Transcript Slide 1
BOMA International
®
Foundations of
Real Estate Management
Module 3: Building Operations I
Electrical Distribution
®
Objectives
Describe voltage, resistance, current, and
electrical power, and tell the unit of
measurement for each
Describe the three levels of power used in
a typical commercial building
Trace the flow of electricity through a
typical commercial building
List at least ten practices to control or
reduce electricity costs at a typical
commercial building
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
2
Electricity
What is electricity?
The flow of electrons moving at the
speed of light (186,282 miles per
second) from one point to another
along a conductor.
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
3
Typical Conductors
Copper
Aluminum
Both are used for electrical
wiring and components
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
4
You Can’t See Electricity Moving
Think of it like water moving in a pipe
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
5
Electricity Terms
Volts
Watts
Amps
Ohms
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
6
Voltage
Measured in volts
Think of voltage as pressure
Electrons do not want to move from Point
A to Point B – so volts push the electrons
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
7
Voltage
Increasing water pressure increases the
amount of water that is delivered
Increasing voltage increases the amount
of current that is delivered
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
8
Resistance
Measured in ohms
Think of resistance as size of
the pipe
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
9
Resistance
Increasing the size of the pipe increases
the amount of water that is delivered
Increasing the wire size (less resistance)
increases the amount of current
that is delivered
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
10
Current
Measured in amperes (amps)
Think of current as flow rate
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
11
Current
Increasing the pressure or the size of the
pipeline increases the amount of
water that is delivered
Increasing the pressure (volts) or the wire size
(fewer ohms) increases the amount
of current that is delivered
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
12
Watts
Electrical power measured in watts
Watts = Voltage x Current
Watts = Volts x Amps
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
13
It’s Easy to Remember
Think about West VirginiA
Watts = Volts x Amps
W=VxA
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
14
Measuring Electricity
Kilowatts (Kw)
1,000 watts
Kilowatt Hours (Kw/h)
1,000 watts x 1 hour
Megawatt
1 million watts (1,000 kilowatts)
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
15
Load
Load is the electricity use
of a building
(or a portfolio of buildings)
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
16
Understanding Your Electric Bill
Interval meter
Measures electricity use every
15 minutes
Allows for time-of-use billing
Peak
Semi-peak
Off-peak
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
17
Understanding Your Electric Bill
Demand
Amount of electricity flowing to a meter at a
point in time (measures in Kw/h)
Peak Demand
Highest period of energy use in a given year
Usually occurs in hottest months of summer
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
18
Supply/Demand Mis-Match
• Brownouts
• Blackouts
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
19
Understanding Your Electric Bill
Billing Period
3 Components
Supply charge
Distribution charge
Taxes, fees, and tariffs
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
20
Understanding Your Electric Bill
Comparing bill to last month or last year
Without accounting for degree days, it’s not
accurate
Degree Days: mathematical equation to
normalize temperatures from one period to
another (NOAA)
Uses the mean temperature of each day
Measures number of degrees below 65o F
(heating degree days) or above 65o F (cooling
degree days)
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
21
Load Profile Graphs
Graphs interval meter data from the
utility (15 minute increments) and
graphs it
Easier to spot issues and improve
efficiency
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
22
Putting It Into Practice
Work with your instructor to complete
the exercise in your text book
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
23
Load Profile Graphs
1
3
2
4
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
24
Utility Companies
Regulated
Deregulated
Purchasing power in a deregulated
environment is tricky
Use a consultant
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
25
Controlling Electricity Costs
Use daylight whenever possible
Optimize BAS (BMS) system
Use free cooling when possible
Reduce weekend hours
Install occupancy sensors
Retrofit (or re-retrofit) lighting fixtures
Reward team members for energy savings
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
26
Controlling Electricity Costs
If you cannot measure it, you
cannot manage it!
You must have a measurement system in
place to keep track of utility expenses
Simple changes to building operations save
$$$
Never stop making improvements to your
energy strategy!
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
27
Controlling Electricity Costs
It’s a sequential approach…
ROI
Focus on Sizing,
Operations and Control
Tune up
Lighting
Load
Fan & Motor
Plant
Reductions Systems
Upgrades
Time
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
28
Energy Star®
Number of Buildings
The EPA rating system
overlays a 1 to 100
scale over national
census data, which
gives relative meaning
to energy use
1
Highest
Benchmark Rating
25
Building Energy Use
50 75
100
Lowest
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
29
BOMA BEEP®
Education Series (Webinars)
Introduction to Energy Performance
How to Benchmark Energy Performance
Energy Efficient Audit Concepts & Economic
Benefits
No- and Low-Cost Operational Adjustments
to Improve Energy Performance
Valuing Energy Enhancement Projects and
Financial Returns
Building an Energy Awareness Program
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
30
Electricity in Your Building
Direct Current (DC)
Batteries
Alternating Current (AC)
Most power in a commercial
building
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
31
Electricity in Your Building
Control voltage (Typically 24v DC)
Telephone system, fire alarm system,
security system, BAS/BMS/EMS, etc.
Low voltage (Typically 120/208v AC)
Receptacles (120v AC) and copiers/large
equipment (208v AC)
High voltage (Typically 277/480v AC)
Lighting and large mechanical equipment
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
32
Electricity in Your Building
Transformer
Step-down transformer
Step-up transformer
Steps up/down to/from
High voltage
Low voltage
Control voltage
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
33
Electricity in Your Building
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
34
Electricity in Your Building
Electrical Switchgear
Photo Courtesy of PM101
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
35
Electricity in Your Building
Electrical Switchgear
(cover removed)
Photo Courtesy of PM101
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
36
Electricity in Your Building
Electrical meters
Tenant meters
Public service meters
Submeters
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
37
Electricity in Your Building
Electrical Meter
Photo Courtesy of PM101
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
38
Electricity in Your Building
Electrical risers
Bus ducts
Cables
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
39
Electricity in Your Building
Electrical Bus Riser
Photo Courtesy of PM101
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
40
Electricity in Your Building
Electrical Panel
Photo Courtesy of PM101
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
41
Electricity in Your Building
Electrical Panel
(open)
Photo Courtesy of PM101
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
42
Electricity in Your Building
Preventive Maintenance (using
infrared camera)
Cleaning
Tightening
Replacement
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
43
Electricity in Your Building
Safety
Lockout/Tagout
Treat every electrical device as
“hot” until you are sure it is deenergized
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
44
Electricity in Your Building
Circuits
Dedicated circuits
Circuit breaker
Protects against overload or short
circuit
Circuit breakers v. fuses
GFCI circuits
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
45
Basic Electric Circuit
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
46
Typical Lighting and Outlet Circuits
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
47
Lighting
Incandescent Lighting (“Bulb”)
Electricity passed through a thin filament –
causes the filament to glow
Advantages
Inexpensive
Adds heat (reduces heating costs)
Disadvantages
Adds heat (increases cooling costs)
Short life span
Inefficient (uses lots of electricity to produce light)
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
48
Lighting
Fluorescent Lighting (“Tube”)
Mercury vapor in a neon or argon gas
Advantages
Efficient (uses very little electricity to
produce light)
Adds very little heat
Long life span
Can be readily used with occupancy
sensors
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
49
Lighting
Fluorescent Lighting (“Tube”)
Disadvantages
More expensive to purchase
(although lower life cycle cost)
Contains mercury – HAZMAT
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
50
Lighting
High Intensity Discharge (HID)
Lighting
Metal halide (white) and sodium vapor
(yellow)
Sodium vapor is being phased out
Uses electricity to excite a gas to produce
heat and light
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
51
Lighting
HID Lighting
Advantages
Very bright light
Relatively inexpensive to operate (few
fixtures to light a large area)
Disadvantages
High pressure and heat
Warm up time
Cannot be used with occupancy sensors
due to long warm up time
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
52
Lighting
The future of lighting
Incandescent lights are being phased out
Light Emitting Diodes (LED)
Easy to change colors
Very low electricity use
Very bright light
Extremely long use period
Improvements of existing technologies
New technologies
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
53
Back-Up Generators
Provide power in case of power failure
Two general sizes
Life safety back up only
Supplies power to all (or larger part of building)
Load shedding
Diesel or natural gas
Underground Storage Tank (UST) or AboveGround Storage Tanks
Need a transfer switch
Uninterrupted power system (UPS)
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
54
Back-Up Power
Redundant electric feeds
Property is fed by more than 1
substation/power distribution network
Dramatically reduces the chance of a
power failure
If one feed fails, the other one takes
over automatically
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
55
Control Voltage
Typically referred to as “cabling”
“Wiring” = power distribution systems
Examples
Fire alarm and life safety system
Security system
BAS/BMS/EMS system
Phone system (“voice”)
Computers (“data”)
Internet
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
56
Control Voltage
Types of cables
Coaxial
Fiber-optic
Voice and data
Category (Cat) 5, 5e, 6, etc.)
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
57
Emergency Circuits
Emergency Exit Sign System
Emergency Lighting System
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
58
Abandoned Cable
NEC requires removal of abandoned cable
Abandoned = “installed cable that is not
terminated on both ends with a connector
or other equipment and not identified for
future use with a tag”
Advantages/disadvantages to removal
Address in each lease and aggressively
manage
Potential financial liability for owner
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
59
Abandoned Cable
What to do?
Audit building to locate abandoned
cable
Ensure tenant leases address issue
Ensure agreements for rooftop
antennae and satellite dishes comply
Have enforceable agreement with
cabling companies
Foundations of Real Estate Management ®
Module 3: Building Operations I
60