Description

The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) partners with the commercial, industrial and government customers it serves to provide valuable guidance and advice on ways to use energy wisely to see immediate cost reduction and energy conservation. With a general walkthrough, NOVEC quickly identifies the areas where opportunities for savings exist. During the facility walkthrough, the simple, and often lowest-cost, opportunities are recorded and forwarded to the facility manager or operations person in charge. These opportunities may consist of identifying compressed air leaks; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration equipment requiring maintenance; key occupancy sensor locations such as storage areas and conference rooms; blocked heating/air conditioning vents; thermostat over-ride locations; and more. This type of facility audit is intended to provide a basic familiarity of the facility operations as they may affect energy usage. Sometimes a more comprehensive study is required to investigate the entire facility, especially when planning a long-term strategy for cost reduction and energy conservation. This requires a much more detailed analysis of the facility, operating conditions, equipment, staff, and investment. This level of detail is available for special projects as well, including equipment replacement scenarios, technological upgrades, detailed lighting studies, or even incorporating a generator into the facility plan. When this level of detail is required, NOVEC provides access to skilled and experienced professionals.