Case Study

SMUD Customer Service Center Building
Retro-Commissioning Project, Sacramento

Enovity recently completed the retro-commissioning (RCx) evaluation of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Customer Service Center (CSC) building, in April 2006. The CSC is a 167,000 square foot office building located in Sacramento, California. The objectives of this project were to a) verify and document that the building equipment and systems are working according to the desired sequences of operation; b) improve space comfort, indoor air quality and increase tenant satisfaction; c) reduce energy usage through tune-up activities, control system adjustments, sequence optimization and fixing system deficiencies; and d) satisfy the LEED-EB prerequisite for Existing Building Commissioning. The building systems and equipment that were included in the retro-commissioning were: the air-side HVAC systems (air handling units and VAV boxes), the Siemens Apogee BAS (DDC system), lighting systems and controls, and the domestic water systems. The RCx activities that were performed included reviewing building documentation, conducting interviews with building management and O&M staff, equipment assessments and inspections, spot measurements and sensor accuracy checks, functional performance tests, and analyzing stand-alone and BAS/EMCS trends.

The results of the evaluation were 13 recommended no-cost, low cost energy-efficiency measures resulting in an annual energy savings of 206,290 kWh and 3,500 therms and an approximate utility cost savings of $21,070 per year, approximately 9.4% of total. The estimated cost for the site to self-perform the implementation of these measures is $8,400 or less, resulting in an overall simple payback of less than 6 months.  Enovity also identified three higher cost energy efficiency measures and 14 recommended measures aimed at improving the operations and maintenance of the building and/or the environmental and aesthetic conditions of the building. Enovity may provide assistance in the implementation of the measures, which includes reviewing the sequence of operation programming changes made by SMUD O&M staff, providing training to the SMUD O&M staff, and performing post implementation M&V and system review. Recommended energy efficiency RCx measures included: