Ramapo College of New Jersey || Ramapo College Institute of Environmental Studies (IES): Outreach Energy Audits

Ramapo College Institute of Environmental Studies (IES): Details of the Demonstration Audits

The Intensive Audits

Three intensive audits were undertaken of three diverse buildings associated with three diverse organizations. Follow these links for details.

Non-Profit Organization
Religious Organization
Library

The Outreach Audits

After completing 3 intensive audits, we visited several comparable sites (another library, three buildings at the site of another religious institution, and a non-profit organization housed in a former library) to share our analyses and to provide helpful energy recommendations from a site walk-through and an analysis of their energy bills. We found substantially the same issues and problems in these outreach sites, and made many of the same recommendations. See also Energy Audits Methods and Findings.

Non-Profit Organizations

Walk-through Audit
Non-Profit Organization
Mahwah, NJ
Winter 2008
Smart Energy Audit: Office (PDF)

Basic Building Data

Built 1940's as a library. Two-floor building, Stone walls covered with plasterboard, un-insulated roof, electric hot water heater, heat pump air conditioning upstairs recently added, gas-fired air conditioning downstairs with ductwork, upstairs and downstairs concrete floors with radiant heating pipes. Windows vary from single pane to double pane. Controls include single thermostat for radiant heating for both floors, and programmable thermostats for air conditioning. Heating thermostat set at 72. Building open as museum on Saturdays. Open erratically for exhibit work and meetings. Radon fan unit in basement corner closet. Recent leak around flashing on chimney. Several very cold closet areas. Computer upstairs with plug-in strip outlet. Computer downstairs with printer on. Large old refrigerator in basement, mostly empty. Access to attic roof over bathrooms. Not obvious where access to rest of attic is, but might be able to find by removing a ceiling tile and looking with a flashlight. Basement room quite a bit warmer than upstairs. Several EXIT signs are visible. Some have been recently replaced. Windows facing street partly covered with black material to provide more museum space. Franklin Avenue is to the east. The roof facing away from the police station is roughly south (within 20 degrees of true south) and is unobstructed except for a gigantic chimney. Building leased from the town of Mahwah. Building energy bills not readily available at the present time.

Results of Energy Audit - Possible Ways to Save Energy and Money

The following are some strategies that can save energy in the building. Each strategy needs to be evaluated in terms of cost and effort involved. Payback time for a given strategy can generally be determined once energy savings and the cost of the improvement are known. In some cases, payback times are roughly known, and a detailed calculation is not required, particularly if the investment is small. Payback time is simply the cost of the improvement divided by the dollar savings of the energy improvement per year.

A: The programmable thermostats should be set during the heating season to drop to 60 degrees F when the museum is closed, and to 68 degrees during hours of operation. In the warm weather, the thermostat should be set to 78 degrees F during museum occupied hours. HVAC units should be set to go on about 3 hours before the museum opens (because of the time delay of the radiant heating system), and go off about 3 hours before it closes. These times can be adjusted if needed. Compared to a constant 72 degrees (current operation), the above action can save around 8-10% of the heating and cooling energy. This is a no-and-low-cost option since some programmable thermostats are already installed. Installing a programmable thermostat for the heating system is definitely recommended. Payback will be much less than a year.

Supporting Information:
A Guide to Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling (2005),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/heat_cool/GUIDE_2COLOR.pdf, p. 12.

B: The electric hot water heater can be put on a timer to go on to coincide with museum hours of operation (provide a two hour lead time to make sure it's hot when the museum is used). The hot and cold pipes on the tank should be insulated. The electric tank should be wrapped with additional insulation. Thermostat setting should be no higher than 120 degrees F. Insulation savings for tank and pipes should be about 10%. Timer will provide additional savings, possibly quite large since hot water is used infrequently. These are relatively low-cost one-time actions. Payback will be less than a year.

C: The 2 inch U tube lighting in most of the building could also be more efficient if replaced by T8 or T5 fluorescent lights. We suggest getting an estimate from a lighting contractor that would include: 1. measuring existing foot candle levels on working surfaces to see if intensities could be lowered somewhat, and 2. providing estimates of cost and payback times for replacing existing fixtures with T8 and/or T5 fluorescent bulbs. The spotlights on the exhibits are incandescent and can be replaced with equivalent CF bulbs with reflectors using ¼ of the energy, a 75% reduction. My suggestion is to buy one and try it on an exhibit. There are at least 3 different colors (warm white, cool white, natural daylight) and various wattage bulbs. If you find it is acceptable, replace them all. Inefficient lighting not only increases power usage, but the waste heat generated increases air conditioning loads in the warmer weather.

Supporting Information:
Putting energy into profits: energy star guide for small businesses, (2007),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/small_business/sb_guidebook/smallbizguide.pdf, pp. 11 - 17.

Our website also lists NJ lighting contractors in the lighting section, General Findings, on our Audits page.

D: A major problem for the building is that it has in essence no insulation. The walls have sheetrock or plaster, most likely over a one-inch furring strip. If the walls are ever redone, 2" x 4" studs can be added with foam insulation. However, the walls are presently in good condition so this is not an immediate recommendation. The roof also has no insulation. This is more important since heat rises, and a major part of the heat loss for the building is through the roof. Part of the roof accessible by the bathrooms and can easily be accessed. There is likely another access place for the rest of the roof under the suspended ceiling tiles. It might even be easier to create an openable door in the west wall at roof height, using the existing materials so it will look exactly the same. Foamed-in-place insulation could be installed under the roof, with considerable energy savings for both heating and cooling. We suggest getting contractor estimates of costs and savings for this action.

At the same time you insulate, it would make sense to do a blower door test to look at air leakage in the building. A contractor looking at air leakage would do whatever caulking and weather-stripping was necessary at the same time. General recommendations for air exchange are that building have between 1/3 and ½ air changes per hour for healthy indoor air. This means that 1/3 to ½ of the entire volume of air in the building is exchanged with outside air each hour.

Supporting Information:
Putting energy into profits: energy star guide for small businesses, (2007),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/small_business/sb_guidebook/smallbizguide.pdf, pp. 8-9.

E: The exit signs should be replaced with LED lights and fixtures. Typical paybacks for this are 1-2 years depending on whether you are currently using incandescent or fluorescent lights.

Supporting Information:
Putting energy into profits: energy star guide for small businesses, (2007),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/small_business/sb_guidebook/smallbizguide.pdf, p. 5.

F: The almost south-facing roof has good solar access, and photovoltaic solar panels for electricity could be installed on part of the roof. Because the chimney is large and shades part of the roof at different times of the day, roof panels could likely be placed across the top of the roof, and across the bottom of the roof, and possible along the sides (making a rather unique border pattern). Shading on any part of the collectors between the hours of 9 to 3 reduces performance considerably, so a more detailed analysis would be needed. While initial costs for installation are high, there are many financial incentives such as subsidies and tax credits from NJ and from the Federal government that can reduce the payback time considerably. As a museum, you may be able to find grant money for this as well. These need to be looked at carefully to see whether they apply to your situation. Very roughly, a kilowatt of photovoltaics installed would cost about $8000 (without subsidies) and produce around 1500 kWh of electricity per year. Subsidies often reduce the cost to 1/3 to ½ of that amount, and bring the payback down to 8 to 10 years. However, I believe that all other items (except G) should be considered first since their payback times are likely to be a lot shorter. Photovoltaic contractors are generally happy to give you an estimate for free if you want to investigate this further. You would need your electricity bills for the year in order to make an informed choice as to size.

Supporting Information:
Our Links & More Information page contains information on solar vendors/installers in New Jersey and on government financial support for implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy.

G: Likewise, the roof has good solar access for solar hot water. However, given the minimal use of hot water in the library, this is not recommended at the present time.

H: The refrigerator is likely old and inefficient. Based on its usage (which seems to be almost negligible), you should unplug it now, and be replaced at the first opportunity with an Energy Star rated refrigerator. You might even consider getting one of those tiny dorm - sized refrigerators (be sure it's efficient, however).

I: General recommendations for computer use are that they be shut down fully when the organization's building is closed. This can simply be done by putting them on a power strip which is turned off when the building closes. Also, to avoid parasitic power use, computers can also be put in a "sleep" mode when not in use. Isolated printers can be put on a separate power strip or outlet, and turned on only when used. Generally, monitors and printers use the most energy. I noted a printer on in the downstairs office that was in parasitic mode. Computers not only use power, but they increase the air conditioning loads in the warm weather.

Supporting Information:
Putting energy into profits: energy star guide for small businesses, (2007),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/small_business/sb_guidebook/smallbizguide.pdf, pp. 21-22.

J: All single pane windows should be upgraded to double pane windows, reducing its heat loss by a factor of 2. If the window is not one that will be opened, a plexiglass second pane can be installed and sealed. A storm window provides a second pane, and if these are in good condition (sealable when closed), then no other effort is required. I noted one storm window that was damaged, and did not close properly. For single pane windows without storms, adding a storm window is possibly an option.

For the window in the front of the building with the black curtain in front of it, it is possible to put some pictures or advertising about the museum on them (which would be more attractive than it currently is), and then provide a temporary seal for the windows (using a material such as Reflectrix (aluminum foil on both sides of bubble wrap, available in Lowe's for example). Sealed Reflectrix will have an R value of about 4, and reduce heat losses and gains by a factor of 4 compared to the present situation. The cost is about 50 cents per square foot, and you will save at least twice that over the year (and every other year).

For windows that face east and west, thin films that reduce heat gain in summer can be added that do not affect appearance. However, if you cover the windows with the black curtain with interior insulation (also adding pictures or drawings to the window), you will reduce its solar gains. It is also likely that west solar gains will be blocked by the firehouse.

K: A major problem for the building heating system is that the heat upstairs and downstairs is not balanced properly. This is because the heating system circulates warm water in the radiant floors both upstairs and downstairs at the same time. The downstairs (which generally has less heat loss anyway) is heating at top and bottom, while upstairs is only heated by the floor. Meanwhile, the roof has no insulation so you can understand quite readily why it is unbalanced. The best solution would be to zone the upstairs and downstairs separately with separate thermostats. This would entail at least another thermostat, another pump and some control wiring. It is certainly recommended that you investigate this option, as it is the best solution. However, if you insulate the roof, you will have a lot less heat loss upstairs, and the existing heating system will run less often, and this will help to reduce temperatures downstairs compared to upstairs. Covering the front window (item J) will also have some effect, but it will not reduce the temperature downstairs very much, given the un-insulated roof

The cheapest way to save cooling energy is to increase thermostat settings (try 75 degrees rather than72). However, insulating the attic on the floor and then venting the attic, or possibly putting an attic fan in, will have a much greater impact.

Religious Organizations

Walk-Through Audit
Religious Institution
Winter 2008
Smart Energy Audit: House of Worship (PDF)

Three Separate Buildings:
A: Office, Hall, Kitchen, School - 1895 and 1965 and Footprints
B: Sanctuary, Attached Building - 1798, 1965(?)
C: Parsonage - 1879

All buildings heated with natural gas. No air conditioning used.

A: Office, Hall, Kitchen, School

Baseboard heating used; zoned with 4 programmable thermostats; demand heaters on thermostats by entry doors (fans turned on and heat transferred from hot pipes); attic is only partially insulated with 3 1/2 inch insulation; attic is easily accessible; attic entry is un-insulated and unsealed; walls in school section may be insulated but rest of building's walls are not; basement has leakage after large rain storms and has 2 sump pumps; heat source is 1973 American Standard gas-fired boiler with input power of 1,000,000 Btu/hr and output listed as 540,000 Btu/hr for a combustion efficiency of 54%; AO Smith 74 gallon 75 % efficient gas-fired hot water heater, jacket un-insulated, and pipes un-insulated; stone and concrete block basement perimeter, air leakage, basement ceiling un-insulated; pipes in basement un-insulated; school and office is in use 5 days a week; computers on power strips; hall has grated vents connected to a large fan and ductwork above the ceiling; no vestibules for entry doors; some airspaces noted around entry doors; some roof potential for solar electricity on south facing surfaces; relatively old and relatively new refrigerator in kitchen.

B: Sanctuary, Attached Building

Historic buildings; sanctuary has some insulation in the roof but none in walls; it is accessible through the ceiling; basement is un-insulated, ductwork is un-insulated; air leakage visible around doors; building is not in use often (Sunday services, choir practice); temperature controlled with a programmable thermostat, kept in the 50's when not in use; boiler in relatively good condition; gas-fired hot water heater, jacket not insulated and pipes not insulated; casement windows with storms in attached building in fair condition.

C: Parsonage

Two-story building with attic and basement; attic insulated; attic door insulated; attic fan for summer venting; no insulation in walls; no insulation in basement ceiling; basement fairly warm - all heating and hot water pipes are un-insulated; gas-fired boiler with 175,000 Btu/hr input and 140,000 Btu/hr output for an combustion efficiency of about 80%; gas-fired hot water heater, jacket un-insulated; old windows with storms; double hung windows are somewhat loose where the sashes meet; complaints of leakiness when is it windy

Results of Audit: Possibilities for Energy Savings
Office, Hall, Kitchen, School

A: The four programmable thermostats give good heating control of the building. Their settings should be checked and adjusted to maximize savings. The programmable thermostats should be set during the heating season to drop to 60°F when the building is unoccupied, and to 68° during hours of operation. The units can be set to go on about 2 hours before the building is occupied, and go off an hour before it closes. These times can be adjusted if needed. Compared to a constant 72°F, the above action can save around 8-10% of the heating and cooling energy. This is a no-cost option since the programmable thermostats are already installed.

Supporting Information:
A Guide to Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling (2005),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/heat_cool/GUIDE_2COLOR.pdf, p. 12.

B: The hot and cold pipes on the gas-fired hot water heater tank should be insulated. The tank should be wrapped with additional insulation, taking care not to interfere with the burner and necessary air flow. Thermostat setting should be no higher than 120°F. Insulation savings for tank and pipes should be about 10%. These are relatively low-cost one-time actions. In addition, the use of hot water in the building should be assessed. It would appear that the need for hot water is minimal (no one is showering, bathing, or washing clothes, etc.). Its major use appears to be for washing hands, and perhaps dishes when the kitchen is used. When the unit is replaced, consider downsizing it. An even better idea is to buy an instantaneous or on-demand gas water heater. This way, energy will only be used when hot water is used. There will be no standing losses. (See our Audits page, General Findings section, for information on instantaneous or on-demand heaters.)

C: The roof has several places where solar hot water collectors can be added.. However, given the minimal need for and use of hot water in the building, this is not recommended at the present time. Should the demand for hot water be 40 gallons or more per day, on most days, then the option of a solar hot water heater should be considered.

Supporting Information:
Our Links & More Information page contains information on solar vendors/installers in New Jersey.

D: Newer lighting fixtures and bulbs are quite a bit more efficient than older ones. In particular, T8 and T5 fixtures and bulbs are currently recommended for both new and retrofit lighting. We suggest getting an estimate from a lighting contractor that would include: 1. measuring existing foot candle levels on working surfaces and classrooms to see if intensities could be lowered somewhat, and 2. providing estimates of cost and payback times for replacing existing fixtures with T8 and/or T5 fluorescent bulbs. Inefficient lighting not only increases power usage, but the waste heat generated increases cooling problems in the warmer weather.

Supporting Information:
Putting energy into profits: energy star guide for small businesses, (2007),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/small_business/sb_guidebook/smallbizguide.pdf, pp. 11 - 17.
Our website also lists NJ lighting contractors in the lighting section, General Findings, on our Audits page.

E: A major problem for the building is that it is poorly insulated. Only part of the attic has 3 ½ fiberglass insulation; most of it is uninsulated. While the walls will be more expensive and difficult to insulate, the attic is readily accessible, and it is the place where heat loss is greatest. The best option is to use a foam-type insulation in the attic, sealing and insulating in one step. I would recommend replacing the inadequate existing insulation with foam insulation. This will also help to reduce air leakage from the occupied areas into the attic. Warm air leaking out the roof pulls in cold air at lower levels in the building.
In addition, the entry stairway to the attic is not weather-stripped or insulated. You can buy or make an insulated air-tight cover that fits above the stairs in the attic that can easily be removed for entry to the attic. You should also check related item L, the attic fan, which is also allowing warm air to escape.

Supporting Information:
Putting energy into profits: energy star guide for small businesses, (2007),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/small_business/sb_guidebook/smallbizguide.pdf, pp. 8 - 9.

F: While the actual efficiency of the American Standard gas-fired boiler was not measured, it has a listed efficiency of 54%. Its actual operating efficiency (AFUE - annual flue utilization efficiency) is likely 45% or less. This is a very old, large, and inefficient unit. If attic insulation is done along with replacing the unit, the size and cost of a new unit can be substantially reduced from the million Btu/hr input that is currently used. New gas-fired boiler units will typically be >90% efficient. With a doubled efficiency unit, you can cut your heating bill in half with a boiler half the size even if you do nothing else. Almost half of your heating bill for this building could be saved with a new boiler alone. In addition, ductwork and pipes in the basement should be insulated which also adds additional losses.

G: The existing exit signs should be replaced with LED lights and fixtures. While the wattage for exit signs appears small, they are on constantly and thus use considerable electricity over the year. According to EPA estimates, typical paybacks for this are 1-2 years depending on whether you are currently using incandescent or fluorescent lights, respectively.

Supporting Information:
Putting energy into profits: energy star guide for small businesses, (2007),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/small_business/sb_guidebook/smallbizguide.pdf, p. 5.

H: There are two operating refrigerators in the kitchen. One appears relatively new while the other appears to be quite old. The first consideration is whether you need two refrigerators. You may be able to eliminate one of them. The second is that old refrigerators are quite inefficient compared to newer ones, often using 5x or more electricity. If you decide you need two refrigerators, you should investigate the energy and dollar savings from a new model, replacing it at the first opportunity with an Energy Star-rated refrigerator.

I: General recommendations for computer use are that they be shut down fully when not in operation for long periods, such as overnight. The existing computer and peripherals were on a power strip which is the existing recommendation. Also, to avoid parasitic power use, computers can also be put in a "sleep" mode when not in use for shorter periods of time. Isolated printers can be put on a separate power strip, and turned on only when used. Monitors and printers use the bulk of computer-based power loads. Computers not only use electrical power, but they increase cooling loads in the warm weather.

Supporting Information:
Putting energy into profits: energy star guide for small businesses, (2007),
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/small_business/sb_guidebook/smallbizguide.pdf, pp. 21-22.

J: The existing roof appears to be in good condition. The orientation and angle of several sections of the roof facing south is excellent for a photovoltaic system for producing solar electricity. There are a few trees nearby so locating the collectors would have to be done carefully to avoid shading. While initial costs for installation are high, there are financial incentives such as subsidies and tax credits from NJ and from the federal government that can reduce the payback time considerably. Such financial incentives change over time, and need to be investigated thoroughly if you decide you want to consider this option. However, many of the other items listed should be considered first since their payback times are likely to be a lot shorter.

K: There are no vestibules for any of the entry areas for the building. If certain entrances are used much more than others, you could consider constructing a small additional entryway that serves as a vestibule. This would reduce or eliminate much of the use of the demand heaters that are above each door area.

When insulation to the attic is added, you should also check the building for air leakage and infiltration. Typical entry points include around doors and windows, and wherever pipes and wires enter the building. Caulking and weather-stripping these entry points are typically highly effective and cost-efficient. The attic entry stairs could be sealed and insulated. Several of the current entry doors could use some weather-stripping.

L: There is a huge exhaust fan in the attic that connects in two places through grated vents to the ceiling of the large room in the building. It appears that this exhaust fan opens directly to the outside air space. If that is the case, you are allowing warm air to directly vent out the building. That might also account for the much cooler temperatures in this room compared to the rest of the building. The vents need to be blocked in the wintertime. This should probably be done at the ceiling level. Sealed insulated boards should be mounted over the vent openings in the late fall, and removed in the spring. This could have a large impact on your heating bill for almost no cost.

M: The basement of the building is also uninsulated. There are also many air gaps in the stone foundation around the perimeter of the building. There is considerable heat loss from the rooms upstairs to the basement since heat conducts from warm to cold. The entire basement is accessible and can be insulated.

If the basement ceiling were insulated and sealed, controlled ventilation (a small fan operated by humidity levels) could work to keep humidity levels down. Professional advice on how to control moisture should be investigated before any work is done on basements.

Sanctuary, Attached Building

The following items from first building above also apply to this building. Items include A, B, G, M and O.

Because of its historic nature, there are limited visible modifications that can be done for this building. Because the building is not used extensively and the temperature is kept very low when not in use, making improvements in this building will have longer payback times than in the previous building. Based on simple degree day considerations, the building will use about 1/3 less heat over the heating season because of its temperature reduction. However, measures to reduce heat loss are still justified. There is also the potential for adding attic insulation in the sanctuary. Adding insulation to the ductwork in the basement is another such measure. Rethinking the operation of the hot water heater is another (an instantaneous hot water heater, for example).

Parsonage

This building is in reasonably good shape (for its age), with insulation in the attic and an efficient boiler. The hot water heater pipes and jacket should be insulated. The basement ceiling is accessible and could be insulated. Also all the pipes carrying heat in the basement should be insulated.

The windows have storm windows which appear in good condition. However, the sashes between the upper and lower windows are a little loose which allows some cold air entry. Temporary caulking can be placed over these cracks for the winter and removed in the warmer weather. It might also be useful to do a blower door test to find other places where air infiltration is a problem. These could include: the basement where the sill plate sits on the foundation, cracks around entry doors, cracks around any pipes or wires that enter the house, and any places where air can leak into the attic from below (especially around chimneys and plumbing pipes).

You can do your own blower door test by putting a sealed window fan in a window, closing up the house, and looking in each room for moving air (shut the door and feel around the bottom space for a draft). If you find a draft, search the room to see where it is coming from, and seal it with caulking or weather-stripping as appropriate.

Energy Analysis
Church

A total of 2053 therms at $2957 and 5693 kWh at $834 used.

Average Monthly Use of Electricity - warm weather season: 1379 kWh/5 = 276 kWh per month

Average Monthly Use of Electricity - heating season: 4314 kWh/7 = 616 kWh per month

Amount attributed to use of heating system <276> kWh x 7 months = 1932 kWh
4314 kWh - 1932 kWh = 2382 kWh x 0.14 cents = $333 to operate heating system

Heating System - natural gas is used only for heating and hot water.

Hot Water Use
Average use per month is 23 Therms / 4 =< 5.75> therms per month. At around at $1.44 per therm average, this is about $8.28 per month.

Heating Use
1984 therms associated with heating.

Calculation of Heat Loss Value, a number used to estimate the efficiency of the building envelope (insulation and air tightness).

H = energy use in Btu x efficiency of furnace
              heated floor area x degree days

H = (1984 therms x 105 Btu/therm)   x (0.7)   = 13.9   Btu/ft2/DD
                 (2000 ft2)* x    (5000 DD)

*2000 ft2 is an estimate of the size of the church; to correct, multiply by 2000/actual area in ft2

Interpretation: The larger the H value, the worse the envelope is. An H value of 2-3 is a very well insulated building; 6-7 is about average; > 10 is poor. The calculation verifies what is already visible; there is no insulation and there is a lot of air leakage in the building. The H value is probably underestimated since the building is kept at a low temperature most of the time. It is likely 1/3 higher (based on a DD adjustment). Its true H value is closer to 18.1, a value almost 3x greater than average.

The total cost of heating the building is about $2856 + $333 (gas + electricity) = $3189 per year.

Education Building
A total of 19,528 kWh at $2845 and a total of 5092 therms at $7094 used.

Average use of electricity = 19,528 kWh/12 = <1627> kWh per month or about $228 per month.

The electricity usage is fairly constant throughout the year. There is a slight drop-off in the summer, most likely due to school summer vacation, and also less use of lighting in the summer.

Use of natural gas for heating and hot water:

Hot Water Use
Average use per month is 115 Therms / 4 =< 28.8> therms per month. At around at $1.40 per therm average, this is about $40 per month.

Heating Use
4861 therms associated with heating.

H Value Calculation
H = (4861 therms x 105 Btu/therm) x (0.54) = 17.5 Btu/ft2/DD
(3000 ft2)* x (5000 DD)

*3000 ft2 is an estimate of the size of the education building; to correct, multiply by 3000/actual area in ft2.
This calculation again verifies what is already visible; there is little or no insulation in most parts of the building, and there is a lot of air leakage in the building. Correcting those to average values would reduce the heat loss to 1/3 of its present value.

The cost of heating the building is about $6614 (after subtracting the hot water bill).

Parsonage

Average use of electricity = 6,439 kWh/12 = <536> kWh per month or about $81 per month.

The electricity usage shows an increase in the winter months, most likely due to heat distribution and lighting. The use from November to April averages <603> kWh per month, while the summer average is <475> kWh per month.

Use of natural gas for heating and hot water.

Hot Water Use
A verage use per month is 77.6 Therms / 4 =< 19.4> therms per month. At around at $1.44 per therm average, this is about $28 per month.

Heating Use
1177 therms associated with heating.

H Value Calculation

H = (1177 therms x 105 Btu/therm) x (0.7) = 9.2 Btu/ft2/DD
(1800 ft2)* x (5000 DD)

*1800 ft2 is an estimate of the size of the heated floor area of the parsonage building; to correct, multiply by 1800/actual area in ft2.

This number again verifies what is visible; there is insulation in the attic and infiltration is reasonably controlled. Completing items listed in the energy audit (insulating basement and reducing air infiltration more) would likely bring this building down to an H of 6, or a 1/3 reduction in energy use.

Library

Walk-Through Audit
Library
Winter 2008
Smart Energy Audit: Library (PDF)

Building Data

Building built in 1914 and is on the Historical Register. Floor area is about 4800 ft2. Two-floor building has a partial sub-basement on one side. Radiator heat using natural gas boiler (modified from oil to use natural gas) with a input power rating of 560,000 Btu/hr. Air conditioning unit on roof 15-20 years old and air conditions top floor only. Upstairs has ceiling fans and a wall fan, generally not used since AC was installed. Attic is accessible from roof only. Flat roof on the north side houses air conditioning unit. There is no insulation in the walls or roof. There is one thermostat for heating and one for air conditioning (not programmable) for the entire building. These are kept at constant settings. Generally the building is too warm downstairs in the summer (no AC is available). Generally there are hotter and colder spots in the building in the winter (heating is uneven).

Electric water heater in sub-basement; it is not insulated. Exit signs old, not LED. Main lighting fixtures are old, using halogen bulbs. Fluorescent light fixtures downstairs are old. Windows are unusual in that they open by pushing out. They are all single glazed. They do not close well and have a great deal of air leakage. Downstairs public entrance has major air gaps around both sets of doors. Back entry door also has lots of leakage. Old small refrigerator (2.9 amps) in basement, set at maximum cold setting.

Upstairs has 6 computers, 4 internet-connected and 2 for cataloguing. Staff has internet-connected computers. There are 7 computers downstairs; one internet-connected. Most but not all computers are on strip outlets. There is a copying machine.

Monthly electricity and natural gas bills provided for 1 year. Analysis breaking energy and costs into heating, cooling, and building operation (lights, computers, etc.) done on separate sheet. Calculation of building heat loss value (H value of 15 Btu/ft2/DD) indicates a very inefficient building envelope.

Results of Audit: Possibilities for Energy Savings

A substantial reduction in heating and cooling energy may be obtained by replacing the two existing thermostats (one for heating and one for cooling) with programmable thermostats. The programmable thermostats should be set during the heating season to drop to 60 degrees F when the library is closed, and to 68 degrees during hours of operation. In the warm weather, the cooling thermostat should be set to 78 degrees F during library occupied hours and turned off when the building is not occupied. HVAC units should be set to go on about 2 hours before the library opens, and go off an hour before it closes. These times can be adjusted if needed. Compared to a constant 68-72 degrees (current operation), the above action can save around 8-10% of the heating, and an equivalent amount of cooling energy. This is a very low-cost option since the programmable thermostats are cheap, and once they are programmed properly, there would be no need to adjust them. The electric hot water heater can be put on a timer to go on to coincide with library hours of operation (provide a two hour lead time to make sure it's hot when the library opens). The hot and cold pipes on the tank should be insulated. The electric tank should be wrapped with additional insulation. Thermostat setting should be set to no higher than 120 degrees F. Insulation savings for tank and pipes should be about 10%. Timer will provide additional savings. These are relatively low-cost one-time actions.

Given the low need for hot water in the library, when the current hot water heater reaches its useful lifetime, you should consider getting an instantaneous or on-demand hot water heater, either electrically-powered or natural-gas fired. While solar hot water is generally a good idea for many buildings, your minimal use of hot water makes it not worth considering for this building.

The fluorescent lighting in the storage rooms downstairs is quite old and could be replaced by much more efficient T8 or T5 fluorescent light fixtures. We suggest getting an estimate from a lighting contractor that would include:

measuring existing foot-candle levels on working surfaces to see if intensities could be lowered somewhat, and
providing estimates of cost and payback times for replacing existing fixtures with T8 and/or T5 fluorescent bulb fixtures.

The main lighting fixtures for the building are also quite old and use very inefficient bulbs (halogens). They should be updated with more efficient bulbs, or possibly the fixtures themselves should be replaced.

Finally, there are incandescent lights in entry ways that should be replaced by fluorescent bulbs. Outside lights should be checked to see that the most efficient bulbs are used and they should be operated with a light-detecting control.
Our website lists NJ lighting contractors in the lighting section, General Findings, on our Audits page.

A major problem for the building is that it has no insulation. While it will be rather difficult to do anything about the walls, the roof is accessible and likely could be insulated. Because warm air rises, and pulls in cold air below, and the top floor ceiling collects hot air which conducts and leaks to the attic, the attic often contributes to major energy loss. Foamed-in-place insulation could be installed in the attic space on the floor, and the attic can then be vented, with considerable energy savings for both heating and cooling. Insulation will not affect the historic status of the building, or indeed be visible in any way. We suggest getting contractor estimates of costs and savings for this action.

The other main problem with the building envelope is excessive air infiltration throughout the building. For many buildings, air leakage can account for a third of the heat loss. In this building, it is probably even higher. Air leakage occurs from the windows when they are not tightly closed (a real problem with the window design), and from spaces around entry doors (there are very large spaces around most of the entry doors for the building). There may be other air leakage routes from the building into the attic that we were not able to observe, but could be sealed when foam insulation in installed in the attic area. Besides losing energy, excess infiltration causes drafts which causes the thermostat to be set higher than it should, which uses even more energy.

Attractive weather-stripping can be added around the entry doors without detracting from the building's historical nature. If the downstairs is air conditioned at some point, perhaps the windows should be sealed shut (without affecting appearance) to avoid air leakage year round.

Even with your enormous heat loss, the gas-fired boiler appears to be oversized for heating the building. Based on my heat loss value calculation (H = 15 Btu/ft2/DD), the building should be able to be heated at a design temperature of 0 degrees F with a boiler with an output of around 300,000 Btu/hr (the present boiler has a much larger rating). If energy efficiency measures are implemented for the thermal envelope, the present boiler will be even more oversized. An oversized boiler is like a car in heavy traffic; it starts and stops often, leading to inefficiency. If you decide to reduce energy loss by implementing any of the above suggestions, a smaller more efficient boiler should be considered as part of the package.

The single-glazed windows represent a major loss of energy, and you have a large number of windows on all sides. There is not an easy remedy for this problem without changing the windows (which itself is not easy or cheap). Should you decide to change the windows, you should get at least double glazed low-e windows with an R of 3.3. However, if you do not, there are solar control window films that can be added to the inside of the glass that claim to reduce heat loss by 30-80%, and also reduce solar gains in the summer. They are many types and some are not visible so that they would not change the building in any way. Particularly on the east and west windows, the film may have beneficial results for both heating and cooling. For the south side, solar control film would probably not be beneficial; the solar gains in the winter are beneficial, and south surfaces gain less in the summer compared to east and west surfaces. You also have some shading on the south so adding film on the south windows may not be effective. Obviously, the north windows will benefit very little from solar control film. If you decide you will keep the windows for a while, it may be worthwhile to investigate solar control film possibilities for east and west windows. A few web sources are listed below.

http://www.todaysfacilitymanager.com/tfm_07_04_sustainable.php
http://www.sunrayfilms.com/3M_C_Scotchtint.shtml
http://www.easternglass.com
http://www.apainintheglassinc.com

A quick calculation shows that 1 square feet of single pane glass will lose about 170,000 Btu over a 5000 DD (degree-day)heating season (at a heating efficiency of 70%). This is equivalent to 1.2 gallons of oil or 1.7 therms of natural gas, not including efficiency losses.

To control some of the unevenness of heating system, adjustable valves can be added on some radiators, especially where overheating is a problem. However, it might be best to deal with this after weather-stripping, insulating and sealing the building since these might cure the problem. If the lower floor continues to be too warm when the upper floor is comfortable, installing such valves on accessible radiators might be a relatively inexpensive way to increase comfort and produce some energy savings. Of course, the more obvious way to control the heating independently on both floors is to zone each floor with a separate thermostat and zone flow valve.

The existing air conditioning unit on the roof is relatively old (>15 years). Its efficiency is likely fairly low compared to today's cooling units, and we were told that the ductwork was not insulated. While we didn't go on the roof to examine the unit, it is probably time to consider its replacement. If that is not going to happen for a few years, it would make sense to insulate the ductwork before the coming cooling season starts. This should be a relatively low cost project. With attic insulation and control of air leakage, the building would use a lot less energy for both heating and cooling, so a new cooling unit should be carefully sized to supply both floors of the building. With improved efficiency for the building, and with an improved efficiency unit, the size of the unit for cooling both floors would likely be smaller than the current unit. Also, the ceiling fans which are still operational could be used together with the air conditioning. The air movement generated by the fans will allow the cooling thermostat temperature to be raised, thus saving additional energy.

While the front of the building faces south and the roof is tilted, making photovoltaic panels for electricity production a possibility, the nature of the roof and the fact that it is a historical building argue against such an option. There is also substantial shading on the roof from a large tree on the east side, and a tall building on the west side. While the flat roof to the north of the building was not examined closely, there may be an option for a relatively small PV system there. However, given the other more cost-effective energy options for the building, adding PV should be relatively close to the bottom of the list for now.

The exit signs should be replaced with LED lights and fixtures. While these lights may appear to take a small energy expenditure, they are on all the time, leading to relatively large yearly usage. Typical paybacks for replacing exit signs are 1-2 years depending on whether you are currently using incandescent or fluorescent lights.

The refrigerator in the storage area is quite old and inefficient. It appears to be set on the coldest setting, which likely causes it to run constantly, and there is practically nothing in it. A thermometer should be used to adjust the coldness setting to achieve a refrigerator temperature of around 40 degrees F. The current refrigerator, if it runs at 350 watts constantly as it appears it does, uses 250 kWh per month. At 15 cents per kWh, the operational cost is $450 a year. A new, larger Energy Star refrigerator from Sears costs about $400, uses 30 kWh a month, and will cost $54 a year to operate. Therefore, replacing the refrigerator has about a 1 year payback time. You could also consider getting a European or small "dorm room-size" Energy Star refrigerator that costs less and saves even more energy if that will meet your needs.

General recommendations for computer use are that they be shut down fully when the library is closed. This can simply be done by putting them on a power strip which is turned off when the library closes. It appears that most of the computers in the library are already operated this way. In addition, to avoid parasitic power use, computers can also be put in a "sleep" mode when not in use (this is an easy option that is chosen from the computer's Control Panel). Isolated printers can be put on a separate power strip, and turned on only when used and then shut off. Monitors and printers use the bulk of the electricity used by computer systems. Computers not only use power, but they increase the air conditioning loads in the warm weather.

Energy Analysis

Winter 2008

Energy Usage - Natural Gas - from May 2006 to April 2007 Total therms = 5295 at a cost of $4982
Natural gas is used entirely for heating.

Electric Usage from June 19, 2006 to June 14, 2007
Electricity is used to air condition the top floor of building, and to run lights, computers and appliances.

Month	kWh	Cost
Jun 19 to Jul 19, 2006	7209	$1201
Jul 19 to Aug 14	10143	$1616
Aug 14 to Sept 15	5688	$1017
Sept 15 to Oct 12	2682	$431
Oct 12 to Nov 14	2457	$321
Nov 14 to Dec 13	2376	$349
Dec 13 to Jan 18, 2007	3042	$414
Jan 18 to Feb 16	2718	$385
Feb 16 to Mar 15	2736	$359
Mar 15 to Apr 18	3141	$397
Apr 18 to May 15	1386	$226
May 15 to Jun 14	4581	$879

Determination of heat loss value for building H in Btu/ft2/DD (a measure of thermal envelope efficiency)

H = Energy x furnace efficiency = (5295 therms x 105 Btu/therm) x (0.7) = 15.4 Btu/ft2/DD
Heated Area x Degree Days (4800 ft2) x (5000 DD)

Interpretation: H of 2-3 is very good, 5 to 7 is average. A value of 15 indicates little or no insulation and/or substantial air infiltration. The heat loss characteristics of this building are very poor. The cost for heating the building is $4982.

Determination of average electricity use without air conditioning.
Sept 15 through Apr 18 data is taken to determine an average of 2742 kWh per month.

Determination of electricity and money used for air conditioning.
Four months from May 15 to Sept 15 are used as cooling months with an average of 6905 kWh per month. Subtracting the average off-summer usage per month gives 4163 kWh per month attributed to cooling. 4163/6905 = 0.6 or 60% of the electricity used over those months is due to cooling. So 0.6 x $4713 = $2827 is the total cost of running the air conditioning over the summer months. So you spend almost twice as much to heat the building as to air condition it. Note that the price of electricity rises from roughly 13.6 cents per kWh in the cooler weather to 16.7 cents per kWh in the summer due to summer peaking loads.

Energy Audits: Methods and Findings