Enhanced automation allows
Macanan Investments to track energy
use and demand for each tenant.
CASE STUDY
SUMMARY
The Comerica building
was retrofitted with
energy-efficient lighting
and an enhanced energy
information system.
Participant:
Macanan Investments
Building Type:
Large office building
Site Size:
213,500 ft
2
/
700 occupants
Project Cost:
$358,000
Project Incentives:
$78,539
Primary Benefit:
Access to energy and
demand data
A success story from the
CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION
Enhanced Automation Case Study 3
HVAC & Lighting Controls /Office Building
T
he arrival of the California energy crisis found Macanan
Investments, the owner of the Comerica building, and their
tenants, already concerned about rising energy costs and rolling
blackouts. Through a California Energy Commission program,
Macanan Investments was able to enhance the building’s lighting
controls and energy information system. These measures helped
reduce energy use by an average of 34 percent during the 2001
peak demand period compared to the previous year, while
maintaining tenant comfort.
pg_0002
At the time the California
energy crisis hit its peak,
Macanan Investments,
the property management
company that developed and owns the
Comerica building, had already become
concerned about rising energy costs and
rolling blackouts. Their concerns were
legitimate: In the summer of 2001, the
building’s electricity rate went up by 41.6
percent. The reliability of the region’s
electricity supply had also become a
consideration, given the number of
rolling blackouts occurring throughout
the State. In May of 2001, the reliability
issue hit home when the Comerica
building experienced a rolling blackout.
Macanan Investments decided to participate in a California Energy Commission
program that offered funding for the installation of enhanced automation
technologies that would reduce the building’s energy use and enable the building
to quickly curtail load during an emergency shortage. They participated in the
program through Global Energy Partners (GEP), an administrator of the California Energy
Commission funds. Together, GEP and the building owner developed a project that added
wireless controls to the building’s dimmable lighting system and enhanced the capabilities of
their energy information system (EIS). In addition to decreasing energy costs and providing
technical benefits, these enhancements enabled the building owner to save additional money
by participating in a utility rebate program.
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Rising electricity
costs
Unpredictable
energy supply
State-of-the-art
efficient lighting
Enhanced energy
information system
Because of our new
metering capability,
we have greater under-
standing of and control
over our energy costs,
and are able to more
effectively manage our
budgets.”
“
With this one project, we have
increased building value and
accomplished a desirable social
objective. Very satisfying.”
“
These enhancements are saving us and
our tenants money and have raised our
awareness about the importance of
energy management.”
“
The above graph illustrates the reduction in electricity
usage (kilowatt-hours) achieved by reducing lighting
levels and increasing temperature set points in the
Comerica building during the peak demand months of
2000 and 2001.
Comerica Building Energy Use
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
11,000
12,000
13,000
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
2000
2001
John Buchanan
General Partner
Macanan Investments
pg_0003
The building system enhancements helped reduce energy use in 2001 by an
average of 34 percent during the peak demand period (June – September)
compared to the previous year. The new EIS, which has enabled the owner to
closely monitor and adjust their energy use, has contributed significantly to
these savings. Because the building’s utility interval meter was connected to the Internet, the
owner can now, from a password-protected Web site, access energy use (kWh) and demand
(kW) data in 15-minute increments at any time. The building owner can therefore factor
tenants’ energy demand and time of use into their rental charges.
The building’s new wireless lighting control devices can be activated remotely in less than a
half an hour by paging signals that are initiated from a Web site. This technology, along with
the new EIS, allows the building owner to participate in demand-responsive programs that
offer per-kW incentives for peak load reductions during electricity shortages. A test of this
system resulted in the successful curtailment of 65kW of peak demand.
One of Macanan Investments’ goals for the project was to participate in Pacific Gas and Electric
Company’s 20/20 Rebate Program, in which customers who reduced their 2000 summer peak
period electricity use levels by at least 20 percent during the
2001 summer peak period received a rebate of 20 percent off
their monthly electricity bill. By reducing lighting levels and
monitoring the associated demand reductions, the owners
achieved a 20 percent reduction for four consecutive months,
resulting in an incentive payment of $14,539.
Lower energy
demand and costs
Ability to benefit
from incentive
programs
Flexible, enhanced
lighting system
Increased building
value
BENEFITS
PROJECT SITE DESCRIPTION
Location:
San Jose, California
Size:
213,500 ft
2
Space Function:
Office space
Number of Occupants:
700
Building Owner:
Macanan Investments
Site Contact :
Sue Cam
Property Manager
Energy Usage
Peak Demand :
650 kW
Curtailable Demand :
65 kW
Equipment Installed
T-8 lamps
Dimmable ballasts
Lighting control panels
Internet gateway
Project Cost
$358,000
Project Incentives
$78,539
pg_0004
Technical Information
M
acanan Investments’ enhanced
automation project involved con-
necting the building’s dimmable lighting
ballasts to wireless, pager-activated
control devices. On each floor, the ballasts
are connected via a low-voltage loop to a
control panel that has three relays. Each
relay corresponds to a lighting setting—
the first operates the lights at 82 percent
of normal output, the second at 72 percent, and the third at 62 percent. The 62 percent
level was intended for use during emergency curtailment situations only, but owners found
they could operate lights at this level during peak afternoon hours without disrupting
occupancy comfort. During the remainder of the day, the first two settings are used and at
night the lights are swept off. The lighting system now never needs to operate at 100 percent
capacity; and because the building has recently been retrofitted with a high efficiency T-8
lighting system, the light output remains at or near pre-retrofit levels.
On each floor, the light levels are programmed and connected to a time-clock system. A
dedicated relay is connected to the wireless load control devices so that the lighting system
can be powered down quickly from the Internet during an emergency electricity shortage.
Building operators can also schedule the regular operation of lighting and HVAC equipment
over the Internet from a password protected Web site at www.energy1st.com. The building’s
Trimax energy management system (EMS), which had been in place prior to the project,
is used to turn on/off lights on each floor according to tenant operating hours. It is also
used to control the thermostats that dictate the operation of the building’s HVAC system.
To achieve even greater savings during peak demand months, building operators raised
thermostats via the EMS to increase the temperature of the HVAC system’s chilled-water
supply by six degrees.
Macanan Investments further improved the efficiency of their building by adding a more
sophisticated energy information system (EIS). The utility meter is now connected to an
Internet gateway that collects meter pulses and translates the pulses into demand data.
This demand data is available in near-real time from the Web site at www.energy1st.com.
It is also available the next day in the form of statistics, charts, and graphs from a
password-protected Web site maintained by Infotility, Inc., at www.power-pact.com.
ESC Engineering Services, of Half Moon Bay, CA, worked closely with the building
manager to incorporate these capabilities and use them to track the impacts of energy
efficiency measures.
Schematic of Comerica Building System
Facility
Operator
Lighting
Controls
HVAC
Controls
Meter Data
Internet
Energy
Management
System
TAKING THE NEXT STEP
Free resources are available from the
California Energy Commission.
Business Case Guidebook
Technical Options Guidebook
Contractor and Vendor Lists
Technical Assistance
Case Studies
Alameda County
HVAC Controls/
Government Facility
Hewlett-Packard
Company
HVAC and Lighting Controls/
Office Campus
Foothill-De Anza
Community Colleges
HVAC and Lighting Controls/
College Campuses
Staples, Inc.
HVAC and Lighting Controls/
Retail Chain
Doubletree Hotel
Sacramento
HVAC and Lighting Controls/
Hotel and Convention Center
Contact us for free materials or for
further information:
1-866-732-5591
enhancedautomation@xenergy.com
www.ConsumerEnergyCenter.org/
enhancedautomation
Additional Resources
California Energy
Commission
www.energy.ca.gov/
peakload/index.html
Cash for Kilowatts Web site
www.energy.ca.gov/peakload/cash_
kilowatts.html
(also for 50-200 kW demand)
Your local utility
www.sdge.com/business/drp.html
www.pge.com/003_save_energy/
003b_bus/index .shtml
www.sce.com/sc3/002_save_
energy/002i_load_redn/default.htm
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