Commercial buildings consumed 18 percent of all energy used in the U.S. in 2022. Architects, engineers and building owners are fully aware that savings can be made using a variety of different retrofit measures. Too often, however, they cannot financially justify those projects because they can’t reliably forecast the potential savings.

For very large retrofit projects, Energy Service Companies, ESCOs, have offered a solution. Using a very detailed ‘whole building energy analysis’, they provide building owners with a low-risk contract where the retrofit is paid for by the resulting cost savings.

Unfortunately, those contracts are not available to most building owners, or to their professional consultants. Neither is the expensive whole building approach that the ESCOs use.

Most engineers, architects and building owners know that cutting energy consumption is an important step towards decarbonization. And the better informed among them know that fixing leaks in the building envelope saves energy and money, but the absence of a reliable way to predict those savings too often means projects are cancelled before they start.

Is there a way to lower the initial capital investment for the building owner, involve more individuals in the energy retrofit conversation, generate immediate ROI benefits to the building owner which can be leveraged against future work, and provide proof-of-performance data for future energy conservation measures?  

Here’s one solution—if we address each ECM (Energy Conservation Measure) individually, we can allow the building owner to fund critical activities around specific measures.

Does the Building Envelope Offer the Best Potential Savings and How Can Those Savings be Reliably Predicted?

The U.S. Department of Energy and several other reputable sources, have identified the energy waste associated with uncontrolled air leakage through the building envelopes at anywhere between 30 and 60 percent of yearly HVAC related energy costs.  

The BEAT™ (Building Envelope Audit Team) approach has two stages—first an audit, then a proprietary calculation process known as ALIC™ (Air Leakage Impact Calculator).

Trained auditors physically look at the building envelope and identify each potential air leakage point and measure it.  That leakage location is then placed on a building map and entered onto an Auditor Input Form.  Photographs and descriptions are provided for location and identification of the air leakage problem.  

Next, the building owner provides historical energy consumption and cost information. This data, in combination with the building map and auditor input form, is input into the calculator. Using principles and methods established by accepted ALCAP (Air Leakage Control Assessment Procedure) and EC 128 standards, the software determines ROI, Payback Periods based on local wage and material costs and environmental impact—all resulting from the reduced energy consumption.

Going a step further, the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. now provides commercial building owners with tax credits under section 179D which can include the BEAT audit and the identified retrofit work.

According to Dr. Randy Van Straaten, President, Building Enclosure Labs Inc., "The BEAT Audit process utilizes a truly optimized process for predicting retrofit energy savings".

BEAT™ auditors are trained to gather information, not design HVAC systems or make calculations. The BEAT approach is to include more individuals in the retrofit conversation by keeping it simple.  Insulation and Roofing contractors are already training their customer facing teams to become BEAT™ auditors and adding a new revenue stream to their companies.  Campus owners are having their maintenance staff trained as BEAT™ auditors to conduct audits and execute the work needed within their existing maintenance staff.      

The need for air leakage control is well defined.  The process is codified in the residential sector and now available for existing commercial/Industrial buildings.  Get involved, take the first step towards decarbonization by creating a more effective and efficient building enclosure.

References

1. U.S. EIA (2023) Monthly Energy Review May 2023.
2. BEAT and ALIC are registered trademarks of Tom Harris PUR Consulting, LLC.