERT) Retrocommissioning Case Study of Two National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Sites. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /5202.