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Building energy information systems: synthesis of costs, savings, and best-practice uses

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Abstract

Building energy information systems (EIS) are a powerful customer-facing monitoring and analytical technology that can enable up to 20 % site energy savings for buildings. Few technologies are as heavily marketed, but in spite of their potential, EIS remain an underadopted emerging technology. One reason is the lack of information on purchase costs and associated energy savings. While insightful, the growing body of individual case studies has not provided industry the information needed to establish the business case for investment. Vastly different energy and economic metrics prevent generalizable conclusions. This paper addresses three common questions concerning EIS use: what are the costs, what have users saved, and which best practices drive deeper savings? We present a large-scale assessment of the value proposition for EIS use based on data from over two-dozen organizations. Participants achieved year-over-year median site and portfolio savings of 17 and 8 %, respectively; they reported that this performance would not have been possible without the EIS. The median 5-year cost of EIS software ownership (up-front and ongoing costs) was calculated to be $1800 per monitoring point (kilowatt meter points were most common), with a median portfolio-wide implementation size of approximately 200 points. In this paper, we present an analysis of the relationship between key implementation factors and achieved energy reductions. Extent of efficiency projects, building energy performance prior to EIS installation, depth of metering, and duration of EIS were strongly correlated with greater savings. We also identify the best practices use of EIS associated with greater energy savings.

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Acknowledgments

The work described in the paper was supported by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, of the US Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

The authors wish to acknowledge the following participants in this study for their exemplary efforts in energy management and for their contribution of data and best practices in the use of energy information systems: British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, Beaverton, Best Buy, Cushman & Wakefield (as agent for Adobe), Earth Rangers, Food Lion, Glenborough, International Monetary Fund, Legacy Health, Liberty Science Center, McGill, Microsoft, New York Presbyterian, Sacramento County, San Ramon Valley Unified School District, Suffolk County, Turner Construction Company, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Vornado, Wendy’s Quality Supply Chain Co-op, Inc., Western Kentucky University, and Whole Foods.

The authors also acknowledge the support of the following vendors who provided client referrals for recruitment to participate in the study: AtSite, EFT Energy Inc., Integrated Building Solutions, Johnson Controls, Lucid, MACH Energy, McKinstry, NorthWrite, Noveda Technologies, Obvius, Pulse Energy, and Schneider Electric.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Building Technology and Urban Systems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jessica Granderson & Guanjing Lin

Authors
  1. Jessica Granderson
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  2. Guanjing Lin
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Correspondence to Jessica Granderson.

Appendix. Detailed description of key questions addressed in case investigations

Appendix. Detailed description of key questions addressed in case investigations

Table 4 Questions those were included in the study to address the general information of EIS and how participants use the EIS
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Table 5 Questions those were included in the study to address technology costs
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Table 6 Questions those were included in the study to address depth of metering and monitoring
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Granderson, J., Lin, G. Building energy information systems: synthesis of costs, savings, and best-practice uses. Energy Efficiency 9, 1369–1384 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-016-9428-9

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