Planning and Implementing Utility Cost

Reduction Measures
NCTCOG
August 28, 2019
Presented By: Saleem Khan, P.E.

(Texas Energy Engineering Services, Inc.)

1301 S. Capital of Texas Hwy., Suite B-325
Austin, Texas 78746
www.teesi.com
(512) 328-2533
Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Planning for Energy & Water

Conservation Projects
 Initial Planning and Research
Goals
Resource Allocation and Project Execution
Scheduling/timeline
Funding
Project Delivery Method &Procurement (Goods and
services)
 Pros & Cons
Implementation
Post implementation follow-up

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Objective
Cost Savings
Measures that save $
Example(s): Power Factor Correction, Utility Rates,
Purchase Power Agreements (PPA)
Consumption & Cost Savings
Electric (kWh), Natural Gas (MCF), Water (kGal), etc.
Example(s): LED Lighting Retrofit, low flow plumbing
fixtures
Demand & Cost Savings
Electric Demand (kW) & electricity billing savings
Example(s): Thermal Energy Storage, Demand
Response Technologies, Onsite generation

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Energy Audit Types

Preliminary Energy Analysis
 Initial Energy Audit or Survey
 Walkthrough Survey/Assessment
 Preliminary Energy Assessment (PEA)

Detailed Energy Analysis (DEA)

 Comprehensive Energy Analysis (CEA)
 Investment Grade Audit (IGA)
 Utility Assessment Report (UAR)

ASHRAE categories:
 Level I, Level II and Level III

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Energy Consumption Breakdown

Buildings
Lighting
K-12 Schools* Lighting
Office Building**
24%
Refrig. 18%
2%
Cooking Refrig.
2% 3% HVAC
HVAC 54%
Misc. Cooking
4% 62% 0%
Plug Loads Misc.
4% 9%
Water Plug Loads
8% Water
Heating
Heating
8%
2%
** DOE EIA 2003 CBECS - Offices in West South Central Region (TX, OK, AR, LA)
* DOE EIA 2003 CBECS - K-12 Schools in West South Central Region (TX, OK, AR, LA)

Water & Wastewater Treatment Plants

 WWTPs could account for up to 70% of a Local Government’s
energy related consumption and costs

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Typical Measures and Paybacks

Building Systems
Low Cost/No Cost Measures 0 to 6 months
Interior & Exterior Lighting Retrofit 2.5 to 10 years
Motion Sensors & Day-lighting 2 to 8 years
HVAC Retrofits 7 to 25 years
Insulation 8 years +
Commissioning 1.5 to 5 years
Water Conservation 4 to 8 years
Solar Thermal Pool Heating 12 to 14 years
Solar PV Arrays 15 to 25 years

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Typical Measures and Paybacks

Building Systems (cont.)
Cooling Tower Replacement 8 to 14 years
VAV Conversion 6 to 14 years
Thermal Storage 12 to 20 + years
Energy Management Control Systems 4 to 12 years
Solar Control (Window film, shading) 6 years +
Steam Systems Improvements 3 years +
Power Factor Improvements 3 to 8 years

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Low Cost / No Cost Measures

Behavioral and operational practices

Utilization of existing controls capabilities
Maintenance & Operations (M&O)

Payback: 0 – 6 months

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Maintenance and Operations

Malfunctioning Photocells
Pipe Insulation Damage

Damaged Fins
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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Maintenance and Operations (cont.)

Cooling Tower
Leaking Cooling Tower Blowing Down

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Maintenance and Operations (cont.)

Vending Machines Unoccupied Room with

Running 24/7 Lights and Computers Left On

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Maintenance and Operations (cont.)

Equipment In “Hand” Mode

EMS Screenshots – AHU VFD Hunting

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

LED Lighting Retrofits

Typical 2x4 fixtures with florescent lamps
Type A – “Plug & Play” LED tubes
 Utilize existing fixture and electronic ballast

Type B – Ballast Bypass LED tubes

 Remove bypass, “direct-wire”

Type C – Dedicated Driver & LED lamps

 Replace existing ballast with LED driver

Fixture Changeout

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

HVAC Retrofits
Forecasting replacements vs replace on burnout
Split-DX, Rooftop Units, Chillers, Boilers, etc.
Payback Considerations
First cost vs operating cost
 Efficiency (EER, SEER, COP, etc.)
 HVAC Unit replacements
 R-22 phase out

Construction considerations
Roofing, structural, etc.

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Commissioning (Cx)
Operate per design intent & energy savings
New Construction, Renovation, or Retro-
Commissioning (RCx)
Existing Continuous Commissioning ®(CC®)
Energy savings & comfort improvement
Calculate savings, implement CC® and document
Payback: 1 – 5 years (typical)

® Trademark Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL)

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Commissioning (cont.)
Secondary ChW Pump VFD 350
ChW Load
100

300
Avg. Daily VFD Spd (%)

80

Avg. ChW Load (Tons)

60 250

40 200
Pre-CC
Pre-CC Post-CC
20 Post-CC 150 Pre-CC Trend
Pre-CC Trend Post-CC Trend
Post-CC Trend
0 100
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Avg. Daily OAT (°F) Avg. Daily OAT (°F)

100
AHU-1 VFD Speed

80
Avg. Daily VFD Spd (%)

60

40
AHU-1 Pre-CC
20 AHU-1 Post-CC
Pre-CC Trend
Post-CC Trend
0
40 50 60 70 80
Avg. Daily OAT (°F)

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Domestic Water Conservation

Low flow faucet aerators and flush valves reduce
the amount of water used in lavatories, urinals,
and toilets
Faucet aerators – 0.5 GPM (gallons per minute)
flush valves – 0.5-1.0 GPF (gallons per flush)
Irrigation systems upgrades
Payback: 3 – 8 years

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Solar Thermal Pool Heating

Pool water can be heated by pumping the water
through a solar tube array.
Traditional method of heating (Boiler) will be back-up
Payback: 12 – 14 years

Solar Thermal Pool Heating

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Solar PV Arrays
On-site energy generation using solar photo-
voltaic array systems reduce peak demand and
curtail total energy consumption.
Site suitability

Site Solar Survey

Payback: 15 – 25 years

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Thermal Energy Storage

HVAC Application
Two popular systems
Water based
Ice based
Full Storage & Partial Storage
No chiller running during on-peak time (Full
load shift)
Some chiller running during on-peak time
(Partial load shift)

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Power Factor Improvements

$ Savings (Utility rate w/ power factor penalty)
Installation of capacitors bank at main service
entrance or end use equipment (motors etc.)
Payback: 3 – 10 years

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Typical Measures and Paybacks

Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)
WWTP Related O&M Measures 0 to 1 year
Dissolved Oxygen Control 2 to 7 years
High Efficiency Blowers 8 to 12 years
Variable Speed Drives 8 to 15 years
Optimize Aeration Design 5 to 10 years
Power Factor Improvements 3 to 8 years
Smart Meter Applications 5 to 8 years
City Mains Leak Sensing Technology 1 to 6 years
WWTP Demand Response *
*Dependent on existing load profile and
capital used for automation
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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Survey Plant
Benchmarking WWTP plants
Energy use tied permitting requirement
Identification & process power use
May have one or multiple meters similar to
buildings

Utility Meter Mapping

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Wastewater Plant - Coarse Bubble to

Fine Bubble Aeration Conversion

Coarse Bubble Aeration

Fine Bubble Aeration

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Bubble Types

Fine Bubble Coarse Bubble

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

High Efficiency Turbo Blowers

High Efficiency, variable speed turbo blowers
with integral VFD and air bearings
Typical blower system efficiency = 55% (approx.)
Turbo blower system efficiency = 75% (approx.)
Control system to vary aerator airflow to
maintain dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration at
optimal value
System upgrade (blower, VFD, fine bubble, DO
sensor ) for best results
Payback: 8 – 12 years

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Wastewater Treatment –
Control Dissolved Oxygen
TCEQ Criteria : 2.0 mg/l of D.O.

Process Requirements : 0.5 – 1.0 mg/l

General Statement:
“Anything over 1.0 mg/l is wasting power”

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Advanced Infrastructure Upgrades (Water)

Water Leak Detection

City wide distribution piping mains

Automated Meter Reading (AMR)

Reduces “Unaccounted for” water loss

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Funding
State Energy Conservation Office (SECO)
Texas LoanSTAR Program (low interest revolving loan)
Funding source for energy & water conservation
projects
Notice of Loan Fund Availability (NOLFA)
https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/seco/funding/
Texas Water Development Board
http://www.twdb.texas.gov/
US Department of Agriculture
https://www.usda.gov/
Other
Bond, M&O, Third-party, ESPC etc.

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

SECO Resources
SECO – Local Government & Schools Energy
Technical Assistance Program
 Cities, Counties, K-12 & Colleges
 https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/seco/programs/local/
 https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/seco/programs/schools/

SECO - LoanSTAR Program

 Funding open to all public entities
 https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/seco/funding/loanstar/

Texas Building Energy Code

 https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/seco/code/

SECO Website
 https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/seco/

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Case Study – New Braunfels Utilities

Cost & Savings Summary for Identified UCRMs

(Preliminary Energy Analysis i.e. PEA by SECO. WWTP Measures: Coarse to Fine
Bubble Diffusion, Install WWTP Dissolved Oxygen Sensors, Install High Efficiency
Variable Speed Turbo Blowers, City-Wide 5/8” Water Meter Changeout)

Approximately 75-80% water meter changeout completed

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Case Study – City of San Marcos

Implementation (SECO LoanSTAR Funding)

Project Costs: $1,981,037

Annual Savings: $221,567
Simple Payback: 8.9 years

( Project Delivery – Traditional Design Bid & Build.

Lighting Retrofit w/Motion Sensors, HVAC Replacement, Controls
Upgrades/Retrofits, Solar Thermal Heating, Water Conservation
Measures, WWTP – replace blower & automate aeration airflow)

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Case Study – DFW

City of Dallas (2014-2018)
Energy Project Costs: $17,400,000 (approx.)
Annual Savings: $2,300,000
Simple Payback: 7.6 years
*The City has completed several ESPC projects SECO LoanSTAR funded

City of Fort Worth (2003 -2013)

Energy Project Costs: $67,547,559
Annual Savings: $5,939,183
Simple Payback: 11.4 years
* Approx. $10 Million of projects funded through SECO LoanSTAR
program, ESPC project

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Case Study – City of Laredo

Preliminary Energy Assessment (2017)
Project Costs: $7,500,000
Annual Savings: $1,776,200
Simple Payback: 4.2 years

Detailed Energy Assessment (2019) &

Implementation* (SECO LoanSTAR Funding)
Project Costs: $1,033,588
Annual Savings: $159,420
Simple Payback: 6.5 years

* Traditional Design-Bid-Build - High Service Pump VFDs & Power Factor Correction.
Currently in implementation phase

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Utility Cost Reduction Measures

Questions?

Saleem Khan, P.E., CxA

TEESI Engineering
saleem@teesi.com
512-328-2533
www.teesi.com

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