Introduction
This report documents the energy consumption patterns for the building under study,
identifies areas of opportunity for energy savings, and determines the cost effectiveness of
selected options. The recommendations provided in this report always take into consideration
the architectural integrity of the building, the proper functioning of its mechanical equipment,
and the health and safety of its occupants.
The Meridian Township Municipal Building located at 5151 Marsh Road in Okemos,
Michigan, is a two-story steel framed structure set into a hill to the east. The original
construction date for the building is 1971. There has been one additions to the south side of the
building in 1992. Major improvements were made to the building’s energy systems in the
1990’s. The building currently houses the Township Hall and most of the administrative
functions of the Township including the public access cable studio.
Two site visits, including one at night, were made to the Meridian Municipal Building to
inspect, photograph, and document its physical characteristics. The Energy Management System
for the building was also viewed. Dennis Antone, the Facilities Superintendent, and LeRoy
Harvey, the Recycling Coordinator, were in attendance at an initial project meeting. They
provided a CD with the construction plans of the building as well as other written historical
information. They also provided information regarding occupancy, building maintenance, and
expected outcomes for the energy study. An occupant comfort survey was also undertaken.
Space heating for the building, as well as domestic hot water, is produced using natural
gas. All other energy needs are provided using electricity. Gas and electric utility bills for the 12
months of 2009 were provided for the study and have been reviewed. Spreadsheets containing
this data are provided in the Appendix. We always remind our clients that utilities charge
penalties for late payments (as much as 2%). No late payments were found. It is also important
to maintain good record keeping of utility bills in order to accurately track costs and spot
changes in consumption patterns. Building owners should always require actual readings each
month by the utility. There was one estimated reading for both gas and electricity for the
Meridian Municipal Building. This did not effect the quality of the study.Executive Summary
A complete analysis of how the Meridian Municipal Building and its HVAC systems are
responding to monthly weather patterns was conducted. It appears that the building is using
significantly more gas energy for heating than should be the case. The need for cooling is driven
more by internal heat loads than exterior air temperatures. The building has an energy
management system which is programmed to alter building temperature settings for energy
savings. The HVAC systems are regularly maintained. This study identified 2 O&M
(Operations and Maintenance) no cost/low cost items which could be undertaken to reduce gas
consumption.
The building model analysis indicates that the roof of the building is a significant source
of heat loss. It is recommended that roof deck insulation be installed at the time of re-roofing.
The benefits of insulating the roof has been evaluated in this report. There are 5 exterior wall
types for the building. These are for the most part adequately insulated. The building has all
double pane glass. The doors are insulated or have double pane glass. The slab edge is properly
1
insulated. If the 1 shell ECM (Energy Conservation Measure) items for saving gas energy were
undertaken, the gas consumption for the building would be reduced by about 12%.
The building energy model indicates that mechanical ventilation constitutes the largest
source of heat loss. There are 2 Air-Handling Units (AHUs) located in the third floor
mechanical room which serve the building. A central boiler on the second floor supplies hot
water to the AHUs for space heating. This report evaluates for its replacement. Each AHU has
separate ground mounted, air cooled, DX condensers. One is relatively new, the others are
older. When these A/C units reaches the end of life, units with an EER of 12 to 14 is
recommended. The AHUs can easily be modified to provide for demand controlled ventilation.
This is a low cost high savings opportunity. Energy recovery ventilation is a possibility for both
AHUs. If the 3 HVAC ECM items for gas savings were undertaken, the gas consumption of
Meridian Municipal Building would be reduced by about 40%.
A complete analysis of all the electrical equipment in the building was also undertaken.
This study identified 8 O&M (Operations and Maintenance) no cost/low cost items which could
be undertaken to improve electrical energy performance. Several areas of the building are
evaluated for installation of occupancy sensors to control the lighting. Further study is
recommended to identify a cost effective strategy to reduce HVAC power consumption.
Installing variable frequency drives (VFDs) on the AHUs is one means to accomplish that task.
These 2 electrical ECM (Energy Conservation Measure) items have reasonable costs and
modest paybacks.
The fluorescent lighting systems in the Meridian Municipal Building
were updated to T8 technology in the late 1990’s. A group re-lamping project using 28 watt
lamps is recommended for these fixtures. Re-lamping the few incandescent fixtures with
compact fluorescent lamps will produce quick low cost savings. The exterior lighting at the
Meridian Municipal Building constitutes 11% of the total lighting consumption. These fixtures
all use high pressure sodium lamps. These can be re-lamped and re-fixtured using more efficient
fluorescent induction technology. 4 ECMs relating to lighting were identified. Typical of
lighting efficiency, these measures are a good investment reducing lighting consumption by
25%.
All the O&Ms and ECMs are summarized in the table below. A subset of the O&M and
ECM items, marked by an X, is recommended for implementation. Items shown in Green
indicates that a utility incentive is available. Please refer to the report text for implementation
information.
A. O&M and ECM Summary Table
TEA
Items
O&M or ECM
Report Recom Description
Ref.
mended
Page
Gas
O&Ms
12
O&M #1 Check
Accuracy of
Gas Meters
Estimated
Project
Cost ($)
2
Cost Pay- Energy Est.
Savings back Savings Life
($/yr) Years MBtu/yr (yrs)
O&M #2 Maintain Door
Weatherstripp
ing
Gas
ECMs
13
14
X
15
X
16
X
ECM #1 - Add
Roof
Insulation
ECM #2 Demand
Controll
Ventilation
ECM #3 Energy
Recovery
Ventilation
ECM #4 New
Condensing
Boiler
Electric
O&Ms
22
22
22
22
23
23
23
O&M #3 Small Kitchen
Appliances
O&M #4 Efficient
Office
Equipment
O&M #5 Purchase
Energy Star
O&M #6 Activate
Computer
Sleep Mode
X
O&M #7 Power Down
Equipment
X
O&M #8 Vending
Machine
Controls
O&M #9 Premium
Efficiency
Motors
O&M #10 Radiant Foot
Warmers
Electric ECMs
3
$14,398.00 $2,069.61
7.0 222,300 Life
$2,000.00 $4,294.48
0.5 421,974 Life
$14,000.00 $3,388.49
4.1 327,122 20
$18,000.00 $3,223.72
5.6 332,000 20
24
X
25
X
28
28
30
31
ECM #5 Occupancy
Sensors
ECM #6 Variable
Frequency
Drives
Lighting
ECMs
X
ECM #7 - Relamp T8 Fluor
Fixt
X
ECM #8 - Relamp w/ CFL
16W R
X
ECM #9 - Relamp HID w/
InducFluor
ECM #10 Refixture HID
w/ InducFluor
X
$650.00
$81.23
$8,000.00
$735.92
10.9 38,324.0 20
$5,436.00 $1,028.75
5.3 25,480.2 10
4,862.0 15
$13.86
$9.62
1.4
80.5 20
$2,200.00
$222.41
9.9
7,123.6 16
$8,500.00
$340.81
Recommended $42,299.86 $12,248.70
ECM/O&M Totals
4
8.0
24.9 11,644.8 25
3.5 1,118,64
2.3
Building Description
The Meridian Municipal Building was built in 1971. It is a steel framed structure built in
2 sections. There is a one story Town Hall Meeting Room on the west connected by two entry
vestibules to a two story building on the east housing the township office functions. The original
building area is 19,232 SF not including the third floor mechanical room. A two story addition,
containing 6,298 SF not including its third floor mechanical room, was constructed on the south
side of the original structure in 1992. The total gross area of the building is 25,530 SF. A floor
plan for the building is provided in the Appendix.
B. Photo of Meridian Municipal Building
OCCUPANCY
The Meridian Municipal Building has from 52 staff members who
regularly occupy the building. There are an additional 50 to 60 people who visit the building
daily. The building has its own janitorial staff. A Town Hall meeting room is used in the
evenings for public events.OPERATION
The Meridian Municipal Building is in use
from 6:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. The building is closed an additional 14
days throughout the year. The building has 2 heating/cooling zones controlled by an energy
management system. Night time and seasonal temperature setbacks are currently being
practiced. Regular HVAC maintenance is provided through an outside contract with DEEM.
5
WALLS
The above grade exterior walls on the west side of the original Meridian
Municipal Building are insulated steel stud framing or concrete block with brick veneer. These
walls have R-values ranging from 8 to 10. On the north and east sides, where the first floor
walls are set into a hill, the construction is poured concrete. These walls have an R-value of
about 5. Most of these walls have subsequently been finished off and insulated from the interior.
There is a small portion of the poured concrete wall which is directly exposed to exterior air
temperatures that is not insulated. The addition built in 1992 has a similar structure. The second
floor walls of the addition have higher insulation levels at an R-value of about 18.
ROOF
The roof structure of the Meridian Municipal Building is constructed similarly
for both the original and the addition. Steel roof framing forms a gable within which the
mechanical rooms are located. The roof deck is 3” nominal wood with asphalt shignles applied
over it. The insulation design for the roof is unusual and not uniformly effective. 3 1/2”
fiberglass blankets are stapled to the underside of the roof deck. The insulation level of this
assembly was devalued to R-8.33. The best practice for cathedral roofs like this is to put
nailable rigid insulation on top the wood deck and apply the shingles over that. It would require
3” of new rigid insulation to bring the roof assembly up to ASHRAE 90.1 standards. This report
evaluates for the savings potential of this procedure.
WINDOWS The original Meridian Municipal Building has thin and tall windows regularly
spaced around the building, mostly on the second floor. Some have operable sash. This is not
the best configuration of glass for the utilization of natural daylight. The addition adopts the
rhythm of window placement of the original building, but the windows are wider with normal
sill heights. All the windows are double pane. Should glass need to be replaced in the future,
high performance glazing with a Low-E coating and filled with argon gas should be specified. If
free passive heat from the sun is desired, special care must be taken in ordering glass with high
solar heat gain, otherwise, glass designed for the southern climates, which block most solar heat,
will be the standard offering. Replacing windows that are already double pane is not cost
effective and is not evaluated for in this report.DOORS
The Meridian Municipal Building
has a number of door locations. The public entries have full glass entry doors. The remainder of
the exterior doors are insulated hollow metal doors. These all appear to be in good condition
with weatherstripping which should be checked for effectiveness annually. Due to high cost and
minor energy savings, replacement of exterior doors is not evaluated. Replacement doors should
have high performance glazing as indicated in the window discussion. Fiberglass service doors
would have superior insulation value and longer life.
AIR INFILTRATION
The windows in the building are mostly fixed and not considered
a significant source of air infiltration. Weatherstripping on the exterior doors, if not maintained,
can be a source of unwanted air infiltration. Fortunately, the building entries open into air lock
vestibules which help to prevent exterior air from directly entering occupied spaces.
DHW
Domestic hot water is supplied to the building by a gas-fired, tank type, water
heater. The unit is a Bradford White MI403T6EN12 40 gallon tank. It has an 80% combustion
efficiency. The copper pipes to this unit are insulated. The temperature setting is below the
maximum recommended 120°F. There is no circulation pump.
6
VENTILATION
The building energy model indicates that the Meridian Municipal
Building has large volumes of mechanical ventilation which constitute the majority of the heat
loss from the building and consume a large amount of electricity to operate.
There are two sets of public restrooms which are mechanically vented by one central
exhaust fan. The 1 1/2 HP motor of the fan is connected to the building Energy Management
System (EMS). According to the control cycle commentary in the drawings for the 1992
addition to the building, the exhaust fan runs continuously during occupied hours and is
deactivated at night and over weekends. This should be confirmed by retro-commissioning.
The Meridian Municipal Building has 2 air handlers located in the third floor mechanical
rooms; one serving the original building and one serving the addition. Each air handler provides
conditioned fresh exterior supply air whenever heating or cooling is required. Both have the
capability to provide up to 100% fresh air for cooling when exterior conditions permit. The air
handling units are controlled by the EMS. Relief air is exhausted from the system to match the
amount of fresh air introduced to the building in order to equalize pressure in the building.
According to the control cycle commentary in the drawings for the 1992 addition to the
building, exterior air and relief air vents are closed when the building is unoccupied. Only
interior air continues to be circulated at these times. This set of conditions should be confirmed
by retro-commissioning. The current system of providing fresh air to the building can be
improved in two ways. The proximity of the outside and relief air ductwork provides the
opportunity to establish demand controlled ventilation, by using carbon dioxide sensors to
control when and how much fresh air is provided to the building. Energy recovery ventilators
could also be used to reclaim up to 60% of the heat used to warm the incoming fresh air stream.
SOLAR ENERGY The building has some solar heat gain through the windows on the south
side of the building. In northern climates solar energy can help to heat buildings. However, east
and west facing windows can be a nuisance in the summer. The Meridian Municipal Building
has deep foot roof overhangs which provides good summer sun shading to the south facing
windows but does little for the east and west facing glass. Vertical blinds work best for blocking
unwanted sun on east and west facing windows. Horizontal blinds are ideal for south facing
windows. Some of the occupants of Meridian Municipal Building are provided with interior
blinds to block unwanted sun and heat. Windows adjacent to offices provide significant natural
day light, the distribution of which can be improved with horizontal blinds. Electric lighting
appears to be used less in offices with natural light. The tall thin windows, which are the
dominant window type at the Meridian Municipal Building, are not as useful in providing day
light.
The building has sufficient hot water needs that a solar thermal water heating system
might be cost effective. The building also has a large roof area unobstructed by trees which is
suitable for the installation of a solar electric system using PV (photovoltaic) panels. Such
systems are currently very expensive. Government or utility incentives, such as tax credits,
rebates, or feed in tariffs, have recently become available to defray the cost of a PV system. The
Meridian Municipal Building requires electrical energy efficiency improvements before
considering such a PV installation.
7
HEATING & COOLING
The Meridian Municipal Building has two HVAC systems. The
two air handlers are equipped with heating coils, with hot water supplied by a boiler, and
cooling coils, with cooling refrigerant provided by separate ground mounted direct expansion
air cooled condensers. There is also some as some finned tube radiation, convectors, and ceiling
unit heaters supplied by the boiler to provide heat to the building. The boiler system is unusual
in that the gas burner unit is attached to a vertical water storage tank. The system relies upon
combustion air brought into the mechanical room via an atmospheric damper. It does not have a
flue damper. The efficiency of this system is pegged at 78% and its capacity was identified as
1.35 million Btus per hour. The maximum heat loss of the building was calculated to be 650,000
Btus. This boiler system could be replaced with two much smaller, full modulating, condensing
boilers and sequenced for high efficiency operation. The efficiency of the new system could
reach 95%.
The original two story north end of the Meridian Municipal Building is cooled by a new
25 ton air cooled condensing unit - McQuay ACZ025ACT - with a good EER rating up to 14.
The one story Township Hall has a separate much older condensing unit, without a name plate,
of perhaps 10 ton capacity. The newer two story south end of the building has two original 8.5
ton condensing units - C100G0 by Inter-City Products Corp. The 3 older units have EER ratings
of 9 or below. This is considered at the low end of current technology. These units may be
reaching the end of life. When the units require replacement in the future, EER ratings of 14 or
more are available and would provide a good return on the added investment. This report does
not evaluate for replacement air-conditioning equipment because of the costs involved.
The HVAC systems in the Meridian Municipal Building are controlled with an energy
management system which was installed in the 1990’s by Johnson Controls under an energy
performance contract. The HVAC systems are currently maintained by a company other than
Johnson Controls. The EMS software has been updated to the latest version M5 and is sufficient
for the needs of the building. The control devices are a mixture of pneumatic and digital models.
Movement toward full direct digital controls is recommended as the system ages.
LIGHTING The fluorescent lighting in the Meridian Municipal Building was retrofitted in
the 1990’s at the inception of the performance contract with Johnson Controls. All of the
fixtures were re-ballasted with T8 low power ballasts and 32 watt lamps. The lamps in these
fixtures should be at the end of useful life. A group re-lamping project using energy saver T8-28
watt lamps is recommended.
The exit signs were all converted to LED in the 1990’s. All but a few incandescent
fixtures have been re-lamped with CFLs. CFL equivalents are specified in the report.
The cable TV studio uses high wattage incandescent fixtures. There are LED alternatives
for this specialized use. The design of this lighting is beyond the scope of this report.
The exterior lighting around the Meridian Municipal Building uses high pressure sodium
(HPS) technology. Exterior lighting accounts for almost 20% of the total lighting consumption.
It is currently on a central photocell control. A night time lighting survey indicated that some of
the exterior lighting is not functioning, presumably because the lamps or ballasts have failed.
These fixtures can be re-lamped or replaced with new fixtures using more efficient induction
8
fluorescent technology. This technology offers better light quality, silent operation, instant on,
improved lamp life, and dual level lighting capabilities.
OCCUPANT COMFORT SURVEY 27 people responded to an occupant comfort survey for the
Meridian Municipal Building. A majority of the respondents indicated dissatisfaction with the
heating and cooling in the building. About 1/3 of respondents were also dissatisfied with the
humidity and air quality. Further investigation might want to be done to reveal the exact nature
of the complaints. This information can inform the process for energy efficiency. Occupant
comfort should be a top priority in any project.
Natural Gas Billing Information
The natural gas billing information for 12 months was received and input to a
spreadsheet for analysis. This entire record is printed out for reference in the Appendix to this
report. This information is also available in electronic format upon request. An abbreviated set
of data for the gas consumption, along with summary information, is provided below. This
period encompasses the 2009 calendar year.
C. Gas Cost/Consumption Chart
M/Yr
CCF
$Total
$ Service
$Net
$/CCF
J
3,455
$3,440.87
$16.00
$3,424.87
$0.991
F
3,128
$3,116.72
$16.00
$3,100.72
$0.991
M
2,617
$2,385.53
$16.00
$2,369.53
$0.905
A
1,690
$1,532.93
$16.00
$1,516.93
$0.898
M
543
$432.78
$16.00
$416.78
$0.768
J
436
$364.03
$16.00
$348.03
$0.798
J
335
$291.09
$16.00
$275.09
$0.821
A
828
$614.27
$16.00
$598.27
$0.723
S
1,731
$1,372.85
$16.00
$1,356.85
$0.784
O
2,021
$1,903.91
$16.00
$1,887.91
$0.934
N
2,546
$2,321.35
$16.00
$2,305.35
$0.905
D
3,310
$3,504.41
$16.00
$3,488.41
$1.054
Total
22,640
$21,280.74
$192.00
$21,088.74
$0.931
Client - Meridian Township
Building Area - 25,530 SF Total Gas Cost - $21,280.74
Building - Municipal Building
Avg CCF Cost - $0.931
Cost/SF - $0.8335
Utility - Consumers Energy
Total CCF Use - 22,640
Net Gas Cost - $21,088.74
9
Service - Gas General - GS2 EUI (Btu/SF) - 88,680
Natural Gas Consumption Analysis
The following chart shows the gas consumption for the Meridian Municipal Building in
CCF (100 cubic feet) per month for the analysis period from January to December of 2009. The
total annual base line consumption for domestic hot water (DHW) (shown in blue) is 5,426 CCF
with an annual cost of $5,054.26 The remainder of the consumption, 17,305 CCF, was for space
heating (shown in red) totaling $16,119.45 for the year. The chart clearly shows the
consumption for space heating at a peak in January, then decreasing each consecutive month to
a low in May, no consumption during two summer months, and then beginning again in August,
and increasing each consecutive month to a new peak in December.
The next chart shows Heating Degree Days (a measure of how cold a month is) for the
Lansing area for the same study period as gas consumption. The HDD data was adjusted to
match the days included in each monthly consumption reading. The Heating Degree Day (HDD)
total for 2009 was 6,952.5 which is within 0.5% the historical average of 6,982 Degree Days.
The heating consumption of the building as shown in the previous chart follows a U curve
corresponding fairly well with the monthly HDD in the winter of 2009, but not as closely in the
fall. There is an unexpected large increase in gas consumption in August and September.
10
Building Consumption Model
A mathematical thermal model of the Meridian Municipal Building was created based
on construction drawings, and measurement & examination of the building envelope and the
HVAC equipment. The Table below summarizes the key parameters of the model.
F. Bldg Model Summary
Roof
Slab Edge
Walls
Windows
Metal Door
Infiltration
Heating Efficiency
Area-SF
U-value
14,398
0.12
466
0.58
10196 0.215-0.522
1726
0.50
258
0.33
Volume Air Change
295,667-CF
1.00
AFUE
78%
Based on the building consumption model, the relative heat loss for each construction
component of the building was calculated and is displayed in the following chart.
11
The building ventilation/infiltration rate, at 57%, is by far the largest heat loss
component. Because of its size, the roof constitutes the second largest heat loss at 19% of the
total. Heat loss from the walls is third at 11%. The double glazed windows account for 9% of
the heat loss. The slab edge looses 3%. The metal doors are minor at only 1% of the total heat
loss each.
The building model is next used to estimate gas energy consumption based on
the actual Heating Degree Days experienced by the building for each month of the heating
season. The model includes internal heat loads from electrical consumption which would offset
demands on the heating system. This estimate is then charted to compare with the actual gas
consumption as shown below.
12
The building energy model has underestimated the annual natural gas consumption for
space heating for the Meridian Municipal Building by over 66% of the actual. The model
significantly underestimates consumption during the first 5 months of the year. This level of
underestimate continues in the last 5 months of the year, although the November difference is
less and the December estimate meets the actual. In order to get the December data points to
meet, the building energy model was modified to reduce the insulation levels of all walls and
the roof. The efficiency of the boiler was also reduced. And the ventilation rate was raised.
Before these changes, the estimate was off by over 80%. It would highly instructive to plot the
gas consumption for the months of 2010 to see how well the model holds up and if this apparent
excessive use continues.
It is believed that the boiler which provides space heating to the building may be
operating when not really needed. The fact that there is space heating consumption in August is
one indication of this. However, this does not explain the excess consumption for the rest of the
year, when the boiler should be in operation. The discussion which follows later in the report on
water heating will likewise indicate excessive gas consumption for this use. The size of this
excess prompts a recommendation for further investigation. Testing the gas meter and
measuring the amount of ventilation air are two areas on which to concentrate.
Opportunities for Gas Savings
The gas consumption analysis has identified 2 O&M items (Operations and
Maintenance) and 4 ECMs (Energy Conversion Measures) which will produce significant
savings and have worthwhile return on the investment made.
O&M #1 - Have Accuracy of the Gas Meter Checked
The analysis of the gas consumption for space heating for the Meridian Municipal
Building indicates nearly 1/3 of the consumption cannot be accounted for by the building energy
model. The size of the baseline gas consumption, assumed to be only for domestic water
heating, also appeared to be higher than expected. In order to confirm this suspicion, this report
gathered water heating usage on other recent TEA reports for similar facilities. The following
table lists these facilities, their characteristics and occupant load, and the amount of energy used
to heat the domestic hot water.
Facility
Superior Twp Hall
Employees Visitors Vehicle Wash 24 Hour Use
MBTU MBTU/Emp
12
15
X
13,576
1,131
McKinley Corp. Ctr.
60
30
Lansing City Hall
325
1000
Ann Arbor Twp Hall
Meridian Service Center
7
20
7
10
Meridian Municipal Bldg
52
50
Meridian Public Safety
20
40
X
X
187,000
3,117
X
1,047,600
3,223
X
41,400
123,600
5,914
6,180
483,580
9,300
372,300
18,615
X
13
The facilities are listed according to their consumption levels of MBTU/Employee
which is displayed in the last column of the table. The Superior Township Hall is a modest sized
sprawling one story facility with 24 hour police presence with vehicular storage but no washing.
It has the lowest domestic hot water consumption per employee. The next level of consumption
is for two larger facilities. McKinley Corporate Center is a four story office building similar in
size and function to the Meridian Municipal Building. The Lansing City Hall is a much larger
14facility with 24 hour police presence. The third level of domestic water consumption is
characterized by facilities that have vehicular washing. Ann Arbor Township Hall is a smaller
building with fire station attached. The Meridian Service Center is a one story building with
large vehicular maintenance facilities including washing. The Meridian Municipal Building,
which has no 24 hour use and no vehicle washing, is the next in the table. Its level of domestic
hot water consumption appears to be 2 to 3 times higher than might be expected. The Meridian
Public Safety building, which is located on the same campus, has apparent hot water
consumption even beyond that by twice as much.
Clearly the data in the gas consumption record for the Meridian Municipal Building
indicates something is wrong. Checking the gas meter is one place to begin an investigation.
O&M #2 - Maintain Weatherstripping on the Entry Doors and Garage Doors
The entry doors to any building are subject to the most use and abuse of any other
component. When closed, the entry doors should be able to stop air from passing into or out of
the building. This is accomplished with proper weatherstripping and door sweeps. The doors to
the Meridian Municipal Building may be a source of uncontrolled air infiltration to the building.
Annual inspection and adjustment or replacement of weatherstripping is a low cost measure
which will provide not only energy and dollar savings but also increased comfort for staff and
visitors.
ECM #1 - Add Roof Insulation When the Roofing Needs to be Replaced
Discussion: The wood roof deck is insulated from below by stapling fiberglass insulation to
the underside of the roof. This is an unusual insulation detail which likely provides less
insulation value than anticipated. The calculated insulation level of the roof has been reduced
from 14.35 to 8.35 to account for lack of uniformity in application of the insulation. ECM #1
recommends that the correct insulation procedure for this roof assembly would be to apply
insulated nail base panels to the top of the wood roof deck. The asphalt shingles would be
applied over the top of the insulated panels. This procedure can only be accomplished at the
time of re-roofing, whenever the need for that occurs. An evaluation for the addition of
insulation with an R-value of 15 (3” of polystyrene) was undertaken. The cost of the insulation
was set at $3.00/SF which includes labor. This does not include the new roofing or associated
costs. The dollar savings are based on the current price for natural gas which is $0.931/CCF.
The nail base insulation should last the life of the building. The calculations for this ECM are
summarized below.
Total potential energy savings are: 222,300 MBtu.
14
ECM #1
Add Roof Insulation
Area-SF
14,398
Add 3"
New
Polystyrene
R-15
U-value
0.0428
CCF $0.931/CCF
Saved
2,223
$ Saved/Yr
$2,069.61
$3.00/SF
Pay Back
$ Cost
$14,398.00
Years
7.0
Consumers Energy offers rebates for insulation under its custom program which must be
approved before implementation. The rebate is for gas $5.00 per MCF. The total rebate would
be 2,223 CCF/10 X $5 = $1111.50. The Consumers rebate would lower the payback to 6.4
Years.
ECM #2 - Provide Demand Controlled Ventilation
Discussion: The Meridian Municipal Building is provided with mechanical ventilation as
required by code. Exterior air is brought into the return air duct of the two air handlers serving
the two sides of the building. According to the control cycle commentary in the drawings for the
1992 addition to the building, ventilation air is only provided during occupied hours. It is not
known exactly how much fresh air is being provided, but the building energy model suggests
that it is around 5,000 cfm. The mechanical code requires 15 cfm per person. At maximum
occupancy. This would amount to 15 cfm/person X 60 people = 900 cfm. This level of
ventilation will more than satisfy the current best practices of ASHRAE 62.1 for ventilation for
acceptable indoor air quality. Clearly there is room to reduce the ventilation rate for the
building.
ECM #3 recommends the installation of demand controlled ventilation. Fortunately all
of the mechanical equipment required for this ECM is already in place. All that is required is the
installation of carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors and including this input to the programming of the
EMS for the fresh air intake dampers. This would be a low cost energy conservation measure
which could yield large energy savings. ECM #2 assumes a reduction of the ventilation rate by a
modest 35%. Costs are established as follows: installation of sensors at $500 each, $500 to reprogram EMS, and $500 professional engineering fee.
Total potential energy savings are:
ECM #4
Demand Based Ventilation
Heating Savings
372,500 MBtu Gas
49,474 MBtu Electric
Existing Ventilation
cfm
5,000
Reduced
Grand Totals
$0.931/CCF
Pay Back
Reduction
cfm Saved
$ Saved/Yr $ Cost
Years
35.0%
1,750
3,725
$3,467.98
$2,000 0.6
kWh
Reduced
Air-Conditioning Savings
CCF
10.9%
Saved
14,500
$0.057/kWh
$826.50
$4,294.48
$2,000
0.5
Consumers Energy offers rebates for demand controlled ventilation under its prescriptive
incentive program. The rebate for gas is $0.05 per SF of area controlled. The total rebate would
15
be 25,530 X $0.05 = $1,276.50. The Consumers rebate would lower the payback to 0.17 Years.
Be aware that Consumers does not rebate for items with a payback below 1 year.
ECM #3 - Install Energy Recovery Ventilators
Discussion: There is opportunity to produce additional HVAC energy savings through the
installation of Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs) for each of the two HVAC systems at the
Meridian Municipal Building. By installing the ERVs, up to 65% of the heating energy and 50%
of the cooling energy can be recovered from an exhaust air stream and put back into the
building via the new fresh air stream. The humidity in the air can also be transferred between air
streams. An ERV has few moving parts and can be very cost effective. Modern mechanical
codes allow an ERV to be installed in place of required economizers.
Each of the two air handlers would require its own ERV unit which could be installed
within its respective mechanical room. The control for these units would be networked with the
the CO2 sensors mentioned in ECM #2 and programmed into the EMS. This option modifies the
existing return and intake air ductwork to accommodate connection to the ERV. All air intake
would first pass through the ERV before being delivered to the return air supply. The ERV
would exhaust the relief air stream which eliminates problems with positive or negative air
pressure in the building. The savings potential for the energy recovery ventilators summarized
below is in addition to the savings provided by ECM #2 and is based on the reduced ventilation
rates set forth in ECM #2. Installed costs are based on the following: $4,000 for each ERV,
$2,000 for each air handler for labor and material for ductwork modifications, and $1,000 each
system for engineering and programming of EMS. Specification sheets on ERVs from one
manufacturer are included in the Appendix.
Total potential energy savings are: 296,800 MBtu (Gas) and 30,322 MBtu (Elec)
ECM #3
Install ERVs
Heating Savings
Cooling Savings
Ventilation cfm
Energy
CCF
$0.971/CCF
2,145
Reclaimed
Saved
$ Saved/Yr
65%
2,968
$2,881.93
Energy
kWh
$0.057/kWh
Reclaimed
Saved
$ Saved/Yr
50%
8,887
$506.56
$ Saved/Yr
Totals
$3,388.49
Pay Back
Installed Cost
$14,000.00
Years
4.1
Consumers offers rebates for the gas and electricity savings of this ECM through a
custom application process which must be pre-approved before implementation. The rebate
amount is $5 per MCF for gas and $0.08 per kWh for electricity. The total rebate for ECM #3
would be 2,968 CCF/10 = 449.7 MCF X $5/MCF = $1,484 plus 8,887 kWh X $0.08/kWh =
$710.96 for a total of $2,194.96. The Consumers rebate would lower the payback to 3.5 Years.
ECM #4 - Install New Boiler System
16
Discussion: Boiler technology has advanced greatly over the last decade. The existing boiler
serving the Meridian Municipal Building is unusual is unusual in that the gas burner unit is
attached to a vertical water storage tank. The system relies upon combustion air brought into the
mechanical room via an atmospheric damper. It does not have a flue damper. The efficiency of
this system is pegged at 78% and its capacity was identified as 1.35 million Btus per hour. The
maximum heat loss of the building was calculated to be 650,000 Btus. This boiler system could
be replaced with two much smaller, full modulating, condensing boilers and sequenced for high
efficiency operation. New modulating condensing boilers can reach efficiencies of 94-96%.
Replacement of the existing boiler is a relatively straight forward measure. Costs for this
measure was set at $9,000 per boiler. One complicating factor may be how to vent the new
boiler. The calculations below show a reasonable pay back for this ECM.
Total potential energy savings are: 332,000 MBtu.
Size
ECM #4
Gas Savings
2 New Boilers
Weil-McClain Ultra
New
CCF
$0.971/CCF
MBtu AFUE
Saved
$ Saved
$ Cost
Pay Back
310
95%
3320
$3,223.72
$18,000.00
5.6
Consumers Energy offers rebates for new boilers under its prescriptive incentive program. The
rebate for gas is $3 per 1000 Btu of capacity. The total rebate would be 620 X $3 = $1,860. The
Consumers rebate would lower the payback to 5.0 Years.
The above analysis assumes that no other energy efficiency measures are taken in the building.
If ECMs #2 and #3 were accomplished, the savings from a new boiler would be less because the
heating needs of the facility would be reduced. Therefore, the payback would become longer.
However, ECMs #2 and #3 would reduce the heat loss of the building substantially and,
therefore, smaller boilers may be used which would reduce implementation costs and improve
the payback for new boilers. There are numerous possible combinations of ECMs and O&Ms.
Each combination may have different interactions between energy saving processes. Further
exploration of interactions between study recommendations may be required depending on the
package of energy efficiency measures selected to pursue.
Electricity Billing Information
The electricity billing information for the Meridian Municipal Building for 12 months
was received and input to a spreadsheet for analysis. This entire record is printed out for
reference in the Appendix to this report. This information is also available in electronic format
upon request. An abbreviated set of data for the 12 month period of electricity consumption,
along with summary information, is provided below. This period encompasses the 2009
calendar year.
I. Electricity Cost/Consumption Chart
M/Yr
kWh
KW
$Total
$Access
$EE
$RE
KW $Total kWh $Total
$/kWh
$/KW
J
24,480
77
$2,376.03
$25.00
$0.00
$0.00
$933.24
$1417.79
$0.058
$12.120
F
29,600
77
$2,596.81
$25.00
$0.00
$0.00
$933.24
$1638.57
$0.055
$12.120
M
29,760
80
$2,591.73
$25.00
$0.00
$0.00
$969.60
$1597.13
$0.054
$12.120
17
A
31,280
80
$2,626.75
$25.00
$0.00
$0.00
$969.60
$1632.15
$0.052
$12.120
M
40,080
105
$3,990.06
$25.00
$32.27
$0.00
$1,470.00
$2462.79
$0.061
$14.000
J
39,600
115
$4,110.87
$25.00
$32.27
$0.00
$1,610.00
$2443.60
$0.062
$14.000
J
37,120
108
$3,868.00
$25.00
$32.27
$0.00
$1,512.00
$2298.73
$0.062
$14.000
A
42,800
103
$4,147.83
$25.00
$32.27
$16.58
$1,442.00
$2631.98
$0.061
$14.000
S
35,040
94
$3,002.69
$25.00
$32.27
$16.58
$1,139.28
$1789.56
$0.051
$12.120
O
30,000
88
$2,638.67
$25.00
$32.27
$16.58
$1,066.56
$1498.26
$0.050
$12.120
N
29,040
77
$2,489.00
$25.00
$32.27
$16.58
$938.63
$1476.52
$0.051
$12.190
D
28,240
77
$2,628.65
$25.00
$32.27
$16.58
$938.63
$1616.17
$0.057
$12.190
Totals
397,040
$37,067.09
$300.00
$258.16
$82.90
$13,922.78
$22,503.25
$0.057
$12.758
Client - Meridian Township
Building Area -25,530 SF
Total Elec Cost - $37,067.09
Building - Municipal Building Avg kWh Cost - $0.056
Cost/SF - $1.45
Utility - Consumers Energy Total kWh - 397,040
Net kWh Cost - $22,503.25
Service - Gen Sec Demand EUI (Btu/SF) - 53,063
Demand Cost - $13,922.78
The Meridian Municipal Building is on a general secondary demand rate. The charges
for this rate are complicated. Not only is the Township charged for each kWh that is consumed
(though at a lower rate than non-demand customers) but also a capacity charge based on the
highest peak electrical demand in KW each month. The consumption data is displayed in a chart
on the following page. The third column above shows the monthly KW demand which is
highest in the summer months and lowest in the winter months. Besides kWh and KW, the
utility also monitors the power factor, a measure of how efficiently electricity is being used. If
this should drop below 80%, the utility may charge extra for this. The power factor reached a
low of 88% in July and a high of 95% in December.Electricity Consumption Analysis
The following chart shows the electrical consumption for the Meridian Municipal
Building in kWh (kiloWatt hours) per day for each month of the analysis period from January to
December of 2009. This is good way to view electrical consumption because it removes the
variation of days in each monthly billing period. The chart shows a low in December which is
taken as the baseline consumption (shown in yellow). Consumption increases above the baseline
(shown in blue) occur in all other months. The consumption from May through October looks
like air-conditioning use. The increased consumption above the baseline in the other months
may be due to longer operational hours for lighting, the use of personal electric space heaters in
the building, or other changes in how the Municipal Building is operated.
18
Displayed next is a chart showing the monthly Cooling Degree Days, a measure of how
hot a particular month was, for the Lansing area for the same days each month to match the
electrical consumption data. Comparing the two charts, it appears that what is happening on the
inside of the building is more important than exterior summer temperatures in determining the
amount of cooling required for the building.
The next chart displays the estimated base electrical consumption broken down into
several estimated components including: lighting, HVAC and exhaust fans & pumps which run
year round, office and electronic equipment, kitchen appliances, the server room, the cable
studio, and the elevator. This chart represents an estimate of expected consumption based on an
inventory of all electrical devices in the building and their likely use characteristics.
19
This estimated base consumption (shown in brown) is then superimposed over the actual
metered electrical use in the following chart. There is a significant portion of the baseline
consumption (shown in grey) which is unassigned because the exact source of consumption is
unknown. The consumption used for cooling in the summer months is clearly visible (shown in
blue). The extra electrical consumption in the winter months (shown in orange) is assumed to be
mostly related to heating the building including: additional fan run time, operation of some unit
heaters and fan coils, and personal electric space heaters.
20
The following pie chart displays the annual totals for each component of electrical
consumption as a percent of the total. Cooling is the largest use category at just over 20% of the
total. The second highest category, at just under 20%, is for lighting. Exterior lighting
constitutes almost 20% of that amount. The third largest use is for the operation of cable studio
at 18% of the total. Next at 11% is the power used to operate the HVAC system. The server
room and office equipment in the building each consume 8% of the total. 6% is in the
unassigned category. The extra winter space heating load also amounts to 6%. The kitchen
equipment and elevator, each at about 1%, are minor electrical uses.
21
Finally, the results of the electrical consumption analysis is summarized in the Energy
Use Profile Table below.
O. Electrical Energy Use Profile
Component
Annual kWh Annual $ kWh Annual $ KW % Energy Use
Lighting
78,744
$4,463.19
$2,761.26
19.8%
Fans/Pumps 45,325
$2,569.03
$1,589.39
11.4%
Office
33,521
$1,899.96
$1,175.46
8.4%
Kitchen
5,528
$313.33
$193.85
1.4%
Server Rm
31,770
$1,800.72
$1,114.06
8.0%
Cable Studio 70,600
$4,001.61
$2,475.69
17.8%
Elevator
4,448
$252.10
$155.97
1.1%
Space Heat
22,668
$1,284.81
$794.87
5.7%
Cooling
81,171
$4,600.77
$2,846.37
20.4%
Unassigned
23,266
$1,318.73
$815.86
5.9%
Totals
397,040
$22,504.25
$13,922.78
100%
Opportunities for Electricity Savings
The elecrical consumption analysis has identified 8 O&M items (Operations and
Maintenance) and 6 ECMs (Energy Conversion Measures) which will produce significant
savings and have worthwhile return on the investment made.
O&M #3: Post Handout for Energy Efficiency in Small Kitchen Appliances Provided in
Appendix
The recommendations provided in the handout can reduce energy consumption for small
kitchen appliances by 10% or more. Education for building occupants is one of the most
important parts of any energy efficiency or conservation project.
O&M #4: Review Handout for Energy Efficiency in Office Equipment Provided in
Appendix
The recommendations provided in the handout can reduce energy consumption for office
equipment by 10% or more. Education for building occupants is one of the most important parts
of any energy efficiency or conservation project.
O&M #5: Purchase Flat Screen Energy Star Rated Monitors in the Future
The Meridian Municipal Building contains a large number of computers. Most of the
computer monitors are older CRT models. Newer computers with LCD monitors are more
efficient. Look for Energy Star rated equipment when making future purchases.
22
O&M #6: Institute Policy to Activate Sleep Mode in Operating Software
The operating system on the computers at the Meridian Municipal Building are capable
of using much less energy when placed into a sleep or hibernation mode. If it is not yet
universal policy to enable this energy saving feature on all computers, it is highly recommended
that this be explained to the staff and fully implemented. The United States EPA provides free
software for networked computers for activating power saving options network wide. Normally,
computers should also be turned off after working hours; see O&M #7.
O&M #7: Turn Off Electronic Equipment that is Not in Use
Some electronic equipment, such as televisions, computers, printers, and copiers use
significant amounts of power. These should be turned off when not actively in use. Notices to
encourage this behavior should also be posted. Even when turned off, some equipment will
continue to draw power so as to enable their instant on capabilities. This so called ‘phantom’
energy loss can be remedied by using power strips which sever the connection to the electrical
system. There are also smart power strips that turn off only pre-selected equipment. See fact
sheet in the Appendix. Consumers Power offers a $10 incentive for smart power strips.
O&M #8: Install Controls on Vending Machines
There is one chilled beverage machine in the Meridian Municipal Building. This uses a
lot of energy on lighting to advertise the product and on keeping the product chilled. If your
vending contract is about to expire soon, you can request that an Energy Star beverage machine,
which will use 1/2 to 2/3 less energy to operate, be installed. You can also purchase simple
equipment to convert the existing machine to Energy Star efficiency. Product literature for this
option is included in the Appendix. Consumers Power offers a $50 incentive for beverage
machine controls.
O&M #9: Replace Motors on Fans & Pumps with Premium Efficiency Models
If a motor should need to be replaced in the future, there is a premium efficiency model
available from most motor manufacturers. Premium motors use 1 to 10% less energy and should
provide a good pay back on the extra replacement cost. A fact sheet on buying premium
efficiency motors is included in the Appendix.
As an example, there are 5 HP motor which operate the fans in the air handling units. An
analysis for replacing one of these motor is shown below. The analysis is for the cost
differential of replacement between a standard energy efficient motor and one with a premium
efficiency rating. The payback is a bit longer than normally encountered because of the demand
rate issue.
23
Replace
Existing
Motor
with
Premiu
m
Efficienc
y Model
Qty
1
HP
5.0
OldEff
NewEff
85.5% 89.5%
kWsaved
0.146
Hrs
5840
kWhsaved
854.0
$/kWh $ Saved
0.056
$52.20
$ Cost Payback
Dif
$215.00 4.1
Consumers Energy offers an incentive for premium efficiency motors at a rate of $8 per HP.
The total Consumers rebate would be 5 HP X $8/HP = $40. This would reduce the payback for
O&M #9 to 3.3 years.
O&M #10: Use Radiant Foot Warmers to Replace Space Heaters
There may be electric space heaters in use in the building during the winter. A typical
space heater has a top rating of 1500 watts. At current electricity rates one of these heaters costs
about $0.16 per hour to operate. Radiant foot warmers may be able to serve the same function
with only 150 watts of power. Potential power savings could reach 1.35 kWh for each hour of
use. Radiant heat can be delivered directly to an occupant’s feet. This radiant effect is known to
increase occupant thermal comfort at lower air temperatures. The appendix includes information
from a specific manufacturer on a number of radiant foot warmer products. Energy savings for
using one foot warmer in regular use is estimated at 1.35 kWh and total $ savings are: (3
months/yr x 4 weeks/mo x 5 d/wk x 8 hr/d x 1.35 kWh/hr) X $0.057/kWh = $36.94 per heating
season plus $17.22 in demand savings for a total of $54.16. At a retail price of $75 for the foot
warmer, a simple payback in a little over a year is achieved.
ECM #5: Install Occupancy Sensors for Lighting Control
Discussion: The switches operating lighting fixtures in the Meridian Municipal Building may be
left on when nobody is using the space being illuminated. This unwanted use of electricity can
be eliminated through the installation of occupancy sensors. The sensors would automatically
activate the lighting whenever a person enters a room and turn them off when the space is
unoccupied. The chart below shows a sample of room types to consider. A time savings of 3
hours per day of building operation is assumed. The dollar savings for occupancy sensors in
facilities on a demand rate only take into consideration the kWh savings. No credit is taken for
demand savings because these rooms are just as likely to be occupied at peak times. Therefore,
the dollar savings are lower than normal. Restrooms and Private Offices can easily be served by
a switch mounted sensor. Even so, the payback is long because the wattage being controlled is
small. Larger rooms like the Plan Room and the Mail Room will cost a little more to
accomplish, but since there are more fixtures being controlled, the payback is better. See a
specification sheet provided in the Appendix.
Total potential energy savings are:
ECM #5
Occupancy Sensors
Watts
Installed
4,862 MBtu
Hr/Day
Saved
Annual kWh
Saved
24
Price
$/kWh
Annual
$ Savings
Sensor
$ Cost
Payback
Years
Men RR/1st Flr (3 Fixt)
Women RR/1st Flr (4 Fixt)
Men RR/2nd Flr (3 Fixt)
Women RR/2nd Flr (4 Fixt)
Private Office (2 Fixt)
Plan Room (6 Fixt)
Mail Room (11 Fixt)
Totals
153
204
153
204
102
450
561
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
119.3
159.1
119.3
159.1
79.6
351.0
437.6
1425.1
0.057
$6.80
$60.00
0.057
$9.07
$85.00
0.057
$6.80
$60.00
0.057
$9.07
$85.00
0.057
$4.53
$60.00
0.057
$20.01
$150.00
0.057
$24.94
$150.00
0.057 $81.23
$650.00
8.0
8.8
9.4
8.8
9.4
13.2
7.5
6.0
Consumers Energy offers an incentive for occupancy sensors at a rate of $0.09 per watt
controlled. The total Consumers rebate for the above mix would be 1,425.1 W X $0.09/W =
$128.26. This would reduce the payback for ECM #5 to 6.4 years.
ECM #6: Install Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) on Air Handlers
Discussion:
The building is served by two air handlers which currently run at constant
speed. The installation of a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) would change the speed of the fan
to allow air flow to vary with the demand for heating or cooling. Earlier ECMs for gas savings
recommend the use of demand controlled ventilation and energy recovery ventilators. If these
are implemented, the temperature differences between supply and return air would be reduced.
Therefore, the volume of air flow could be reduced to provide the same comfort levels. The
power consumed by an induction motor varies with the cube of the speed. This reduction in
power use by the air-hander’s fan motor will produce significant energy savings ranging from
15% to 75%. The actual energy savings for VFDs varies widely depending on the configuration
and operation of each HVAC system. This analysis assumes a power savings of 30% which
produces a reasonable payback. Quotes for installation of a VFD should include solid
engineering design appropriate to the selected HVAC system and estimated energy savings.
Total potential energy savings are: 38,324 MBtu.
ECM #6
Install VFD
on Air Handlers
AHU #1 & #2 Existing
Fan Power
kWh
Annual
Installed Payback
Fan HP kWh/Yr
Reduction
Savings
$ Savings
$ Costs
Years
10
37,440
30.0%
11,232
$735.92
$8,000.00
10.9
Consumers offers rebates for VFD installation through its prescriptive application process. Care
should be taken during the design of the VFD system that all requirements for this rebate are
met. The rebate amount is $60 for each HP (Horsepower) being controlled. The total rebate
would be 10 HP X $60/HP = $600. The Consumers rebate would lower the payback period to
10 years.
Discussion on Demand Power Reduction
As noted in the discussion on electrical billing, nearly half of the cost of electricity for the
Meridian Municipal Building is due to KW demand charges. The only way to reduce this cost is
to lower the peak demand. Some of the ECMs in this report will reduce peak demand somewhat
25
and other ECMs will not effect demand. An effort should be made to determine what time of
day and what day of the week the peak demand is occurring. Then equipment which may not
need to be on during this time can be operated in a different time period. This is called load
shifting. Some improvements in lowering demand through load shifting can be accomplished
through the HVAC energy management system. For non-HVAC equipment, changes in staff
activities would be necessary. A simple example is the use of equipment like battery chargers.
They may only be used on rare occasion, but if that should occur at peak consumption, its power
draw will trigger a larger demand charge. Perhaps operating battery chargers at night, which
may already be the case, would be the best choice.Lighting ECMs Discussion
The complete inventory of all lighting fixtures for the Meridian Municipal Building is
provided in the Appendix. A sampling of lines from the inventory presented below indicates
what information was collected. The inventory is color coded for each lighting ECM type.
P.
LIGH
TING
INVE
NTO
RY
Merid
ian
Muni
cipal
Buildi
ng
ID # RM NAME
ECM#
ECM#1
7
ECM#8 ECM#9
0
HRS FIXT FIXT
/DAY ID TYPE
1st
Floor
101 Town Hall Mtg 24
101 Town Hall Mtg 2
101 Town Hall Mtg 24
102 Trustee
2
103 Coat
104 Storage
C
C
X
C
RT24
RT24
Exit
RT24
No Access
No Access
LAMP
TYPE
FIXT
QTY
4F4ACTA 1
4F4ACTA 24
LED
1
4F4ACTA 3
WATT
S WATTS
NEW
NEW
NEW WATT
/FIXT /DAY LAMPS W/FIXT W/DAY SAVE
98
98
3
98
2352
4704
72
588
0
0
F28T8 78
F28T8 78
F28T8 78
1872
3744
72
468
0
0
480
960
0
120
0
0
Each room has an identification number (keyed to the floor plans also in the appendix), a
location name, daily hours of lighting use, a fixture ID, a fixture type, lamp type, quantity of
fixtures, fixture wattage, and total watts per day. New fixture lamp type, new fixture watts, new
watts per day, and watts saved are also provided. This inventory can be used as an aid for
purchasing new equipment and tracking the effected fixtures during retrofit implementation.
The inventory is available in spreadsheet format, if requested.
The inventory reveals that all of the linear fluorescent fixtures have been retrofitted with
T8 low power ballasts and 32 watt lamps. The lamps in these fixtures should be at the end of
useful life. A group re-lamping project using energy saver T8-28 watt lamps is recommended.
The exit signs have all been converted to LED technology. All but 2 incandescent fixtures have
been re-lamped with CFLs. CFL equivalents are specified in the report.
26
The exterior lighting uses high pressure sodium technology. Exterior lighting accounts
for almost 20% of the total lighting consumption. These HID fixtures can be relamped for
replaced with more efficient fluorescent induction technology. This technology offers better
light quality, silent operation, instant on, improved lamp life, and dual level lighting capabilities.
The night time lighting survey indicated that only 4 of the 6 lamps in the oldest light poles were
non-functional. These fixtures are on a separate account being billed on a per fixture basis
regardless of the lamp technology being used. It is believed that mercury vapor is the
technology and that the lamps are very old and the ballasts are failing. contact the utility to have
these replaced so that they are functional for the Township.
The 4 Lighting ECMs which follow address the different fixture types in the Meridian
Service Center.ECM #7 – Re-lamp Existing 4 Foot Fluorescent Fixtures with 28 Watt T8
Lamps
Discussion: There are 356 fluorescent fixtures in the Meridian Municipal Building which
currently use modern T8 technology. The current 32 watt lamps have been installed long
enough that they should be close to the end of their lifetime. ECM #7 recommends that, if the
facility has not undertaken a complete re-lamping of fluorescent tubes and it has replaced lamps
only upon failure, conducting a total re-lamp of these 4 foot fluorescent fixtures with 28 watt T8
lamps could be cost effective. Other benefits of this procedure would include increased light
levels and increased lamp life. Each lamp replaced would save about 4.5 watts of power
consumption. If the facility wanted to decrease the light levels slightly, 25 watt lamps are also
available. ECM #7 is coded light green in the lighting inventory. The specification below is
accompanied with a fact sheet in the appendix.
Material Specification:
Fluorescent Lamps - 4 Ft, T8, Triphosphor, 4100 K, 85 CRI; TCP - F28T8/841
This ECM analysis assumes labor would be paid to install the new lamps.
Maintenance savings amounting to $1.50 per lamp (prorated over 10 years) are included in the
calculations.
The rated lifetime of the new T8 lamps can be up to 36,000 hours for the 24 hour fixtures.
Removed lamps should be recycled as hazardous waste. Costs for recycling are included in the
calculations.
Estimated Annual Energy Savings - 7,467.5 kWh
25,480.2 MBtu
Implementation Costs
Implementation Savings
No. of Lamps - 906
Cost per Lamp - $3.00
Labor per Lamp - $3.00
Total Cost - $5,436.00
$value KWH Savings - $425.65
$value KW Demand Savings - $468.20
$value Maintenance Savings - $135.90
Total Annual $ Savings - $1,028.75
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Simple Payback Period - 5.3 Years
Payback Period with Rebate of $0.75 per lamp from Consumers – 4.6 Years
ECM #8 - Re-lamp Existing Flood lamps with CFL Equivalent
Discussion: One of the Storage Rooms has a fixture that uses 75 watt flood lamps. ECM #8
recommends re-lamping this fixture with new compact fluorescent flood lamps. This CFL will
produce light equal or better in color, quality, and quantity to that of the original incandescent
and last about 4 times longer. The change in watts consumed from incandescent to CFL would
be 75 to 16. ECM #8 is coded purple in the lighting inventory. The specification below is
accompanied with a fact sheet in the appendix.
Material Specification: Spring Lamp Compact Fluorescent TCP 2R3016.
This ECM analysis assumes labor would be paid to install the new lamps.
Maintenance savings are limited to the cost of one incandescent lamp replacement at $1.50
each.
The lifetime of the new CFL is 8,000 hours. Broken or failed CFLs should be recycled.
Estimated Energy Savings - 23.6kWh/year
80.5 MBtu
Implementation Costs
No. of Lamps – 1
Cost per lamp - $8.86
Labor per Lamp - $5
Total Cost - $13.86
Implementation Savings
$value KWH Savings - $1.35
$value KW Demand Savings - $6.78
$value Maintenance Savings - $1.50
Total Annual $ Savings - $9.62
Simple Payback Period – 1.4 Years
Payback Period with Rebate of $8.00 per fixture from DTE – 0.6 Years
ECM #9 - Re-lamp Existing High Pressure Exterior Fixture with Fluorescent Induction
Equivalent
Discussion: There are 22 exterior wall pack lighting fixtures in various locations at the Meridian
Municipal Building, such as over pedestrian entry doors, in roof soffits, flag pole flood, etc,
which use 50 watt high pressure sodium technology. ECM #9 recommends re-lamping these
fixtures with a new screw-in fluorescent induction lamp. The current fixture uses 66 watts. The
new lamp would use 40 watts while providing light equal in lumens to current levels, and, since
its color temperature is 5000 K, the visual quality of the light will be much improved. These
wall packs are good candidates for relamping because they are on 10 hours a day on average.
ECM #9 is coded beige in the lighting inventory. The specification below is accompanied with a
fact sheet in the appendix.
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Material Specification: Venus Induction Series - 40 Watt
This ECM analysis assumes labor, to disconnect the HID ballast, would be paid to install the
new lamps.
Maintenance savings are limited to the replacement cost of the HPS lamps pro-rated over 7
years.
The lifetime of the new lamp is 60,000 hours.
Estimated Energy Savings-
2,087.8 kWh/year
7,123.6 MBtu
Implementation Costs
Implementation Savings
No. of Lamps -22
Cost per Lamp - $75
Labor per Fixture - $25
Total Cost - $2,200.00
$value KWH Savings - $119.00
$value KW Demand Savings - $65.69
$value Maintenance Savings - $37.71
Total Annual $ Savings - $222.41
Simple Pay back Period – 9.9 Years
Consumers may offer a rebate for this ECM through its custom application process which must
be pre-approved before implementation. The total incentive would be 2087.8 kWh X
$0.08/kWh = $167.02. This would reduce the payback to 9.1 years.
Note: A new fixture using this technology, also available for a rebate from Consumers at $45
per fixture could be installed instead, though at a longer payback. There is also a 23 W
replacement producing greater savings if reduced light output is desired.
ECM #10 - Replace Existing HPS Exterior Fixtures with Fluorescent Induction Equivalent
Discussion: There are 17 exterior HPS lighting fixtures in use at the Meridian Municipal
Building. They are on poles along the drive-ways. The current fixtures use 100 watt HPS lamps
consuming 130 watts per hour of operation. ECM #10 recommends replacing these fixtures with
new fixtures using fluorescent induction technology. The new fixtures would use 75 watts while
providing light equal in lumens to current levels, and, since the color temperature is 5000 K, the
visual quality of the light will be much improved. These light fixtures are good candidates for
replacement because they are on 10 hours a day on average. ECM #10 is coded blue in the
lighting inventory. The specification below is accompanied with a fact sheet in the appendix.
Material Specification: #EGW-EC-100W (Wall Pack) by Everlast Induction Lighting in
Jackson, Michigan
This ECM analysis assumes labor to install the new fixtures.
Maintenance savings are limited to the replacement cost of the HPS lamps pro-rated over 7
years.
The lifetime of the new lamps is 100,000 hours.
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Estimated Energy Savings-
3,412.8 kWh/year
11,644.8 MBtu
Implementation Costs
Implementation Savings
No. of Fixtures - 17
Cost per Fixture - $450
Labor per Fixture - $50
Total Cost - $8,500.00
$value KWH Savings - $194.53
$value KW Demand Savings - $117.14
$value Maintenance Savings - $29.14
Total Annual $ Savings - $340.81
Simple Pay back Period – 24.9 Years
Payback Period with Rebate of $45 per fixture from Consumers – 22.7 Years
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Lighting ECMs Summary
There are 537 lighting fixtures documented for the Meridian Municipal Building in
total. 401 fixtures, about 75%, are recommended for an energy efficient retrofit or replacement.
Following implementation of the 4 Lighting ECMs previously documented, it is
estimated that the consumption of energy for lighting would drop by 22%.
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The costs and savings information for the lighting efficiency recommendations are
summarized in the chart below. The total lighting project would save 12,991.70 kWh annually.
The total dollar project cost estimate is $16,149.86. The project would save $1,602.58 annually
with a simple payback of 10.1 years. Incentives offered by Consumers Energy would reduce the
economic payback to about 9.1 years.
S. Lighting Retrofit Summary Table
kWh SAVED $ SAVED
$ COST
PAYBACK Rebate ROI
ECM #7 7,467.5
$1,029.75 $5,436.00
5.3
4.6
ECM #8 23.6
$9.62
$13.86
1.4
0.6
ECM #9 2,087.8
$222.41
$2,200.00
9.9
9.1
ECM #10 3,412.8
$340.81
$8,500.00
24.9
22.7
TOTALS 12,991.7
$1,602.58 $16,149.86
10.1
9.1
Whenever replacing lamps, it is a good time to clean the fixture and lens surfaces to get
more light out of each fixture. Yellowing, cracked, or missing lenses should be replaced.
When replacing linear fluorescent lamps and ballasts, some fixtures may be in very bad
shape. Some common problems are: the pin holders are broken, lamps are difficult to install,
ballast covers won’t reinstall, and the lens doors don’t close. In such cases it may save time and
money to replace the entire fixture. Be sure to special order because T8 technology is not yet
standard in new fixtures.
Lastly, removed fluorescent lamps and ballasts should be properly recycled. Recycling
costs have been added to the ECM costs for all linear fluorescent options. A fact sheet on
recycling of CFLs and linear fluorescent lamps is included in the Appendix.
Appendix
Report Certification Form
Gas & Electric Billing Histories
Floor Plans
Weatherstripping Information
Energy Recovery Ventilation Specifications
Condensing Boiler Specifications
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Handout - Energy Efficiency in Small Kitchen Appliances
Handout - Energy Efficiency in Office Equipment
Intelligent Surge Protector Information
Vending Machine Controls
Premium Efficiency Motors
Radiant Foot Warmers
Occupancy Sensor Information
Lighting Inventory
Lighting Specification Sheets
Lamp Recycling Information
Glossary of Energy Terms
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