Don’t Get Left Out in the Cold: Winterize your Building

Much of Texas got its first glimpse of old man winter during the past few days, which may have taken maintenance personnel and operations staff by surprise. Freezing temperatures, sleet and snow flurries are rarely seen before Thanksgiving in Texas, but just like a house and car need extra attention to withstand the cold weather, so does a commercial building. Your occupants will thank you  ̶  after all, it’s difficult to type or write wearing gloves and teeth chattering!

It should come as no surprise the biggest energy users in commercial buildings are HVAC equipment and lighting, which account for approximately 70%. While this is true year-round, one of the biggest concerns during winter is frozen water pipes, which can burst and cause tremendous damage, not to mention a large expense to repair. Facility managers must be prepared in order to keep tenants warm and toasty, but still be energy efficient and avoid equipment failure.

How-to winterize your commercial building checklist:

1.   Have the heating plant/boilers inspected and cleaned, including furnace filters, oil bearings on pumps and motors, blower belt and making sure blower doors are replaced properly.

2.   Empty the condensation pan on all HVAC units to remove any excess water.

3.   Insulate exposed pipes and irrigation system lines.

4.   Inspect roof for any leaks.

5.   Check all exterior walls for leaks, stains, or cracks in brick and missing mortar. Seal these areas to keep warm, conditioned air inside and cold air out.

6.   Caulk around pipes where they enter the building to prevent warm air escaping.

7.   Clean gutters and downspouts to insure proper drainage and less ice build-up.

8.   Check mixed air and outside air temperature sensors, damper and actuator function to be sure your system is ready to capitalize on free cooling opportunities.

9.  Set thermostat at 68 degrees to keep tenants comfortable and minimize heating costs.

Although Texas winters are typically mild, facility managers must be ready for a winter blast…as the saying goes, “If you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait a minute and it will change!” Take care of your building and you won’t get left out in the cold!

How Smart is Your Building?

A "smart building" has become a common term in the energy efficiency and conservation industry. But, what exactly makes one building smarter than another? Is a new building smarter than an old building? Can an average building become smarter?

The Smart Buildings Institute, a non-profit organization in Austin that has developed a smart building certification process, provides a four-part definition of a smart building:

1. Provides actionable information regarding the performance of building systems and facilities.
2. Proactively monitors and detects errors or deficiencies in building systems.
3. Integrates systems to an enterprise business level for real-time reporting and management utilization of operations, energy and occupant comfort.
4. Incorporates the tools, technologies, resources and practices to contribute to energy conservation and environmental sustainability.

It seems that it takes a lot for a building to have smarts, the most important being automation  ̶  meaning a system(s) in place that makes things run smoothly. However, there is not one characteristic or component that makes a building smart, but rather it is a combination of technologies and skilled human management. While there are many measurements, we believe the best indicators of a building's performance are tenant comfort and the bottom line.

Give Your Building an I.Q. Test

To determine your building's intelligence, evaluate its performance in the following categories:

• Physical infrastructure
• Communication/data infrastructure
• Network and security
• System integration
• Energy management system
• HVAC
• Electrical
• Lighting controls
• Access control
• Audio and visual system
• Video surveillance
• Water usage monitoring
• Fire alarm
• Metering
• Wireless systems

Common myths about smart buildings are that they are more expensive, too complicated to operate, and can only be new buildings  ̶  all of which are false. Like smart people, smart buildings are innovative, productive, efficient and adept at avoiding failure. This translates into reduced costs, improved operations and greater tenant productivity. What grade does your building deserve?

Saving Water Makes Good Business Sense

As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas. This also applies to its statewide water shortage crisis, which recently made national news when the West Texas town of Barnhart ran out of water due to fracking. Even more frightening was the prediction that 30 more Texas cities could be without water by the end of the year for the same reason, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. What?!

However, the problem is not isolated to West Texas and a result of the oil and gas industry. The bigger issue is due to the historic drought that has plagued the state since 2010 and a rapidly growing population. If the state's water resources are not managed, experts predict faucets everywhere could run dry by 2060.

Fortunately, state leaders sat up and took notice during the 53rd legislative session with the passing of House Bill 4, which authorizes $2 billion to be transferred from the state's Rainy Day Fund (how ironic!) and used to create the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas. If approved by voters in the November 5 election, the fund will provide low-interest loans for local and regional water projects such as reservoirs and pipelines.

Although the biggest consumption of the state's water resources are agriculture irrigation and municipality purposes, commercial and industrial facilities are another significant user. Thanks to the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Act, which was signed into law by Governor Perry June 14, commercial and industrial owners can now access tax exempt, low interest financing for water conservation and energy-efficiency improvements. As long as the savings generated every year cover the financing payment, these projects become neutral cash flow propositions.

Conserving water can help increase profits, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and garner tax benefits. Below are tips that every business can implement now to save water:

Water Saving Checklist for Businesses:

Maintenance

• Sweep instead of using a hose
• Use a high-pressure nozzle when a hose is necessary
• Clean windows only when needed

Building Operations

• Check for and repair leaks
• Meter all major uses separately
•  Read water meters regularly to track potential leaks
• Shut off water to unused areas
• Use automatic shut-off valves for equipment that is not in operation 
• Install self-closing, air-cooled water fountains 
• Use gray water for irrigating landscape

Restrooms 

• Check for and repair leaks 
• Install low-flow showerheads and faucets 
• Install metered or sensor faucets 
• Install high-efficiency toilets and waterless urinals 
• Consider foam flush or waterless toilets

Cooling Systems and Towers

• Install a recirculating system
• Reuse blowdown for irrigation
• Reuse treated water for makeup water
• Use air cooling where possible
• Consider evaporative cooling
• Consider hybrid cooling towers
• Consider side-stream filtration or pulse power treatment

Boilers and Heaters

• Check and replace steam traps regularly 
• Reuse condensate and blowdown

Landscape

• Check for and repair irrigation system leaks
• Use drought-tolerant native plants and turf
•  Adjust sprinklers to irrigate landscape only
• Water deeply but infrequently
•  Water during early morning or evening hours
•  Install timers and moisture sensors
• Use drip irrigation
•  Use fertilizer sparingly
•  Install shut-off nozzles on hoses

Source: Texas Water Development Board

For more information about ways to save water and energy, or PACE financing for commercial and industrial users, contact us at 972-325-1919.