PNNL

Commercial buildings account for almost 20% of the total U.S. energy consumption, and 10-30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted because of improper and inefficient operations.

While sophisticated energy management and control systems are used in large commercial buildings to manage heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems and components, many buildings are not properly commissioned, operated, or maintained. This lack of proper operation and maintenance leads to inefficiencies, reduced lifetime of equipment, and—ultimately—higher energy costs.

Our researchers have developed a Building Re-Tuning™ approach to detect energy savings opportunities and implement improvements. To put this methodology into practice, we offer resources for both large (>100,000 sq. ft.) and small (<100,000 sq. ft.) buildings as well as an online interactive training curriculum. The training provides building operators and managers, as well as energy service providers, with the necessary skills to identify and correct no- and low-cost operational problems that plague commercial buildings.

PNNL has provided building re-tuning classroom instruction and field training to more than 300 building operators, engineers, and energy managers from more than 30 organizations.