Measuring Better, Managing Better

Since 2014, the Department of General Services has tracked energy and water consumption for our facilities. For the most part, utility data for every account of the department’s buildings were recorded and stored in spreadsheets. In turn, this collection of data has led to the department using metrics to track building performance, and target buildings for energy improvement projects. However, tracking and reporting utility data for the department’s 90+ facilities proved to be time intensive. Building performance reports took time to develop, as data needed to be reviewed for accuracy and any changes in consumption needed to be assessed properly. In addition, other tasks, such as water or gas leak tracking, are time sensitive, so reducing time to assess meter differences across months would also lead to potential energy and water savings.

In 2020, General Services acquired the AssetPlanner Energy and Sustainability Module to report on energy and water consumption and costs quickly and efficiently. The software is an energy management system, developed by Ameresco, that tracks, records, and reports building consumption and costs of utilities. General Services’ historical data was first uploaded into the database for each utility account. Afterwards, General Services worked with Ameresco and the department’s utility providers to provide an efficient way to transfer utility data into the new system electronically. With past, present, and future data linked to the energy management system, General Services can now take advantage of the software’s many functions and features.

AssetPlanner reads electronic versions of utility invoices and stores the collected data into its database. The software also calculates utility consumption and costs, with each meter assigned to its appropriate building. Building data, such as size and age, are programmed into the software. The energy management system performs energy and water calculations for each building and campus. The utility data can be sorted by time period (months, years, etc.), utility type (i.e., electricity, natural gas, water, etc.), and building type (i.e., office building vs. warehouse). The software also performs metrics that measure building and environmental performance such as energy utilization index (EUI), carbon footprint calculations, weather regression analysis, and usage and cost savings, just to name a few.

Trends

One of the main features of AssetPlanner is the ability to create trends, charts, and tables for utility consumption and costs.

The software is highly flexible, allowing the user to either look at a single trend for one building, or multiple trends amongst several buildings. Meter consumption and costs are the most common form trending that the software performs. However, the software can trend other valuable information such as peak demand power, renewable energy/solar generation, and various utility charges, just to name a few.

The software also allows the user to choose amongst a variety of trend, chart types that will most effectively communicate data patterns. The user can choose to represent the data in the form of line trends, pie charts, and heat maps, amongst several other options.

Metrics

The energy management system calculates metrics that are based on utility data, building specifications, weather trends, and national benchmarks. The most widely used metric for building energy performance is the energy utilization index, which measures a building’s energy use in a year per sq. ft. This metric is the most commonly used metric to decide whether a building is energy efficient. Within the software, we can compare the EUI metric against the national benchmark established by the Department of Energy’s Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). This survey conducted over the course of several years, records building energy performance, and categorizes building by type, function, climate region, size, and several other key factors. For certain building types, AssetPlanner can also evaluate EnergyStar Scores against the national average. Straight away, we can tell if our buildings are performing better or worse against other buildings of the same type across the U.S. This metric is a key determinant of consideration for energy improvement projects.

Other metrics that AssetPlanner calculates includes weather regression analysis, carbon footprint, usage and cost savings, and cost utilization index. Weather regression analysis allows the user to assess the building energy performance for a certain period of time that experienced unusually warm or cold temperatures against another time period that featured typical normal weather conditions. The analysis assesses the amount of energy and costs that should have been expended during unusual weather based on typical weather patterns. AssetPlanner also calculates estimated carbon emissions based on building energy consumption data. This allows General Services to account for each building’s contribution greenhouse gas emissions, and track reductions accordingly. Cost utilization index is similar to its energy use counterpart, which looks at the total energy cost per sq. ft. of a building for a year. All the metrics listed here, as well as several others, can be tracked through charts and tables created in the software.

Dashboards

AssetPlanner features the ability to create multiple dashboards, based on the information the user intends to communicate. Dashboards can be set up to relay information in a concise manner, and it can be tailored to various audiences for different purposes.

For instance, a dashboard could be set up to highlight the department’s overall energy use and costs, while a separate dashboard can be created to focus on consumption in critical facilities that operate 24/7, such as police and fire stations.

The dashboard also features the ability to link to third-party web, video, and social media sites to convey more information to audiences.

Variance Reports

AssetPlanner also features a reporting tool that detects unusual changes in energy and water consumption. Variance reporting looks at current utility invoice data and compares with past data to detect unusual patterns in usage and costs. The reporting can look at drastic changes from month-to-moth, or it can compare invoice data across separate years. This tool is helpful in detecting potential leaks amongst the department’s buildings and highlighting surprise costs and fees for a particular month. The variance can also serve as a performance indicator for our buildings, such as when usage and costs decrease after an energy improvement project.

Budget Planning and Project Management

The energy management system features a budgeting tool that allows the user to track energy and water costs and determine if spending is falling within budgetary limits. AssetPlanner also allows the user to enter project costs and track resulting energy and water savings. This is helpful for tracking return on investments over time.

Conclusion

AssetPlanner Energy and Sustainability Module will greatly benefit General Services’ pursuit for a greener and more sustainable Nashville. Measuring our building performance in a single platform should lead to quicker turnaround in addressing performance issues, and lead to greater energy, water, and cost savings. The ability to track the progress of utility improvement projects will also inform staff of the most effective conservation measures. In turn, these experiences will lead to greater success in future projects.