Project PrioritizationMaking the Most of Your Sustainability Investment

Project Prioritization

• Align on clear Objectives & Goals• Prioritize the work

• Understanding level of detail• Choosing a tool• Tool examples

• Mechanical systems • Common Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs)• What you can expect• Common questions, pitfalls• Successful programs

Align on Clear Objectives & Goals• Why are choosing the right goals so important?

• Identify major sources and reasons for performance loss• By measuring performance, you can identify issues and take corrective actions• Data gathering must be easy to support and easy to continue• Enrolls others to the cause

• How do you know if your objective/goal is “wrong”?• You cannot easily explain it • Asking 7 members of your business results in 7 different answers• It is a silo – non-integrated, driven by few• Not based on data

Align on Clear Objectives & Goals• What is your objective?

• Completion of Green Workplace Challenge• Identify as many opportunities as possible• Focus on a specific business issue• Create positive PR• Save enough money to pay for capital projects• Integrate Sustainability into “how we do business”

• What is your goal?• Reduce utility spend … 25% reduction in electric bill• Minimize carbon footprint … 20% reduction (Tonnes of CO2)• Educate our workforce … 100% employees trained• Implement recycling … aluminum, cardboard, plastic• Do highest ROI projects … ROI < 7 years

Prioritizing the Work• Key Questions to Ask

• Do I have a single goal or several?• Is data available to quantify the goal(s)?• Is the data hard (bills, costs) or soft (anecdotal, experience)?• How detailed do we need to be to reach our goal?• What are we prioritizing … data or projects?

• Prioritization Methods • Simple Ranking• Variance (Largest Loss)• Weighted Ranking• Loss Analysis

Prioritization MethodsSimple Ranking

• Involves listing items in a consistent order based on a common set of criteria, typically single factor

• Can be used for anecdotal, experiential, and/or hard data• Simple Ranking Tools

• Power-Dotting• Lists• Graphs• Charts

• When should I use this method?• Simple system• Straightforward data• Scope of work is known

Prioritization MethodsVariance• Measures current performance against a

goal or industry benchmark• Requires hard data, internal and often external• Seldom anecdotal

• Weighted Ranking Tools • Variance Reports• Benchmarking • Portfolio Manager

• When should I use this method?• KPIs already clearly established• Want to prioritize based on largest loss• Achieve a corporate goal• Data is easily accessible

Prioritization MethodsWeighted Ranking• Involves weighing options based on

several factors that mathematically generate a rank

• Can be used for anecdotal, experiential, and/or hard data

• Weighted Ranking Tools • GWC Weighted Rating Tool• Failure Mode Effects & Criticality Analysis

(FMECA)• When should I use this method?

• Several factors impact the importance of an item or project

• System, process is complex• Defined projects (GWC)• To Define projects (FMECA)

Prioritization MethodsLoss Analysis• Audits losses across all utility consumption to

identify, rank opportunities• Requires hard data

• Loss Analysis Tools • Energy Audits

• When should I use this method?• Gain holistic understanding of losses; Identify maximum

number of opportunities • Campus setting• Measurement & Verification (M&V) is required

In Summary, Prioritizing ECMs Requires:

• Clearly defined goals• An understanding of where you are in the process

• Understanding your system• Defining projects• Deciding between projects

• Detail-level of exit data you want• Tools to guide your process• Team that is knowledgeable about the systems/business

• Often includes external resources

Real-Life Example“Museum Customer”

• Objective: Reduce utility spend as much as possible• Goal: Unknown – need to define• Team: Internal team needed expertise

• Energy Audit firm• Mechanical vendor – Huckestein• Controls vendor

• Tool: Energy Audit• Prioritized data to generate ECMs• Prioritized ECMs by highest ROI• Listed “Low Hanging Fruit”

• Executive Leadership defined goals, based on ROI• Customer bid projects via RFPs• Customer executed projects to reduce ongoing operating cost with minimized

out of pocket expense

Real-Life Example“Museum Customer”

• Collected utility data• Data Simple Ranking showed major users

• Utilities: Natural Gas• User: HVAC• Seasonality

Real-Life Example“Museum Customer”• Engaged experts to propose projects /

Evaluate system• Did not have resident experts• Did not have time to dedicate

• Created project ECMs with:• Budgeted Costs• Projected Savings• ROIs

Real-Life Example“Museum Customer”

• What did they save?• 20% in Gas Reduction = $15,637/yr (Boiler Modulation)

• Simple payback of 1.4 yrs• 5% in Steam Consumption Reduction = $3,909/yr

(Steam Valves)• Simple payback of 0.6 yrs

• 18% in Electricity Consumption = $11,249/yr (Controls) • Simple payback of 2.2 yrs

• Throw-off water savings, load reduction

Real-Life Example“Museum Customer”

• What did they learn?• Goals and Objectives must be clear• Poor data = poor decisions

• Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs)• They didn’t know their system, operation as well as they

thought• Subject Matter Experts (vendors, consultants) must be

well vetted• Funding, capital planning is essential

Common Mechanical System ECMs• Preventive Maintenance• Retro-commissioning (RCx)• Controls tuning/schedules• Thermostat programming• Variable frequency drives• Improved equipment efficiency (e.g. high efficiency boilers)• Capital planning / End of Life replacement• Behavior changes / education

Mechanical System ECMs

• What can I expect?• “[Operation & Maintenance] measures cost about 20 times less and achieve

roughly the same energy savings as energy efficiency upgrades”– U.S. DOE

• “Up to 50% more energy can be saved with proper installation, sizing, and maintenance of commercial central air conditioning and heat pumps”

– Consortium of Energy Efficiency• “Up to a 14% reduction in utility spend can be realized through RCx”

– NEBB• Cast iron / low efficiency boilers (60-80% efficient) replaced by high-efficiency

boilers (94-97%) can reduce utility costs by up to 65%

• End of life equipment can be at SEERs (Seasonal Efficiency Ratings) of close to 0. Replacing with any type of new equipment is an improvement!

Take-Aways

• Understand that sustainability must be integrated into their everyday business

• Take time to quantify their losses• Prioritize “low hanging fruit” and largest losses first• Enlist trusted advisors, internal and external, to their team• Create a long-term plan for investment• Review their progress at least annually

Questions & Comments

Common Pitfalls

• Sustainability efforts do NOT align with the corporate goals and objectives• Insufficient Executive Leadership buy-in• Unrealistic, unfounded expectations• Jumping on the Renewable Energy bandwagon without cause

• Solar, Wind, Geothermal

• Lack of system understanding• Trying to do too much, too fast• Not engaging the right people