Nowadays, 42% of the energy generated (according to the US EIA) is consumed by the building sector, with the major consumers being the Residential, commercial, and manufacturing sectors.
As we see the energy consumption per capita figures for the US, we can see that in the 1990’s, ECPC is 11687.2 and in 2005, ECPC is 13635.7. The total population of US is 323.1 million, so it requires about 629696.70 more kWh to manage the present-day energy demand.
Commercialization immediately primes confrontation with increasing energy demand (Electricity and Fossil fuel), Increase the carbon footprint, impecunious air quality, and usability of virgin material, but our sustainable approach is in the direction of minimizing all the effect of commercialization.
As per EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) survey report, Total 472 E+9 metric tons CO2 had generated in the 2015 by electricity generation. One kW electricity has generated 800 gm of CO2 in the environment, and if we can approach to save only one kWh in our building, we can save 2 kW in the generation plant.
U S Department of Energy Efficiency adorns an intent that describes primary energy saving potential and retrofit potential. In the primary saving potential, target to save 4.4 E+15 BTU/Year and in the retrofit potential, target to save 12 E+15 BTU/Year up to 2030.
In the US for commercial building type, tax deduction of $1.80 per square foot is available to owner of new or existing buildings who placed (1) interior lighting; (2) building envelope, or (3) heating, cooling, ventilation, or hot water systems that reduce the building’s total energy and power cost by 50% or more in comparison to a building meeting minimum requirements set by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007.
Table 1 Details of Tax Deductions |
||||
| Keynotes | Statement under 179D Federal Tax Deduction Credit | |||
| Fully Qualifying Property | Partially Qualifying Property | |||
| Building Envelope (Includes Wall, Roof, and Glass) | Building Lighting Load (LPD) | Building HVAC Load (System, and Plant) | ||
| Saving Requirement | 50% Whole Building Energy and Cost Saving | 16.66 Energy and Cost Saving | 16.66 Energy and Cost Saving | 16.66 Energy and Cost Saving |
| Tax Deduction | Tax Deduction up to $1.80 Sq. ft. | Tax Deduction up to $0.60 Sq. ft. | Tax Deduction up to $0.60 Sq. ft. | Tax Deduction up to $0.60 Sq. ft. |
Install the efficient building envelope, lighting system, and HVAC system in the building, and then we get results in terms of reduced energy consumption. Let's take an example of an efficient lighting system. In the market, mainly four types of lighting fixtures are available, which are mentioned in Table 2.
Table 2 Comparison Lumens vs. Watts |
||||
| Lumens Level | 450 | 800 | 1100 | 1600 |
| Dimmer to Brighter | ||||
| Standard Incandescent | 40 W | 60 W | 75 W | 100 W |
| Halogen Incandescent | 29 W | 43 W | 53 W | 72 W |
| CFLs | 10 W | 13 W | 16 W | 20 W |
| LEDs | 5 W | 10 W | 15 W | 19 W |
To cater 1600 lumens requirement, we have four choices, and If we install LEDs in the space, total lighting energy consumption will be less as compare to other fixture along with better luminous efficacy, Life, color temperature, and color rendering. Payback year of efficient system will be 2-3 year.
In my earlier point I wrote about the energy cost savings and how we can implement them in an extensive manner to reduce the cost of million-dollar projects. This point is based on product quality and life cycle.
Most of the LED replacement lamps are rated to last 25,000 hours or more before they lose 30% of their initial light output. Correlatively, if we install a variable frequency drive HVAC system instead of a conservative HVAC system, we can save more maintenance costs.
Explore –