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Commercial Energy Savings Potential Estimated at $9 Billion/Year
New energy service companies (ESCOs) are forming in every region of the country. While energy-saving services have been provided by traditional energy service companies since the 1970's, new ESCOs are positioning themselves to provide electric and natural gas services, facilities and systems management, security, telecommunications and other value-added services designed to win new customers in a competitive environment. While these new services present significant additional profit and strategic opportunities, traditional core ESCO electricity reduction services alone still represent an unrealized $9 billion annual market potential in the commercial buildings sector. Energy reduction services are achieved through a balance of end-use (heating, lighting, etc.) conservation and energy management activities. MAISY State-Level Commercial Databases were used in a Jackson Associates study to develop 1997 estimates of the electricity-reduction market potential (excluding colleges and federal buildings). This study considered end-use energy use and end-use technologies currently in place in commercial buildings throughout the country and determined energy savings that could be achieved by retrofitting these buildings with more energy-efficient technologies and operating practices. Current energy expenditures are presented below detailed by end-use. The end-use distribution of expenditures shown in the pie chart illustrates the primary importance of lighting in determining electric bills. This distribution has changed somewhat in recent years as national and state ballast standards have replace old fluorescent lighting ballasts with higher efficiency ballasts. Additionally, electric space heating use has increased because of greater penetration in newer buildings.
End-use energy data, equipment and building detail and operating characteristics data for individual buildings in the MAISY Commercial State-Level databases were used to develop estimates of energy reduction potentials by end-use for each building-type. Energy-saving technologies were applied to each building only if paybacks were less than three years. The average payback for all energy reduction activities was less than 2 years. The two charts below show the potential for end-use energy reduction in billions of dollars. Lighting accounts for almost half of all potential energy savings. Most of these savings come from high-efficiency lamp and ballast replacement, often with paybacks of less than one year. Reflectors and lighting controls provide slightly longer paybacks. HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) savings account for most of the remaining energy savings. HVAC energy savings come from a combination of high efficiency equipment, conservation technologies such as economizers which draw on outside air to air condition when weather conditions permit and from control technologies. Some air conditioning and ventilation savings are an indirect effect of the reduction of lighting loads and the accompanying waste heat. A variety of energy-savings technologies are applied in the remaining end-uses.
These results and the nature of the energy services have several implications for evolving energy markets:
(c) 1997 -1998, Jerry Jackson Associates, Ltd. All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes as long as this copyright notice is included. |
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