O&M Best Practices for Energy Efficiency

  • calendar Wednesday, April 9, 2025
  • back-in-time 1 PM – 5 PM Eastern
  • quality Earn a certificate of completion, 4 AIA LUs, and keep handouts and a recording for future review.
  • document Course Price: $395 EMA member, $495 non-member
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Operations & Maintenance is the front line of Energy Efficiency. That’s why we created this course for ambitious building personnel looking for tools to improve energy efficiency and systems performance. Our certified and experienced instructor will walk you through the basics of energy management strategies, including evaluating energy bills, establishing building energy baselines and other performance metrics, developing facility benchmarks, low cost/no cost techniques for improving efficiency and performance, code compliance and more. Join us to benefit your facility!

Course Content

  • Introduction: An overview of the topics to be covered in the series.
  • An Audit of Audits: What are the types of audits that are typically performed in facilities (ASHRAE 1-3, investment grade, building or system-specific etc.). What type of audit is appropriate for what purpose, desired outcomes?
  • Planning Energy Audits: Provides a checklist for pre-audit activities and considerations.
  • Energy Audit Scope/Methodology: The EMP 7-phase methodology is introduced. (Participants are provided with PDF of 246-page EMA Guideline.)
  • Development of Audit Plan: Includes introduction of ASHRAE Standard 211 with emphasis on the Level 2 audit requirements relevant to incentive requirements.
  • Standardized Industry Practices/Minimum Reporting Requirements: Material is presented from ASHRAE 211, EMA Guideline references and other applicable guidance.
  • Discussion of ECMs and FIMs: Provides context in the desired outcomes and key differences in ECMs and FIMs.
  • Sample Audit Exercises: Relates to pre-event materials distributed to participants.
  • Preparation of Audit Report: Samples reports are explained; recommended best practices are provided.
  • Facility Manager Challenges: Understanding the building and its occupants.
  • What is AI: Introduction to AI and its involvement with building management.

  • Introduction: Elements of effective facility documentation and tracking energy use. Units of measurement kWH, therms, gallons, etc. Discussion of metrics, degree days, metering, submetering (including BTU and smart metering).
  • Gathering Data: Monthly bills, supplier contract info. Discuss Portfolio Manager and its uses
  • Organizing Data: By building, operating entity, department, etc. Discuss submetering, BAS trend logs, dataloggers, other means of stratifying consumption data, interval data.
  • Energy Balance: Demonstrate the four-part process for calculating.
  • Energy Baseline: Develop a baseline against which estimated energy consumption can be measured going forward. Baseline metrics (boundaries, year, fuel source, units of output, etc.)
  • Discussion of Influences on Energy Consumption: weather, occupancy patters, seasonal activities, behavioral, etc.
  • Energy Use Intensity: Introduce formula, sample calculations, EUI uses
  • Principles of Energy Benchmarking: What is energy benchmarking? Tools and resources, developing a benchmarking plan. The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS).

  • Introduction: Site assessment / investigation techniques – key data collection techniques; visual observations, measurements, trend logs, etc. Introduction of relevant principles of Facility Condition Assessment.
  • BAS-related Strategies: No Cost / Low Cost strategies for energy savings – examination of common control strategies, sequences, adjustments, BAS tips
  • Mechanical Part 1: Energy opportunities – common opportunities associated with building envelopes, lighting systems, filters, and domestic hot water systems
  • Mechanical Part 2: Energy opportunities – common opportunities associated with boilers, steam systems, and heating water systems
  • Mechanical Part 3: Energy opportunities – common opportunities associated with refrigeration & cooling systems (chillers, DX and CHW / CW distribution)
  • Mechanical Part 4: Energy opportunities – common opportunities associated with various HVAC terminal distribution systems (AHUs, various terminal units, etc.)
  • Office Part 1: Energy opportunities printers, copiers, fax machines, scanners, and multifunction devices
  • Office 2: Energy opportunities behavioral techniques featuring providing occupants with awareness, feedback, and actionable insight on their own energy usage.
  • Procurement: Overview of energy procurement with emphasis on auditing skills.
  • Facility Condition Index: Overview of this benchmark and how it supports asset management planning.
  • Asset Maintenance Metrics: Overview of important metrics such as: Mean time between failures, Mean time to repair, Cost of asset maintenance, plus more.
  • Intro to commissioning:  Types of commissioning: Cx, RCx and MBCx and benefits
  • Introduction to Monitoring Based Commissiong (MBCx): Standard definition, other uses (fault detection, predictive maintenance, etc.), applications (enterprise wide, campus, single location, etc.)
  • Basic MBCx principles: baseline, analysis, actions, etc.
  • Case studies
  • Implementing MBCx
  • Using MBCx to ensure a persistence of energy savings and prevent building drift.
  • Introduction to how AI can support improvements in building Management &
    Operation:     AI and Space Optimization, AI and data-driven decision-making, addressing alarm fatigue
  • Introduction: This webinar establishes how to evaluate and calculate various measures that are revealed by the audit work. It provides a basis for the decision-making that goes into creating a retrofit plan for the facility. Participants receive advance materials and sample problems relating to the concepts covered.
  • Evaluating energy opportunities (various measures): Calculating energy and cost savings, examination of payback and ROI. The examples used will be to the extent possible designed to incorporate actual conditions derived from the pre-event survey submitted by participants.
  • Ranking and Prioritizing Various Energy Savings Measures: Participants will learn methods of creating criteria for rank and prioritization. Issues such as owner goals, regulatory compliance, leveraging incentives, system lifetime expectations, etc. will be discussed.
  • Establishing the Project Evaluation Criteria: Building on the material in the previous section, candidates will learn how to consider the information collectively and make key recommendations regarding their facility.
  • Preparing the Report of Findings/Recommendations: Putting it all together. Sample reports will be presented and explained. Participants will be challenged to make the hard decisions that result in their recommendations and provide a rationale for same.
  • Strategies for Ensuring a Persistence of Savings: The concept of “drift” is discussed. Measures that can prevent drift covered including, Ongoing Cx programs, monitoring strategies (sub-metering, trends, MBCx, etc.), and preventative / predictive maintenance
  • AI & Facility Management: Brief Explanation: AI and Predictive Maintenance,        Predictive building management 

  • Q&A (time permitting)

You may be eligible for a cash rebate: This course is preapproved for incentives provided by the following utility companies to contractors and building operation personnel who operate in Maryland. Eligible participants will receive a cash rebate of up to 100% of enrollment costs per course from BG&E, Pepco (MD), Delmarva Power and SMECO, and up to 80% from Potomac Edison. For more information and to download the incentive application, follow the links below.

Need Help? Unsure how to navigate reimbursement?
Email: info@energymgmt.org
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Virtual O&M Training Attendee 2024

“The benefits of energy conservation and ECMs to save on utility costs were very beneficial to me. ”

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Who Should Attend?

Previous attendees include representatives from:
  • Baltimore County Public Schools
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • Montgomery College
  • Exelon Generation
  • City of Rockville
  • Montgomery County Public Schools
  • Bernstein Management Corporation
  • Howard Community College
  • Maritime Institute of Technologies
  • Mechanical Testing
  • Prince George County Public Schools

About Your Instructor

Al LaPera CxA, EMP

Kimley Horn Associates

With 48 years of professional experience, Al has worked on a broad range of building types, including educational, healthcare, and commercial facilities. He is well versed in the design and analysis of HVAC systems and providing engineering services, including planning, analysis and construction observation from project inception through construction administration. Al’s engineering expertise focuses on systems commissioning, energy analysis and energy auditing. Many of Al’s projects have attained LEED certification with his expertise and assistance during design or commissioning. Al was one of first mechanical to become a Living Building Challenge Ambassador, serving to educate clients and partners on the merits of this building rating system. Al is a dedicated mentor, helping young engineers with practical knowledge. His years of experience combined with hands-on knowledge of how systems should operate make Al a valuable team member.