Are you Ready?

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Make it a better year by making it a better world. For many, we begin a new year with resolutions to create change, to reach new goals, and to establish new ways of life.

This year, resolve to create lasting change in the world by adopting a resolution focused on reducing energy usage. From your home or workplace, to your community- we challenge you to get ready to deal with your energy consumption. For the sake of the year, but also for the sake of all the years to come.

Quick & Easy Tips for the Home

  • Use energy-efficient LED light bulbs in your fixtures to use 75% less energy than with regular incandescent bulbs.

  • Clean or replace air filters as recommended, typically every 3-6 months. Already the biggest energy users in the home, your air conditioner and heater have to work harder with dirty air filters.

  • Run full loads in both the dishwasher and the washing machine to realize the most energy savings from the cycle.

  • Set your thermostats back when you leave your home so your heating equipment is not unnecessarily used. This will keep your energy costs low, and reduce the operating time for your equipment.

  • Turn off and unplug your devices when not used. Devices like TVs, computers, and printers all use electricity even when they turned off and are plugged into the wall.

Energy Conservation in the Community

In communities across the country, The Sierra Club is building local grassroots power to achieve 100% clean energy for all. Ready For 100 is a national movement with a vision of resilient and healthy communities powered by 100% clean, renewable energy. The Ready for 100 program works with cities and towns to achieve an equitable and just transition to 100% clean, renewable energy for all. Learn More at www.sierraclub.org/take-action.

Get Ready

  • Energy benchmarking is a great way to establish your starting point. Benchmarking established a metric for measuring performance. It compares the performance of your building to a standard or comparable building. Benchmarking identifies your opportunities for improvement and provides a baseline for comparison in the future.

  • Energy audits are a more detailed evaluation of your building that identify specific projects to improve the building’s energy performance. Energy audits study the operations, inventories the primary energy-using equipment, evaluates existing equipment, and assesses potential savings and financial returns.

Implementing Energy Savings in the Workplace through Building Tune-Up

The City of Philadelphia recently implemented regulations pertaining to the Building Energy Performance Policy. The goal of the policy is to increase tenant comfort while decreasing energy costs and carbon emissions. The City anticipates implementation of the policy will reduce annual carbon pollution by nearly 200,000 metric tons.

The policy focuses on improving building performance by identifying non-capital improvements to the operations and maintenance of existing systems. This approach can be used by any building owner to decrease energy costs while maintaining comfort. The tool is a Building Tune-Up. An assessment of existing base building systems and corrective actions to bring the systems up to a state of good repair.

Elements of the Tune-Up

  • Billing analysis

  • Assessment of elements: HVAC operations and controls, lighting system assessment, building system maintenance and repairs, domestic hot water and water usage, building envelope

  • Determination and implementation of corrective actions

  • Post-implementation assessment

  • Final tune-up report

Team Members named Tune-Up Specialists

The City’s newly implemented Building Energy Performance Policy (BEEP) requires a “tune-up specialist” lead all tune-up assessments and sign-off on all tune-up reports submitted to the City’s Office of Sustainability (OOS). Tune-up Specialists must meet certain requirements as set forth by the OOS.

Our team of approved tune-up specialists:

  • Paul Spiegel, PE, LEED AP, Director, Energy and Sustainability Services

  • Benjamin Pressman, PE BESM, Project Mechanical Engineer

  • Lindsey Walaski, LEED AP, CEM, Project Mechanical Engineer