Tricks Of The Trade: Curtailing Energy Costs

By James C. Elledge, IFMA Fellow, CFM, FMA, RPA, RIAQM
Published in the February 2007 issue of Today’s Facility Manager

Q Where can I find information (including anticipated savings) onusing setback thermostats and computer controlled software for heatingand a/c?

Leon Rodenbach
Facilities Manager
East Penn Financial
Emmaus, PA

A Skyrocketing energy costs are making more companies review theirenergy usage. To address this issue, you should visit the Energy StarTools and Resources page. This site offers tools, financial software, fact sheets, and publications to help organizations save on energy costs.

Next, check out the EPA’s Energy Star O&M Reports. These are useful reviews of best practices for energy efficiency. Online training resources are also available.

You can also speak with your HVAC contractor or manufacturer to findout what particular products and options are applicable to yourfacility. [For more on this topic, see “Reducing Costs And IncreasingComfort,” by Heidi Schwartz, April 2005.]

Elledge,facility/office services manager for Dallas, TX-based Summit AllianceCompanies, is the recipient of the Distinguished Author Award from theInternational Facility Management Association (IFMA), is an IFMA Fellow, and isa member of TFM’sEditorial Advisory Board. All questions have been submitted via the “Ask TheExpert” portion of the magazine’s Web site. To pose a question, visit this link.