During an energy audit, a trained engineer conducts an analysis of your stadium’s energy use and identifies opportunities for enhanced efficiency, identifying opportunities to save your team money and improve your environmental performance.
Several electricity providers in the DC area, including Pepco Energy Services (703-253-1800, energy@pepcoenergy.com) and Constellation Energy (1-800-436-3749), provide energy audits for their customers. Contact your own suppliers to learn more about the services they provide. In addition, the District of Columbia has plans to begin an energy audit program for large businesses. Visit the DC Energy Office’s Conservation services for updates.
Your team may also want to consult an energy service company (ESCO), which will conduct an energy audit and finance and install energy efficiency improvements in exchange for a share of the savings. For a directory of ESCOs, visit the National Association of Energy Service Companies database.
Reducing your energy consumption is smart business. The Oakland Convention Center, for example, saves $78,000 yearly in energy costs because of enhancements made to the air handler, central plant controls, and energy management systems. The cost of these improvements was paid back within a year. The facility operators also report the possibility of saving an additional $174,000 per year with longer term equipment replacement. In addition to direct energy savings, many utilities, government agencies, and other organizations offer cash rebates for implementing efficient and/or renewable energy improvements.
Between 1990 and 2002, IBM avoided 12.8 billion kWh of energy, yielding an energy savings of over $700 million dollars. At the same time, these improvements reduced its emissions of carbon dioxide by 32%.
Since 2000, with the assistance of Avista Advantage, an energy consulting company, Food Lion has been able to reduce energy consumption by 25%, even though its total number of stores increased. Through a variety of upgrades to lighting, HVAC, and refrigeration systems, the company has saved $105 million. Case Study
An energy audit analyzes and evaluates your team’s existing energy use practices with an eye towards financial savings. Individual audits can vary, but they are likely to cover of the following items:
- Available incentives
- Equipment rebates
- Time-of-use discounts
- Tax rebates and credits
- Baseline energy use profile
- Building envelope improvements
- Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning systems
- Retrofit and replacement
- Improved schedules
- Improved placement of thermostats and air sensors
- Improved computer programs
- Lighting
- Installation of timers and automatic sensors
- Replacement of light fixtures and bulbs
- Improved scheduling
- Plumbing improvements
- Identification of leaks
- Improved pipe insulation
- Overall design of your team’s energy management program
- Solar power feasibility studies
Electric power plants are the country's largest industrial source of the pollutants that cause global warming, acid rain, and mercury poisoning in lakes and rivers. By conducting an energy audit your team can identify ways to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels and contribution to the emission of greenhouse gases, as well as other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (causes acid rain), nitrous oxide (creates ground level ozone and causes respiratory disease), mercury (poisons streams and lakes and causes neurological damage), and fine particulate matter (causes respiratory disease).
EPA - Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator
EPA - Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Environmental Benefits and Cost Savings Calculator for Purchasers
Energy Star Savings Calculators
Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency
Residential Energy Services Company (RESNET)