by Shane Henson — December 2, 2011—With growing energy needs to run equipment and more complex HVAC and lighting systems in today’s commercial buildings, architects and engineers can only go so far in delivering on energy efficiency. A new study, Sensitivity Analysis: Comparing the Impact of Design, Operation, and Tenant Behavior on Building Energy Performance, by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) summarizes the extent to which operations and occupant behavior impact a building’s energy use compared to design characteristics. NBI is a national, nonprofit organization working to improve the energy performance of commercial buildings.
The study, developed jointly with Ecotope, a provider of research, design, and analysis for projects targeting deep energy efficiency outcomes, also makes recommendations for design teams, owners and operators on what they can do to ensure the full potential for energy savings from efficiency measures is realized. It further provides a broad perspective on how buildings use energy and what aspects of building energy performance deserve more attention in design, operation and policy strategies.
Most significantly, the study suggests that although the market generally assigns responsibility for building energy performance to the design team for aspects such as envelope, HVAC system and lighting system features, operational and tenant practices have a very significant impact on building energy use.
Considering this, facilities managers and building owners may be able to do much more than they initially thought possible to improve energy efficiency in their buildings through educating themselves and building tenants or employees on ways to reduce energy consumption. For example, as the report advises, the installation of submetering and energy-use “dashboards” can help building tenants understand and reduce their energy use.
