Energy Engineering for Building Performance

Our building performance engineering services will keep you operating at peak building performance!

 

What is Energy Engineering?

Energy engineering services help multifamily and commercial building owners and managers save on operating costs through energy efficiency while increasing building value and improving comfort and safety.  Our whole systems approach accomplishes peak building performance by applying the latest in building science, alternative energy, performance data analysis, systems and construction technology, and post-retrofit performance tracking.  In practice, this often means reducing current consumption through changes in operation and maintenance, or by investing in retrofits and new technologies.

Building science and energy engineering are professions that require years of training and field experience to become adept at identifying and resolving building performance issues.  Our engineering staff includes a skilled mix of mechanical and energy engineers, energy simulation modelers, and building experts.  Our expertise lies in analyzing building performance data, identifying building system issues, recommending effective performance improvements, setting energy efficiency targets, and tracking post retrofit performance.

Benchmarking

Good energy management begins with an understanding of how a building uses energy.   This “big picture” perspective gives a solid foundation for more detailed analysis on building systems and components.  A building’s energy overall consumption profile is measured and documented during the benchmarking process.  Our engineers can benchmark and compare all buildings in your property portfolio based on total energy and heating, cooling and baseload energy usage.  This screening highlights the buildings most in need an energy assessment and efficiency upgrades.

Energy Assessments (Audits)

During an energy audit, our engineers will assess how a building’s systems are performing, make recommendations on how the performance can be improved, and project the savings to investment ratio (SIR) so that you can make informed decisions.

Our signature approach to multifamily and commercial auditing addresses the specific energy and operational needs of each unique building.  Our goal is to help building owners increase the value of their property and reduce energy costs, while providing occupants with a comfortable, healthy environment.  The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) defines three levels of audits:

• Level I  - includes a walk through audit, an analysis of consumption figures and documents, and a list of possible energy conservation measures.
   
• Level II - an in-depth quantitative analysis to verify results found in the Level I audit, and also includes a full energy audit, measurements and a list of measures for funding and implementation.
   
• Level III - this detailed engineering analysis gives owners a detailed evaluation of the costs and benefits of upgrades for informed capital improvement decisions.

Monitoring and Targeting

Our team can monitor the energy performance of your buildings, providing fast feedback about whether or not they are meeting predicted performance expectations.  If not, we will figure out why, and recommend corrective action to achieve the energy saving threshold required for program incentives.


Measurement & Verification

Measurement and verification (M&V) of energy and energy cost savings is playing an ever increasing role in helping building owners secure funding from financial institutions for energy efficiency projects.  Studies show that less than 75% of predicted energy savings are achieved through traditional energy audits without M&V tracking.  Our engineers verify that energy efficiency predictions were met, allowing owners to evaluate the actual return on investment from energy consumption reduction measures.

TREAT Engineering Support

TREAT, our award-winning energy modeling software, is approved by the US DOE for use in weatherization in all residential building stock - from mobile homes to multifamily buildings.  Our engineering team offers advanced support for this tool, including remote modeling, mentoring, and quality control. 


Energy Management

We offer comprehensive Energy Management services, providing the combination of services you need either directly under our consultation, or as the lead contractor managing subcontractors.


Equipment Needs Survey

PSD engineering staff can survey all building equipment, such as elevator motors, air handlers, and pumps.   We will assess the condition, and offer advice on time to replacement.  Additionally, we can and recommend the new equipment and an estimate of savings to offer the best payback for your investment. 

Training

Our engineers are uniquely qualified to provide training for building managers and owners.  We are one of the few companies to be selected to offer energy assessment training to government personnel at federal sites, and to offer training on advanced energy modeling for commercial buildings.