Energy Solutions for All Organizations
Companies face strict cost reduction targets and, increasingly, an exposure to energy price and supply that they did not have to manage a decade ago. Energy consumption is a widely recognized and largely untapped route to both. The day-to-day focus on core activities means the opportunities are usually visible only to someone whose job it is to look for them.
Real estate asset managers need strategies and implementation plans that optimize return, protect asset value and reduce operating cost, increasingly under disclosure rules that make energy performance a reported number rather than an internal one.
In every case, an independent adviser with real knowledge of the assets and the institutions is what delivers the result on time and on budget.
Related Frequently Asked Questions
Although the basic common function of an ESCO contract is to fund a new installation without drawing from the organization's resources, there are many variants: shared-savings, energy performance contract, energy supply contract, managed energy service agreement, etc… Even within each model, small changes in the deal structuring can have a substantial impact on the way they are accounted in the organization’s financial statements. Our experts can help you to define which model is most suitable for you and select ESCO companies that can deliver on those models.
The answer to this question has become in recent years a clearer and louder “yes”. It all depends, however, on multiple variables: size of the installation, location, current electricity structure, possibility of net metering, financing horizon, etc… EC&D performs custom-made analysis with the latest simulation software, taking into account all these points into consideration. Once the solution has been defined, we can assist the client in performing a procurement process to ensure that the most competent and economical offers are selected.
Despite the large number of professionals in the field of “energy efficiency” with the highest technical and ethical standards, a few actors wielding exaggerated or even plain deceptive claims have given a bad name to “energy efficiency” in some cases.
The assistance of an expert engineer on the client’s side is a small price to pay in projects where the performance of the company is at stake.
The case of chillers, for example, is one where the recent evolution of technology and controls has allowed for energy savings in excess of 40% compared to inefficient and poorly controlled technologies. These projects, however, require extreme care in the development and execution to ensure those savings are realized.
This and similar questions are frequently asked by tenants to their landlords, who in turn ask their facility managers. Unfortunately, in many cases, these questions remain unsolved for years.
EC&D has performed troubleshooting and M&E systems analysis in hundreds of buildings and the answer to these questions usually lies in a defective construction (by design or error), incorrect operation of the equipment or a combination of both.
As the answer to those problems requires a correction in the facility, it usually allows for the development of a solution that achieves superior energy performance, resulting not only in a resolution of the problem, but also a financial gain.
Financial planners of both private and public entities face permanent constraints in the availability of budget for capital expenditures. This means that the allocation process is heavily contested, with projects competing to provide the best value for the shareholders or citizens. This situation is usually evident in the status of lower-priority infrastructure such as the mechanical and electrical components of buildings.
Alternative financing models provided by either financial institutions or directly by Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) allow asset owners to renovate their buildings, using the reduced operational expenditures (typically from energy consumption) to pay for the renovation in off-balance sheet models. Although accounting regulation has become increasingly strict in such schemes, there are still financing structures that allow for it. EC&D can support asset owners to identify and develop agreements both with financial institutions and ESCOs that provide these services to ensure an optimum impact while minimizing risks.
There are multiple aspects that affect the environmental impact of a building across its lifetime stages of design/construction, operation and refurbishment. These include energy and water consumption, waste generation, building construction practices, harmful gases management, etc.
During the operation phase, a special focus is placed on resource utilization and O&M practices, as the most cost-effective improvements are usually identified in these areas.
EC&D’s personnel has a wealth of experience in the analysis and optimization of energy and water consumption resources as well as other O&M practices, including:
⦁ Development and field testing of Carbon Due Diligence standards for Real Estate companies.
⦁ Energy audits according to EN 16247 standard.
⦁ Minimum performance standards for building design and equipment.
