“Where is the Waste? An Introduction to Auditing Community Energy Use,” from the Energy Center of Wisconsin

-by Michael Wysolmerski, Summer intern from Yale

michael.wysolmerski@ctlcv.org

The Energy Center of Wisconsin’s (ECW) June 30^th webinar “Where is the Waste? An Introduction to Auditing Community Energy Use,” fleshed out the energy use baseline and resource baseline portions of the Center’s six step community energy planning process: forming the vision and goals, the energy use baseline, the resource baseline, the evaluation of alternatives, the plan and timeline, and the measure of success. ECW’s Senior Project Manager Ingrid Kelley and Project Manager Sean Weitner started the program by briefly discussing the vision and goals portion of the planning process. The idealized vision represents a concept or dream, such as improving the quality of life, protecting the environment, creating green jobs, or achieving energy independence. The goal makes the vision real, and in order to obtain a goal, one must obtain baseline data and establish a timeline.

Sean provided an overview of the audit process—what he called “the hard-data part of the project.” The audit provides historic energy use data necessary to establish a reliable energy use baseline. The auditor collects energy data, such as utility bills, electricity use, water use and outdoor lighting, from the area under study. In order to standardize the data, all measurements are converted to Btu’s (British Thermal Units). Data should be collected for multiple years to see how buildings perform over time. Sean pointed out energy intensive buildings, which use the most energy per square foot, as potential starting blocks for saving energy.

After an energy use baseline is established, the town must determine the availability of renewable energy resources, or the resource baseline. As Ingrid noted, all renewable energy sources are not viable in every area. Establishing the resource baseline thus requires analysis of conditions such as wind sources and flat roofs for solar panels.

Sean and Ingrid provided an example, using the fictional town of Cheeseburg, Wisconsin. The town, a typical Midwestern community of 40,000, wishes to reduce energy consumption by 15% by 2020. The town’s plan combines private and municipal buildings, including schools. Sean laid out a variety of potential energy saving techniques. For example, putting a pool cover on the community pool could save up to 60% on heating costs. LED stoplights would save lighting costs. For the town vehicle fleet, more fuel-efficient cars would certainly help, but other techniques, such as installing technology to regulate parking meters, could fully eliminate a vehicle from the fleet.

Though Cheeseburg represents a Midwestern community, the techniques suggested also apply here in Connecticut. By performing an audit process, establishing goals, and attacking the most energy inefficient areas of our towns, we can go a long way towards reducing our energy consumption. Once we combine energy efficiency with renewable energy, we will achieve clean energy.

Click here to view the full presentation.