AFE March/April 2012 : Page 18

Metering All Federal Facilities ? BY DON MILLSTEIN The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires all federal agencies to install advanced electric metering in their facilities by el October 1, 2012. In response, the O DOE’s “Guidance for Electric Metering D in Federal Buildings” provides personnel with a suggested roadmap pe for compliance. Read more to learn fo the highlights of DOE/EE-0312, as our expert helps users understand the key issues relative to metering in the federal facility environment. ased on the DOE’s preliminary statistics for Fiscal 2009, elec-tricity represented more than half of all the power used by facilities operated by the top six energy-con-suming agencies of the federal government (Figure 1). Of interest is the fact that renew-able energy sources are as yet an insignifi cant contributor and are lumped into the category for purchased steam, chilled water, etc. Figure 2 further breaks down government energy consumption by power source and using agency, again dramatically illustrating the still dominant role that electricity plays in powering the federal facility landscape. As the nation’s single largest energy user and a signifi cant consumer in many areas of the country, the federal government is keen-ly aware of the need to not only conserve energy, but to invest in reduction measures that make good business sense while, at the same time, contributing to operational effi ciency and modernization. For example, DOD Instruction 4170.11 details energy management practices for all Defense Dept. components and facilities, including com-pliance with EPAct 2005, LEED and other conservation requirements. Further, Section 5.2.4.2. mandates installation of meters or submeters with interval data recording and remote reading capability by 2012, along with gas and water metering for all new construction projects. B 18

Metering All Federal Facilities

Don Millstein

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires all federal agencies to install advanced electric metering in their facilities by October 1, 2012. In response, the DOE’s “Guidance for Electric Metering in Federal Buildings” provides personnel with a suggested roadmap for compliance. Read more to learn the highlights of DOE/EE-0312, as our expert helps users understand the key issues relative to metering in the federal facility environment. Based on the DOE’s preliminary statistics for Fiscal 2009, electricity represented more than half of all the power used by facilities operated by the top six energy-consuming agencies of the federal government (Figure 1). Of interest is the fact that renewable energy sources are as yet an insignificant contributor and are lumped into the category for purchased steam, chilled water, etc. Figure 2 further breaks down government energy consumption by power source and using agency, again dramatically illustrating the still dominant role that electricity plays in powering the federal facility landscape. As the nation’s single largest energy user and a significant consumer in many areas of the country, the federal government is keenly aware of the need to not only conserve energy, but to invest in reduction measures that make good business sense while, at the same time, contributing to operational efficiency and modernization. For example, DOD Instruction 4170.11 details energy management practices for all Defense Dept. components and facilities, including compliance with EPAct 2005, LEED and other conservation requirements. Further, Section 5. 2.4.2. mandates installation of meters or submeters with interval data recording and remote reading capability by 2012, along with gas and water metering for all new construction projects. What are Submeters and What Do They Do? The tool that gives managers the needed energy insight to comply with these new directives is the electric submeter. This inexpensive device easily installs on the “facility side” of the primary billing meter at the electrical service entrance to monitor energy use for an entire building, individual location or specific circuit or item of equipment, including lighting, HVAC, plug load and other energy-intensive parameters. Today’s solid-state electronic submeters can be installed virtually anywhere needed, communicating to any desired monitoring location via the facility’s existing Ethernet backbone, wireless infrastructure, modem, the Internet or other data highway to factor any desired utility service into the facility’s energy management system. Combining submeters with a sophisticated energy intelligence soft ware system allows users to better understand when, where and how energy is being used within the organization. Armed with this information, facility managers can better control costs and improve operational efficiencies, along with developing measurable energy conservation initiatives. As a data acquisition “front end” to the facility’s building management system (BMS), submeters are an especially useful way to: Measure, verify and benchmark energy demand and consumption for energy initiatives, including LEED Energy & Atmosphere (EA) and Water Efficiency (WE) credits; Monitor all utility services, including electricity, gas, water and steam; Determine specific processes that are not energy efficient; Assess and chart power-quality parameters; Evaluate, in near real time, the impact of critical load-shedding activities; Compare energy usage by day, week, month or year; Schedule energy data collections to occur automatically; Aggregate energy data to position the consumer group as a larger, more attractive customer for competing energy service providers. The Impact of EPAct and Other Legislation Recent legislation, including the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 (EIEA08) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA09), provides funding, block grants, significant tax credits, extensions and other incentives to jump start the move to more energy-efficient technologies. As these policies play out over time, submetering technology will continue to provide first-level energy data acquisition for benchmarking, measuring and verifying compliance with whatever program guidelines are instituted. These federal energy programs and executive orders are important to understand, especially the following whose controlling authority is foundational to most other current policy initiatives: Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) —mandates metering of all federal buildings by October 1, 2012. Sections relative to submetering include 1251 (net metering) and 1331 (support for $1.80 per square foot tax deduction for energy-efficient buildings). Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA)—required by 2015, 30% reduction in total facility energy use relative to 2003 levels; natural gas and steam metering will be required by October 2016. In response to these and other federal energy programs, E-Mon and other manufacturers have developed advanced hardware and soft ware tools to specifically address the needs of the sustainability market. Certified to ANSI C12.1 & C12.16 national accuracy standards, new-generation advanced meters (Figure 3) offer a number of important functions and capabilities for new construction or retrofit applications, including: Scrolling LCD display of kilowatthour (kWh) usage; kWh in dollars; Current demand load (kW); Cost per hour, based on current load; Estimated CO2 emissions in pounds, based on DOE standards; Estimated hourly CO2 emissions based on current load; Net metering, including utility-delivered vs. user-received power and net usage; Compatibility with pulse-output utility meters, including water, gas, BTU, steam, etc. Guidance for Electric Metering in Federal Buildings The DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) conducted a number of metering workshops in the 2003-2005 time period to help agencies understand and comply with the emerging federal guidelines. The results of those workshops were published in early 2006 as DOE/EE- 0312, “Guidance for Electric Metering in Federal Buildings.” As the name suggests, DOE/EE-0312 is not a mandatory policy guideline, rather it provides a useful set of “serving suggestions” to help federal facility managers design their own procedures and programs for complying with EPAct 2005. The 22-page document’s Executive Summary states up front that Section 103 of EPAct 2005 pertains to electric metering only and further defines what is meant by such terms as “buildings” and “maximum extent practicable.” DOE/EE-0312 also provides implementation timelines and useful appendices, including (1) a glossary of advanced metering terms and (2) the full text of Section 103: Energy Use Measurement and Accountability of EPAct 2005’s Federal Metering Requirements. Available at no charge, readers are encouraged to download DOE/EE-0312 for more details relative to: Defining “Advanced Metering”—discusses “electromechanical or solid-state meters that cumulatively measure, record and store aggregated kWh data that is periodically retrieved for use in customer billing or energy management” (Figure 4). Also presented are recommendations for the application, installation and operation of a metering program, including identifying objectives, system design, commissioning and more. Uses of Metered Data—applications, including revenue billing, time-of-use (TOU) metering, real-time pricing, load aggregation, energy-use diagnostics, power quality, measurement and verification (M&V), emergency (demand) response, reporting and other considerations. Metering Approaches and Technologies—metering per se does not save cost; the savings come when the meter data is converted to information that can be used to develop energy management projects and programs. Metering Cost-Effectiveness—defines metering applications in terms of cost-effectiveness, based on the comparison of installed and operational costs versus the resulting energy savings in dollars. A number of cost-justification examples are provided. Methods for Prioritizing Buildings for Metering Applications— considerations include the amount and cost of electricity and the expected benefits from the metering plan. Potential exclusions resulting in non-cost-effective metering are detailed. Methods of Financing—summarizes potential funding mechanisms available to federal sites desiring to buy and install metering equipment and systems, including appropriations, retained energy savings, energy service performance contracts (ESPC) and other options. Template for an Agency Metering Plan—key sections include setting goals, defining the metering program structure, equipment needs and methodology; setting cost/benefit criteria, prioritizing opportunities and developing performance measures. Performance Measures—outlines the reporting timelines that agencies must follow to comply with metering installations by the 2012 end date; requires reporting the cumulative number of buildings metered and the percentage of electricity use by those buildings. Special Considerations—site-specific factors impacting the development and implementation of metering sys-tems, including leased vs. owned or delegated properties, Operations & Maintenance (O&M) contractors, new vs. existing construction and other considerations. Because more frequent interval data than the 60-minute EPAct requirement provides a greater degree of data analysis capability, advanced metering should be considered “as far down into the subsystem level as practicable.” Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure Getting smart on EPAct, EISA and other federal energy policies can translate to sales opportunities for engineering, architectural and contracting firms whose customers may not be fully up to speed on what metering is needed, why, or how to implement it. DOE/EE-0312 also provides an excellent road map for commercial buildings, industrial plants, multi-tenant residences and other facilities that can benefit from increased energy awareness and compliance with energy initiatives that, in many jurisdictions, off er tax breaks and other incentives for lowering facility operating costs. In today’s facility environment, the old energy adage, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” is compelling justification for recommending and installing the needed equipment. References: Table 1.13 U.S. Government Energy Consumption by Agency and Source, Fiscal Years 2003, 2008 and 2009. Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Federal Energy Management Program. Don Millstein is president and CEO of E-Mon, a leading manufacturer of advanced electric submetering equipment, energy management soft ware and AMR services in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. As a member of the FEMP task force, Millstein actively participated in the federal metering workshops that culminated in DOE/EE-0312. He is also a member of the Alliance to Save Energy, the U.S. Green Building Council and other professional organizations. He can be reached at (215) 752-0601 or dmillstein@emon.com. Web site: www.emon.com.

Previous Page Next Page

Publication List
Using a screen reader? Click Here