|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
Return to XcelEnergy.com | |
||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Common Questions1. How does the online assessment work?
The online assessment accesses an energy-modeling program. The tool
requires a few details about your facility; type, size, energy use/cost,
construction and some specifics around equipment: heating, air
conditioning, lighting and operating hours. With this information the
energy model can determine where your energy is being used (heating, air-
conditioning, lighting, etc.) and how much each end use is costing
you.
Through this interactive tool you will get:
Yes, you do not need to have a background in engineering for this tool to
be of value to you. If there is a question you do not know how to answer,
simply select the "I don't know" option from the drop down menu. This
will populate the model with values typically found in your type of
facility. The results may not reflect the exact energy breakdown for your
facility, but will provide a good estimation and valuable suggestions for
lowering your energy usage and costs.
The energy-modeling program has proven to be very accurate in determining
where energy in your facility is being used; however, the accuracy is
completely dependant on the information provided. The more precise the
information provided, the more accurate the tool will be.
No, the online energy assessment is not meant to be a replacement for an
on-site energy audit. An energy professional performing a detailed site
audit may find many energy savings opportunities not uncovered in this
tool. The online assessment is meant to provide the customer with a quick
method of determining if further work is warranted.
For the online energy assessment to work properly, we recommend that your computer have:
Yes. Your answers are automatically saved as you complete each page
of questions and press the next button at the bottom of the screen.
The next time you return, simply select the unfinished assessment from the My Facilities list.
All questions are underlined indicating that you can click on them to obtain
more information and an explanation of what is being asked. Your computer will need to have pop-up windows enabled.
Yes, if you would consider your building type close to one of those
available. This tool was designed to model most of the common building
types. By choosing the type most similar to yours, you will get results
that may not be as accurate but still point out the most energy intensive
end uses and suggestions on how to correct them. If you contact us
with the type of building review you would like, we will see how we can help.
It is beyond the scope of the modeling tool to track weather data for
every city. The cities chosen were deemed to be representative of the
weather patterns for the geographic region where your facility is located.
For regions with great diversity in climates, more than one city was
designated. Choosing a city with similar average seasonal temperatures is
important to the accuracy of the tool. If the default city for your
region does not fit this requirement then select a more suitable city from
the available list (Question 1, Facility Information page).
Billing data is used to calculate the energy use patterns of your
facility. Your billing data is used to calibrate an energy model of your
facility that corresponds to how your facility operates over a typical
year. The help on the billing data input pages addresses some of the billing data
complexities that may cause some confusion.
If you have more than one meter you can still complete an energy assessment. You will need to add your
bills together before entering your billing data. If your bills have different billing cycles, it
may be easiest to enter annual totals. You will still receive representative results.
The heating and cooling types listed have been narrowed to the most
prominent types for your type of building. The descriptions have been
left generic to describe the basic components of the HVAC system. By
matching these components to the ones making up your buildings heating
system you should be able make the appropriate choice. If you still
cannot decide, consult with the person who provides for your building's
maintenance.
The industry average facility used in this comparison is a regional
industry average derived from Energy Information Administration (EIA)
data. Most of the EIA's information about commercial buildings and its
energy use comes from the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey
(CBECS). The CBECS is a national sample survey that collects energy-
related building characteristics data and energy consumption and
expenditures data for commercial buildings in the United States.
The energy efficient facility used in this comparison includes energy
savings technologies that are typically found to be cost effective in new
and significantly renovated buildings.
One of the biggest determinants for energy usage is the operating hours of
the building. The online assessment uses average operating hours expected
for each type of facility. If your building operates substantially more
or less than the average, your comparison to industry average and
efficient buildings may not be where you expected.
The online energy assessment has a database of energy efficient
strategies. The tool individually models your building with each of these
measures and displays the results if annual energy cost savings are
positive. The measures shown often have a reasonable payback for your
building type.
Yes, the online assessment is working properly. The model always
generates results based on the information provided, so "strange" results
are almost always because something was answered incorrectly. For
example, the model knows it needs to account for all your natural gas
consumption. If you inadvertently selected "all electric" for your
building's heating system, then the model will correlate your gas usage
with a different end use. The end result would have you believe your
greatest energy use is for heating domestic hot water. Be sure to answer
each question as accurately as possible. Use the "Advanced User" setting
to further refine your results. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
| Privacy & Security | |
