How to perform energy audits like a pro using a Building Automation System (BAS)

An energy audit is a systematic process of assessing a building's energy performance, identifying areas of energy waste or inefficiency, and recommending measures for improvement. It thoroughly examines energy-consuming systems, such as lighting, HVAC, appliances, and building envelopes.

Energy audits typically include data collection, analysis, and on-site inspections to evaluate energy consumption patterns, equipment performance, and building operations. An energy audit aims to provide actionable insights and recommendations that can lead to energy savings, cost reductions, and enhanced sustainability.

Benefits of conducting regular energy audits

Energy audits are crucial in assessing and optimizing a building's energy performance. Energy audits offer numerous benefits by identifying areas of energy waste and providing recommendations for improvement.

Cost Savings: Real estate leaders can identify opportunities for reducing energy consumption and wastage, resulting in cost savings on utility bills. By implementing energy-saving measures recommended in the audit, buildings can significantly reduce operational expenses.

Improved Energy Efficiency: Regular audits help identify inefficiencies in building systems and operations, enabling targeted improvements. By addressing issues like equipment malfunctions, outdated technology, or poor insulation, buildings can optimize energy use and improve overall energy efficiency.

Enhanced Comfort and Productivity: Energy audits consider thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and lighting levels. By improving these aspects, building occupants experience a more comfortable and productive environment, increasing satisfaction and well-being.

Environmental Impact: Audits also contribute to a building's environmental sustainability by reducing energy consumption. Lower energy usage translates into reduced greenhouse gas emissions and a smaller carbon footprint, helping combat climate change and protect the environment.

Compliance and Certifications: Energy audits assist buildings in meeting regulatory requirements and obtaining certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), BREEAM, or ENERGY STAR. Compliance with energy efficiency standards avoids penalties and enhances the building's marketability and reputation.

What is a Building Automation System (BAS)?

A building automation system (BAS) is a hardware and software network that enables centralized control, monitoring, and optimization of building systems. These systems integrate and automate various building functions, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, security, and more.

BAS typically consists of sensors, controllers, communication networks, and user interfaces that facilitate real-time data collection, analysis, and decision-making. In addition to managing various building functions, a Building Automation System (BAS) enables intelligent decision-making through advanced algorithms and automation capabilities.

By analyzing real-time data from sensors and other sources, BAS can optimize energy consumption, detect faults or inefficiencies in systems, and make adjustments for maximum efficiency and comfort. This level of automation and intelligence simplifies building operations, enhances energy efficiency, reduces maintenance costs, and improves overall occupant satisfaction.

What Role Does BAS Play in Energy Audits?

Building automation systems (BAS) have revolutionized energy audits by providing auditors with comprehensive data on energy consumption and building performance. By integrating with various systems within a building, a BAS enables real-time data collection from multiple points.

With access to this granular and real-time data, auditors can deeply understand the building's energy profile. They can analyze energy usage patterns, identify inefficiencies, and pinpoint areas for improvement.

For example, BAS can provide insights into HVAC system performance, such as temperature setpoints, fan speed, and equipment runtime. Auditors can identify HVAC systems operating outside optimal parameters or detect equipment malfunctions contributing to excessive energy consumption.

How Does BAS Help to Reduce Energy Consumption?

By properly using a BAS that operates on the cloud, building owners can access real-time and historical building data readily available to all stakeholders. This offers a multitude of benefits, including:

Monitoring and Benchmarking: Building automation systems (BAS) collect real-time energy data, allowing auditors to monitor and benchmark the building's energy usage patterns. With the help of IoT- integrated systems, BAS collects valuable insights into energy consumption, identifies areas of high energy wastage or inefficiency, and helps auditors set realistic energy-saving goals. By comparing energy performance against industry standards and best practices, auditors can identify opportunities for improvement and prioritize energy-saving measures that will have the most significant impact.

Automated Control: BAS enables the implementation of automated control strategies that optimize energy use. For example, occupancy sensors integrated into the BAS can detect occupancy levels in different building areas. The BAS can adjust HVAC settings, such as temperature and ventilation rates, based on real-time occupancy data. By dynamically adapting to occupancy patterns and environmental conditions, it ensures optimal comfort while minimizing energy waste.

Demand Response: BAS can facilitate participation in demand response programs, which aim to reduce electricity consumption during periods of high demand on the electrical grid. Through BAS, buildings can automatically respond to signals from utility providers or grid operators to curtail energy usage during peak demand. This may involve temporarily adjusting HVAC setpoints, dimming lights, or reducing non-essential equipment operation.

Fault Detection and Diagnostics: Building automation systems have advanced monitoring capabilities that detect equipment malfunctions, abnormal energy consumption, or inefficiencies. By continuously analyzing energy data and comparing it to established performance benchmarks, BAS can identify deviations or anomalies that may indicate equipment faults or suboptimal system operation. Auditors can receive automated alerts or generate reports highlighting these issues, allowing for timely maintenance and corrective actions.

Integration with existing BMS software: BAS can seamlessly integrate with all your existing systems and applications within your buildings. Instead of replacing your current processes, you can just use your BAS as an overlay software that can integrate with both your downstream systems and upstream applications. A good BAS that operates on the cloud with an open API framework will allow you to pull and push data seamlessly from all your IoT-powered building systems and collate it in one single pane of glass.

How to conduct an energy audit with the help of a BAS

If your goal is to create a repeatable framework to conduct energy audits for all the buildings in your portfolio, here is a simple step-by-step process to follow:

Define Goals and Scope: Clearly establish the goals and objectives of the energy audit, such as reducing energy costs or achieving specific energy efficiency targets. Determine the scope of the audit, including the buildings, systems, and areas to be assessed.

Gather Data: Collect energy consumption data, utility bills, and historical records to understand the current energy usage patterns. Analyze this data to identify trends, peak demand periods, and potential areas of energy waste.

System Analysis: Evaluate the performance and efficiency of key energy-consuming systems, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, water heating, and appliances. Measure and record parameters like system settings, operating hours, and equipment condition.

Cost-Benefit Analysis: Evaluate the estimated energy savings and financial implications of each identified opportunity. Consider the upfront costs, payback periods, return on investment (ROI), and any available incentives or rebates.

Develop an Action Plan: Based on the identified opportunities and their financial viability, prioritize and develop a comprehensive action plan. Set realistic goals and timelines for implementing energy-saving measures.

Implementation and Monitoring: Execute the action plan by implementing the recommended measures. Monitor and track the energy usage regularly to measure the effectiveness of the implemented changes. Make necessary adjustments if needed.

What are the Benefits of Using a BAS in Energy Audits?

The utilization of building automation systems (BAS) in energy audits offers a multitude of benefits, ranging from improved energy efficiency and enhanced occupant comfort to cost savings and environmental sustainability. BAS empowers auditors to identify energy-saving opportunities, optimize building systems, and achieve significant reductions in energy consumption. Here are some of the most important benefits of using a BAS in energy audits:

Improved Energy Efficiency: BAS provides the necessary tools to identify energy-saving opportunities and implement targeted measures. Property operations leaders can see significant energy savings by optimizing building systems and controlling energy usage.

Enhanced Comfort and Indoor Environment: BAS allows for precise control of HVAC systems, ensuring optimal comfort for occupants. Maintaining appropriate temperature, humidity levels, and air quality can improve occupant satisfaction and productivity.

Cost Savings: The implementation of energy-saving measures guided by BAS leads to reduced energy consumption and lower utility bills. The long-term financial benefits often outweigh the upfront investment in the software.

Operational Efficiency: BAS streamlines building operations by automating tasks, centralizing control, and providing real-time data. This simplifies maintenance, improves system performance, and enhances overall operational efficiency.

Environmental Sustainability: By reducing energy consumption, BAS contributes to environmental sustainability by lowering greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating climate change, and conserving natural resources.

The future of using technology for energy audits

The future of building automation systems is already here. We are seeing the emergence of cloud-based property O&M solutions leveraging AI, ML, and other technologies to revolutionize building operations and portfolio energy management.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning: Integrating AI and machine learning algorithms with BAS unlocks powerful capabilities for energy audits. By analyzing the vast amounts of data BAS collects, AI algorithms can identify complex patterns and correlations that human auditors may overlook.

Internet of Things (IoT) Integration: The integration of BAS with IoT devices allows for seamless communication and interoperability between various building systems. IoT devices, such as occupancy sensors, smart meters, and environmental sensors, can provide real-time data to the BAS, enabling more accurate and responsive control of energy-consuming systems.

Cloud-Based Solutions: Cloud-based platforms offer numerous benefits for BAS in energy audits. These platforms provide scalability, remote accessibility, and data storage capabilities, allowing real-time monitoring, analytics, and collaboration across multiple locations. With cloud-based solutions, auditors can access and analyze energy data from anywhere, perform advanced analytics, and generate comprehensive reports.

Energy Analytics and Reporting: Advanced energy analytics tools complement BAS by providing in-depth insights into energy consumption, performance trends, and potential savings opportunities. These tools use sophisticated algorithms to analyze energy data collected by the BAS, identifying areas for improvement and recommending energy-saving measures. Energy analytics platforms enable auditors to track energy usage patterns, measure the effectiveness of implemented strategies, and generate detailed reports.

Decentralized Energy Management: Building automation systems can integrate with localized energy generation and storage systems, such as microgrids and battery storage. This integration enables buildings to become more self-sufficient and resilient to grid disruptions. BAS can dynamically manage the energy flow between the building, renewable energy sources, and energy storage, optimizing energy usage and reducing reliance on the grid.

By harnessing these technologies, auditors can unlock new efficiency, accuracy, and optimization levels, leading to more effective energy-saving strategies and a more sustainable built environment.

Conclusion

Building automation systems (BAS) have become indispensable tools in energy audits, providing real-time data, automation capabilities, and optimization strategies. They enable auditors to identify energy-saving opportunities, reduce consumption, enhance occupant comfort, and achieve long-term sustainability goals.

As technology advances, future trends in building automation systems, including AI, IoT integration, and cloud-based solutions, promise even greater efficiency and optimization possibilities. Embracing these advancements, and leveraging innovative solutions like Facilio's connected buildings platform, will propel the field of energy audits to new heights, empowering auditors with real-time visibility, data analytics, and automation capabilities.

By integrating Facilio's platform, auditors can seamlessly harness the power of BAS, optimize building performance, and unlock significant energy savings. With Facilio, the future of energy audits is brighter than ever as we pave the way for more sustainable and energy-efficient buildings.