(Washington, DC—Oct 1, 2007) October is Energy Awareness Month and to emphasize the importance of energy conservation in commercial buildings, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International today released its top ten ways for building owners and managers to reduce energy consumption. The energy-saving tips that made the list are part of the nationally-recognized BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP) that offers commercial real estate professionals strategies to reduce energy consumption by as much as 30 percent.
“There is a tremendous business case as well as tremendous environmental benefit for improving energy efficiency,” said BOMA International Chairman and Chief Elected Officer Brenna S. Walraven, RPA, CPM, Executive Managing Director, National Property Management, USAA Real Estate Company. “These no and low-cost strategies allow real estate professionals the opportunity to dramatically reduce operating costs as well as have a similarly positive impact on reducing green house gas emissions and all while improving comfort for building occupants.”
BOMA’s Top 10 Energy Efficient Strategies for Property Professionals
- Institute an Energy Awareness Program
Create promotional items, post posters, write news releases—tell everyone about your commitment to energy savings. Use your company newsletter and company/building announcements to keep tenants informed about your energy saving goals and how they can both help and benefit. Share these energy saving tips with them.
- Switch Off Overhead and Task Lights when Daylight is Sufficient
- Clean Windows and Skylights
Window and skylight cleaning will allow more natural daylight to illuminate work areas, reducing the need for overhead and task lighting.
- Encourage Tenants to Use ENERGY STAR® Equipment
Adopt a procurement policy as part of your overall successful energy management strategy and encourage tenants to do the same. The ENERGY STAR label can be found on computers, copiers, external power adapters, fax machines, laptops, monitors, multifunctional devices, printers, scanners, water coolers and more. When you’re finished or ready to upgrade, recycle that equipment.
- Calibrate Thermostats
Periodically walk through the building and compare the thermostat setting with a hand-held digital thermometer (preferably one measuring to 2 decimal places). Ensure thermostat setting equals actual space temperature.
- Adjust Dampers
Bring in the least amount of air necessary to maintain proper air quality. Reduce outside requirements by adjusting dampers to minimize the need to condition outside air, but be sure to stay within code requirements.
- Use Work Station Task Lighting
Direct light where tasks are being performed and use lower wattage for overhead ambient lighting. Consider combining with motion-controlled power strips.
- Install Occupancy Sensors
Install occupancy sensors to automatically turn off lights when physical movement stops. This strategy may be specifically effective in spaces that are used infrequently, such as storerooms and conference rooms. Occupancy sensors work not just for lighting, but also for HVAC controls.
- Convert T12 to T8 and T5
Re-lamping? Even if you just re-lamped your buildings three years ago, take a lighting survey again. Lighting continuously gets more efficient. Converting to more efficient lamps and ballasts saves total building energy.
- Encourage Tenants to Turn Off Equipment
During off hours, be sure to power down everything—such as copiers, kitchen equipment and task lights. Use cleaning/security personnel to turn off miscellaneous items such as coffee pots, kitchen equipment and individual office lights.
Resources
For additional resources on sustainable practices for commercial real estate professionals, visit The G.R.E.E.N. (The Green Resource Energy Environment Network) at www.boma.org/AboutBOMA/TheGREEN.
For more information on the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP), visit www.boma.org/TrainingAndEducation/BEEP.
BOMA International has challenged its members to reduce energy consumption in their building by 30 percent by 2012, learn more at www.boma.org/AboutBOMA/7pointchallenge.
For more information on ENERGY STAR equipment and benchmarking your building’s energy performance, visit www.energystar.gov.
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an international federation of more than 90 local associations and affiliated organizations. BOMA’s 16,500-plus members own or manage more than 9 billion square feet of commercial properties in North America and throughout the world. The mission of BOMA International is to enhance the human, intellectual and physical assets of the commercial real estate industry through advocacy, education, research, standards and information. Founded in 1907, BOMA International celebrates 100 years of commercial real estate in 2007. Learn more at www.boma.org.
CONTACT:
Laura Horsley
Director of Communications
BOMA International
(202) 326-6315 or lhorsey@boma.org