Improving Building Energy Efficiency and Retrofits with Integrated System Packages
The Challenge: Speeding the implementation and scale of integrated systems packages in commercial buildings
Achieving deep energy efficiency at scale in existing buildings is essential for realizing zero energy goals in the building sector. Systems-
based approaches are much more effective doing so than component-based retrofits, but they typically rely on significant engineering expertise to design, install, and operate and are often disruptive to building occupants and activities when not aligned with the real estate life cycle. Simplifying and streamlining the implementation of integrated system packages (ISPs) is essential to enable wider adoption. The ISPs are designed to leverage key building life cycle “events” (tenant fit-out, rooftop unit replacement and whole building renovation) as intervention points to enhance energy efficiency in real estate portfolios. Each ISP includes a set of efficiency measures that are commercially proven and amenable to standardization.
The Solution: FLEXLAB®
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s FLEXLAB® facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted laboratory testing of a promising ISP designed for tenant fit- out. This package includes “core” retrofit measures as well as optional, or “core-plus” measures for additional savings. The project evaluated technology integration, installation and commissioning procedures, energy and demand savings, thermal and visual comfort, measurement and verification approaches, and associated savings uncertainty. By evaluating the energy and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) performance of the ISP under a wide range of controlled conditions, the goal was to “de-risk” the package and make it more acceptable to site owners, managers, and occupants.
The Bottom Line: The ISP studied provided deep energy savings.
Because ISPs improve efficiency in a variety of building systems at the same time, deep energy savings are possible. In addition, the ability to retrofit multiple systems at once with a package tailored to common real estate life cycle events offers building owners and operators the opportunity to achieve more cost-effective savings in a streamlined, shorter timeframe than it would otherwise take to implement them.
Download the full case study here: Improving Building Energy Efficiency and Retrofits with Integrated System Packages
"It is challenging to conduct true side-by-side comparisons in actual buildings and FLEXLAB testing afforded us the unique opportunity to obtain measured energy performance and quantify the impacts of different package components."
Duane Kubischta, Engineering Manager, kW Engineering