Energy management technology increases bottom line.

Escalating oil, gas and electricity prices necessitate that building managers, facility managers and developers make more informed energy decisions to help lower operating costs and increase their bottom line.

The utilization of the latest energy management technologies is simply good business. Research suggests that owners and managers who view energy management as a priority achieve superior financial performance. In both commercial and residential properties, energy management can help lower operating costs and improve efficiency.

Making informed energy decisions and evaluating the latest trends in energy management technologies is a critical task.

Facility managers and building owners are looking to these and other new materials to contribute to the overall energy efficiency of residential and commercial properties into the future. However many of these methodologies, while cutting-edge, are far from the mainstream and remain a cost prohibitive option.

Ernest Faraci, Director of Management for Walter & Samuels, one of New York's oldest property and asset management firms, recognizes a more immediate need. "Due to climbing oil and gas prices, there is an overwhelming demand for methods and devices to help manage the energy efficiency of both new and existing HVAC systems," he said.

David Katz, Partner at Sterling Equities on Long Island, concurs, "The costs associated with heating and air conditioning in residential properties remains second only to personnel expenditures. Considering the fact that the United States is the world's largest user of oil, and that supply is dwindling, we need to either implement alternative energy sources or find solutions that allow existing equipment to operate more efficiently."

One such solution being employed by building owners and facility managers across the country is the use of energy economizers such as IntelliCon, a line of energy-saving economizers manufactured by Intellidyne LLC of Glen Cove, New York. The devices can be installed on new and existing heating, air conditioning and commercial refrigeration products without affecting the comfort level.

IntelliCon works by monitoring and analyzing the load on the heating or cooling system, in real time, and then modifying the way that the burner or compressor would normally be controlled or cycled. This cycle modification results in a more efficient use of the system, with subsequent reductions in energy consumption, wear and tear on the equipment, maintenance requirements and pollution.

Building owners and facility managers can expect to see energy savings of at least 10%, with typical savings falling within the 15% to 20% range. Sounds impressive, but do these economizers actually work?

Brendan Sullivan, Executive Director of Facilities Services, Engineering and Global Business Continuity for the Estee Lauder Companies, says yes.

"There was no one more skeptical than us about the efficiency proposition," he said. "We installed the product and conducted our own testing and analysis to determine if the energy-saving percentages were on target, and were pleased to realize a considerable reduction in fuel and electric energy consumption. We will be ordering a lot more units in the near future."

"We'd been looking for an energy-saving solution for the HVAC systems in our healthcare facilities. We initially tried IntelliCon in one assisted living facility and found that it reduced energy consumption by more than 20%, resulting in significant cost-savings," said Jan Burman, President of Burman Properties in East Meadow, New York. "Our current estimate is that the IntelliCon controls are saving us more than $28,000 annually in the original facility, and we have just completed a project to install IntelliCon controls in all of our other properties. The ability to save this much on one line item really affects our bottom line."

For facility managers and building owners looking to receive the most bang for their energy management buck, fuel and energy economizers can certainly fit the bill.

Unlike many energy management options, economizers offer a swift return-on-investment, with most units covering their initial costs within months of installation.

In the absence of the capital or time expenditure required to implement many of the "green" energy-efficient strategies available today, fuel and energy economizers may just be the immediate solution to the growing problem of energy management.

And while it may be awhile before there is a garden growing on every building's rooftop, there are other cost-efficient and measurable energy-saving technologies available to increase both energy efficiency and bottom line.

JIM BENTSON,

INDUSTRY PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

(RETIRED) POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY