Title:
Energy
Management Program
Facility: Sandia
National Laboratories
Point of contact: Lynnwood
Dukes, Facilities Engineering Group Manager, Sandia National
Laboratories,
ldukes@sandia.gov (505)
845-7542
Brief Description of Best Practice:
Energy
Management at Sandia National Laboratories includes
integration of sustainable design principles into design
specifications for implementation in all new design
projects, establishment of a funding mechanism to allow for
future planning, utilization of retro-commissioning and
fully automated building control system for over 80% of
space, lighting retrofit program, remote controlled
centralized irrigation system for landscaped acreage, and an
active communications campaign.
Why the best practice was used:
Development and implementation of the Energy Management
Program at Sandia was vitally important, not only to meet
DOE Orders and Presidential Directives, but due to cost of
utilities, the desire to be energy efficient, and the fact
that Sandia Laboratories in New Mexico are located in a
desert climate where water resources are scarce.
What are the benefits of the best practice:
Results
of the program include an estimated $2.2 million of avoided
energy costs from efforts over the FY85 to FY01 period, an
estimated $452k per year savings on lighting costs, and a
23% reduction in water usage since 1994.
What problems/issues were associated with the Best Practice:
Problems
encountered in implementing energy efficiency and
establishing a lasting energy management program were
twofold. There was a mindset that inclusion of sustainable
design principles in designs would escalate the cost of
projects and there was a lack of any funding mechanism with
which to modify existing facilities for energy savings.
Getting management to understand that inclusion of
sustainable design features as part of facility designs is
not a costly alternative when considering initial cost. Even
though most understand the life cycle savings of energy
projects most do not understand that initial cost escalation
of a project can be kept well within 1% and making value
added alternatives a part of the bid process brings out some
good ideas from A/E firms. Convincing management that
establishment of a funding mechanism dedicated to energy
projects can be difficult since competition for investment
funds across any site is fierce. However, utilizing the same
engineering life-cycle analysis that energy savings contract
providers use one can easily show payback on utility cost
savings for proposed projects.
How the success of the Best Practice was measured:
Utilizing
LEEDs criteria during new facility design and retrofitting
older facility lighting, variable speed drives, high
efficiency chilled water loops, and building automation
systems Sandia has been able to reduce energy utilization
for office-type facilities since 1985 by 39% in 2004. This
has been achieved even though office loads have
significantly increased due to high computer usage and other
electronics. On new type office buildings built in the last
three years utilizing sustainable design criteria, energy
usage has been measured at 76,000 Btu/gsf/yr, down from over
200,000 Btu/hr for similar older facilities.
Description of process experience using the Best Practice:
Energy
Management has been in existence for over 20 years at Sandia
National Laboratories and has benefited from active support
by the DOE and Sandia management. The program is supported
by three part-time staff and sustainable design requirements
imbedded in engineering standards, design specifications and
the design manual. An annual plan is developed containing
short and long-term plans and goals of the program.
Attachments to this plan also include a Water Management
Plan and Energy Curtailment Plan. A financial mechanism for
funding of energy savings projects was established by
devising a plan to use half of the savings from utility
bills to fund these projects. Lighting retrofits were one of
the first projects initiated and savings results were
immediate. Currently the energy program at the Sandia New
Mexico site is funded at $700,000 per year.
The
Facility Control System, the Electrical monitoring system,
centralized irrigation control system, and metering of >90%
of electrical and gas systems at the building level has
enabled the energy program staff to trend energy usage and
recommend appropriate projects to reduce utility usage.
Meters have also been installed on >90% of the water
distribution system to enable tracking of usage.
In order
to focus occupants on energy usage, the space chargeback
system allows direct charges of actual energy usage to
tenants of facilities. In this way, the user can see an
immediate benefit to controlling energy usage. An energy nag
contest was also invented where an occupant of a facility
will leave notes on someone’s monitor or desk ‘reminding’
them of practices that conserve energy. The facility with
the largest reduction in energy use for the year wins the
contest. Other communication mechanisms used by the program
include a monthly ‘Porcelain Press’ and weekly reminders in
the Sandia Weekly News paper.
Actions
that have led to energy efficiency are: equipment
standardization, sustainable design requirements imbedded in
design specifications and design manual, CFC phase-out and
chiller replacements, lighting retrofits, centralized
irrigation control, building automation, use of energy
modeling, retro-commissioning, chilled water system
optimization, variable speed drive usage, thermal energy
storage tank installation on a major chilled water system,
once through HVAC cooling reduction, cooling tower
optimization, high efficiency reverse osmosis system, water
recycling, waterless urinals, motion sensing lights, leak
detection surveys, and metering and trending.
Sandia’s
energy management program has been recognized at many levels
through awards and reports since 1999.
