A Review of 20 Common Problems Found During Energy Audits.

As we meet with customers and inspect their facilities to identify opportunities for energy and cost reduction, we often find one or more common problems. The best opportunities for saving energy usually involve small changes in operation or maintenance and cost little money to implement.

Lighting

1. Inadequate control — many lights are left on, sometimes for reasons as simple as there is no easy-access light switch.

2. Incandescent lights — incandescent lights use significantly more energy, generate more waste heat and burn out faster than fluorescent options.

3. Incandescent exit signs — many exit signs use two 20-Watt incandescent lamps. They operate 24-hours per day, 7-days per week. LED exit signs use less than 1 Watt and can last 25 years without lamp replacement.

4. Time clocks for outdoor lighting not set right — over time, time clocks can lose track of time or on mechanical models, the setting pins may loosen causing the lights to stay on continuously or operate at the wrong time.

Equipment

5. Left on — the simplest way to save energy is turn something off.

6. Computers don't use power management — most computers include power management settings that allow the computer to reduce energy usage when it is not being used. Screen savers may protect the monitor but they don't save energy. Turn the monitor off when not in use.

7. Water heater set point — if hot water is used for hand washing only, set the water heater to 105 degrees F or 110 degrees F.

8. Hot water leaks — leaking faucets and stuck open valves pour money down the drain.

HVAC

9. Runs after hours — if your facility doesn't operate 24/7, maybe your heating and cooling system shouldn't either. Programmable thermostats can help.

10. Thermostat tampering/frequent adjustment — reducing the setting on a thermostat does not help the system cool a room quicker. In all likelihood, the low setting will be forgotten until the next morning when heat will be needed to melt the ice inside.

11. Filter maintenance — filters on heating and cooling systems should be inspected and replaced frequently. A dirty filter is bad for indoor air quality, causes the fan to use more energy and can result in dirty coils that are more difficult and expensive to clean than simply changing the filter.

12. Duct leaks — If conditioned air leaks out of the duct, it's not going where it needs to. If outside air is drawn into return ductwork, you pay more to condition the air.

13. Outdoor unit obstructed — keep bushes, debris, and materials away from outdoor units — they need room to breathe. Fire ants are also drawn to these units and their dirt mounds can clog coils.

14. Multiple systems "fight" each other — many buildings are conditioned by more than one system. Adjust thermostats and controls to avoid having one unit heating the space while another tries to cool it. How many offices use electric space heaters during the summer?

15. Thermostat influenced by other things — thermostats are supposed to sense room temperature and control the heating and cooling system to provide comfort. If the thermostat is near an outside door, under a fan, near a hot machine, or hidden behind a plant or coat rack, it won't sense the true room temperature.

Building

16. Inadequate insulation — while houses are now built with more insulation, commercial building construction has not kept pace. Adding insulation above a ceiling, in an attic, or insulating process equipment is inexpensive and can produce a good return on investment.

17. Disturbed insulation — many buildings have fiberglass batt insulation above the lay-in ceiling. Over time, as service technicians work on equipment or install new systems like phone lines or network cables, the insulation is shifted aside and can't do the job.

18. Gaps, inadequate weather-stripping — Loading dock doors often lack door seals or seals that reduce infiltration when a truck is at the dock.

19. Holes, gaps, cracks — You wouldn't put up with holes in the walls of your house, yet many commercial buildings have lots of openings around doors, windows, where pipes and conduits pass through walls, and where the walls meet the floor slab.

20. Doors left open — sometimes it can't be helped — you prop the door open so the deliveryman can bring in a load of boxes. But what about the overhead door that has to be raised each time you throw a box into the compactor or the door closer that doesn't always completely shut the door?