What are the steps to implement an energy management approach?
Implementing the energy renovation of a real estate portfolio requires effective management. An energy manager can guide the steps to establish an energy management approach. What are these steps, and how can an energy management specialist assist you?
The Different Steps to Implement an Energy Management Approach
Europe has made a number of decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from public services as well as the tertiary sector.
Here are the 4 essential steps to ensure the energy renovation of a building and achieve the objectives of the Tertiary Decree:
- Energy Audit: This assessment is necessary to determine how to improve the energy performance of the company. An energy audit involves diagnosing the energy consumption of your tertiary buildings. This analysis helps prioritize actions to be implemented and uncover existing energy savings opportunities.
- Defining an Action Plan: The recommendations provided serve as a roadmap to effectively reduce the company’s energy consumption.
- Monitoring the Actions Taken: Leading, ensuring, and measuring the impact of the changes made is crucial. An energy manager or flow manager provides this support for change by working with those involved in the building’s operations. Additionally, an energy monitoring tool helps track the energy savings achieved.
- Knowledge Transfer: Training the teams so they understand best practices and can sustainably monitor the building’s performance guarantees the long-term success of the actions.
Thus, energy management is the key to successfully driving your energy renovation.
What actions can be taken to improve the energy performance of buildings?
Actions to achieve tertiary energy savings should be determined through energy audits or targeted diagnostics. These assessments help identify areas for improvement. Here are some suggestions for the types of changes that can enhance energy performance:
- Improve lighting: Use energy-efficient bulbs or invest in automatic systems to turn off lights at set times.
- Carry out renovation work, such as thermal insulation of buildings: Poor insulation is often a major cause of energy loss. These renovations may include the roof or walls of the building.
- Optimize or replace HVAC equipment (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning): These systems are responsible for 50% of a building’s energy consumption. Switching to a more efficient heating system and water heating production can be beneficial. Installing renewable energy-based systems is cost-effective in the medium and long term. Additionally, a mechanical ventilation system (VMC) helps standardize the temperature and air circulation within the building.
- Change opening systems if necessary: Install automatic-closing doors or double or triple-glazed windows.