Facility managers who completed energy efficiency upgrades in 2024 may be wondering how those upgrades will affect their facility’s performance in 2025. Measuring a building’s energy performance is tricky for multiple reasons, not the the least of which is that ambient weather conditions are always changing.

DEGREE DAYS

To mitigate the problem of ever-changing weather conditions, building scientists use degree days.

Degree days are a specialist kind of weather data, calculated from readings of outside air temperature. They are used extensively in calculations relating to building energy consumption. Heating degree days give an indication of the energy consumption required for heating (in cold weather); cooling degree days give an indication of the energy consumption required for cooling (in hot weather) (BizEE Software 2024, Degree Days - An Introduction).

For a deeper dive into the calculation and applicaiton of degree days, I recommend BizEE Software’s Degree Days - An Introduction) and the National Weather Service’s What Are Heating and Cooling Degree Days and BizEE Software’s Degree Days – An Introduction.

BUILDING ENERGY PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Once energy managers understand their facility’s energy performance, the next step is to evaluate savings opportunities and and operating risk. 5 offers a Whole Health Energy Plan appropriate for one or multiple facilities. This service is tailored to intricacies of each portfolio and typically considers:

• Site evaluation and selection
• Construction services
• Operational planning and monitoring
• Customized procurement and ongoing product management
• Demand response participation at the utility and/or ISO levels
• Power factor correction, coincident peak management, load optimization, load resource programs
• Renewable energy procurement, onsite solar, utility-scale solar, renewable retail contracts, RECs, PPAs, VPPAs, carbon offsets, decarbonization, wind energy, Green Hydrogen, and ESG master planning
• Resiliency plans with a diverse set of options, including distributed generation, microgrids, battery storage, fuel cells, CHP, and more

Zac Coventry specializes in energy portfolio management for large loads. He helps data center operators, energy managers, and private equity investors minimize CapEx and operational costs through supply chain management, energy brokerage, and strategic advising.

For a private consultation, please contact me.