- Appliances: use less power
- Beware vampire appliances
- Commercial building energy assessments
- Commercial building incentives
- Common mistakes
- Gifts that save energy all year
- Heating and coolling savings
- Holiday lighting: festive & efficient
- Insulation types: pros & cons
- Kitchens: ways to save
- Lower your utility bills
- Path to Energy Efficiency
- Programmable Thermostats
- Radon: test after energy upgrade
- Refrigerator: retire for quick payback
- Resolutions to conserve energy and save money
- Seal duct leaks
- Stack Effect Influences Energy Use
- Systems in house work together
- Wash clothes in cold water
- Water heating bills
- Where to make home improvements
- Windows: repair, don't replace
Commercial building energy assessments can help cut costs
Your Path to Energy Savings
By Dominic Frongillo, Special to The Ithaca Journal
January 24, 2011
Own a commercial building in Tompkins County? Improve your bottom line by upgrading your commercial building for big energy savings.
Commercial buildings can use tens of thousands of dollars in energy. Fortunately, energy use is often a significant opportunity to cut building operating costs.
The first step in cutting your building's energy use is an energy assessment. An energy assessment identifies where your building is losing energy and suggests cost-effective improvements to reduce energy costs, often by 20 percent or more.
Engineering and energy specialist firms offer a range of energy assessment services, from walk-though audits to comprehensive assessments. Comprehensive energy assessments evaluate a building's total energy loads, equipment, and building envelope using utility analysis and computer models. Recommended upgrades can range from lighting upgrades and envelope improvements such as air sealing, window upgrades, and insulation to more advanced opportunities such as demand-controlled ventilation or HVAC system improvements.
NYSERDA offers low-cost energy assessments for commercial buildings paying the System Benefits Charge. Are your building's annual electric bills under $75,000? You may be eligible for an energy assessment for $400 or even $100. The audit fee is refundable if recommended measures are implemented. There is a one-page application. Eligible facilities include industrial and commercial facilities, local governments, non-profits, schools, and other non-residential facilities. If your annual electric bills are over $75,000, you may qualify for a 50-50 cost share on a comprehensive energy assessment.
Already know what energy upgrades you want to make to your building? Incentives and loans can help make recommended upgrades more affordable. NYSERDA's Existing Facilities program or NYSEG's commercial rebate programs can provide incentives for various energy efficiency upgrades.
For more information, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension at 272-2292.
Own a home? Get a free home energy assessment!
