Organizations wanting to reduce energy costs can accomplish sustainable savings using a clear strategy and plan. Building a foundation for an energy management plan is the first step in developing a sustainable energy management plan.
The following nine steps can help any organization reduce energy costs by using manageable and sustainable activities to develop a foundation for an energy management plan.
1. Obtain a copy of the most recent energy invoice and the associated rate sheets. Develop a depth of knowledge and understanding of the billing elements to determine what the charges are for, when the charges occur, and the amount of the charges. Also ensure the facility is on the best available rate.
2. Create a monthly tracking spreadsheet of the last two years of energy use. Determine if the monthly energy use has gone up, down or stayed the same and why. Sum the dollars spent by energy unit for the last year and divide the total annual cost by the total energy units used to establish the average blended cost per unit of energy.
The average blended cost can be used to make estimated calculations of equipment operating costs and potential savings. Update the tracking spreadsheet each month and create a graph to visually identify trends.
3. Benchmark the organization's outputs with the energy unit inputs by month for the last two years and going forward. For example, a benchmark may be energy/square foot, energy/case, energy/pound, etc.
Develop and use a benchmark that is consistent with the prevailing organization business terminology. Determine if the benchmark has gone up, down or stayed the same and why.
Compare the energy benchmark to similar facilities. Determine if the facility being analyzed is higher, lower or the same and why. A facility with a high energy-use benchmark likely presents significant energy savings opportunity.
4. Identify the top five energy users in the facility. These likely represent approximately 80 percent of the facility energy use. Determine ways to improve the efficiency or operating characteristics of the top five energy users and what the savings potential is of the improvements.
5. Outline the findings from steps one through four and present to senior management. Gain the support of senior management in writing to form an energy team, including a reasonable first-year energy use reduction goal. Use the energy savings goal as a performance measurement for later review.
6. Establish a cross-functional energy team, identify a team leader and a senior level management team sponsor. Collaborate to write a mission statement and goals for the energy team, including the performance measurement goal from step five.
The energy team should meet once every two weeks for the first three months and once a month thereafter. Each team member should be responsible for a specific area and have an energy savings assignment for each energy team meeting.
7. Create a prioritized list of no-cost, sustainable energy-saving projects and implement them immediately. Create a prioritized list of sustainable energy-saving projects that have less than a one-year payback and implement them immediately using the maintenance budget.
Do not implement energy saving measures that inconvenience customers or employees.
8. Report the results of items one through seven above to senior management, reset the energy savings goals and gain support for ongoing energy team resources including a capital and expense budget. Include an energy team agenda item on regularly occurring senior-level operations meetings.
9. Develop an evolving one-year, two-year and three-year plan for energy costs savings projects and report ongoing results quarterly to senior management.
A clear strategy and plan is necessary to accomplish sustainable energy savings. This nine-step approach to energy cost savings can help an organization establish an effective foundation for energy cost savings.
Constructing an energy management plan that is of manageable scope, results-driven, measureable and has the support of management can enable an organization to realize sustainable energy cost savings.
