Control of VFDs at UMass Dartmouth results in over $150,000 in annual energy savings
The Problem
UMass Dartmouth completed a large and expensive campus-wide ESCO performance contract but lacked the ability to quantify the cost of savings that were not achieved or being maintained. The University also had no quick and efficient way to evaluate millions of building automation system (BAS) data points and thousands of alarms.
Solutions & Opportunities
AEI obtained 5-minute utility interval data from Eversource and applied the AEI software analytics to benchmark the UMass Dartmouth energy use and help the University better understand its demand charges and identify peak demand mitigation opportunities.
We reviewed the available JCI Metasys BAS data and used our analytics and visualizations to quantify efficiency opportunities, including a better O&M approach to seven VFDs that were operating at 100%. Through proper control of the VFDs, the result was the discovery of over $150,000 in annual energy savings.
AEI also determined that some of the recently installed steam meters were not operational, resulting in a long opportunity to identify no-cost/low-cost situations that could conservatively amount to an additional $190,000 in annual savings.
Building on this rapid and inexpensive survey with immediate victories for the facilities staff, UMass Dartmouth now has a baseline to support an ongoing continuous commissioning process where new savings opportunities are discovered while existing savings are maintained.
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