Energy Trust of Oregon and Commercial Strategic Energy Management: A Catalyst for Accelerating Customer Energy Savings

摘要

What does the cutting edge of commercial energy efficiency look like? Businesses andrninstitutions in Oregon are finding out through collaboration with Energy Trust of Oregonrn(Energy Trust) and each other to comprehensively advance their energy management practices.rnEnergy Trust’s Strategic Energy Management, SEM Cohort, helps participants build arnfoundation for and culture of continuous energy improvement, moving them down the pathwayrnof comprehensive energy management. SEM Cohort participants represent customer segmentsrnincluding health care; city, state and federal government; retail; public assembly; and office realrnestate. With broader sustainability efforts underway, many participating organizations arernlooking to do more with energy management. SEM Cohort provides training, technicalrnconsultation and incentives for operational savings. Participants commit to:rn1.Identifying an Executive Sponsor and Champion to guide the organization and lead itsrnEnergy Team.rn2.Developing an organization-wide Energy Management effort, including an EnergyrnManagement Policy and a comprehensive SEM plan.rn3.Participating in workshops and assessments addressing important energy managementrntopics and technical energy opportunities.rn4.Tracking building energy use, performance, and savings on an ongoing basis.rn5.Participating in peer-to-peer networking and support.rnThis paper describes the approach, participant progress and challenges, and results todate.rnWith two-plus years of operational experience, SEM Cohort participants are generallyrnrealizing first-year energy savings of 5 to 15% across their portfolios by optimizing buildingrnsystems performance, influencing employee and occupant behavior and accelerating investmentsrnin capital improvements. The SEM Cohort savings represented 10% of Energy Trust’s ExistingrnBuildings program electric savings and 22% of gas savings for 2013.