Commercial Building Retrofit Basics

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) offers these best practices to businesses and non-profits:

Lighting

• Use high-performance T-8 lighting with electronic ballasts
• Replace incandescent bulbs in hallways and corridors with compact fluorescents (CFLs)
• Install occupancy sensors in kitchens, copy rooms, bathrooms and closets

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Building Envelope

• Reduce the HVAC load through building envelope, lighting and control upgrades
• Retrofit chillers with variable speed drives or with new high-efficiency chillers
• Use economizers to automatically take in cool air during summer and to pre-cool buildings for the day

Energy Management

• Create an energy use benchmark to monitor energy use
• Get an energy audit to identify energy efficiency improvements
• Create an energy team responsible for adopting an energy policy, planning and implementing the energy upgrades
• Educate your employees on energy saving tips and best practices

Behavioral Change Practice

• Set office equipment monitors to “sleep” when inactive
• Make double-sided printing the default mode on printers
• Schedule regular tune-ups to keep equipment running efficiently