Here is a list of frequently asked questions:
Will tenant comfort be sacrificed? Seems like it will be really cold in the morning and warmer later in the day?
During occupancy, CUE guarantees that the optimizer will maintain comfortable indoor conditions. We give the building operator a choice of following either a) ASHRAE Standard 55-2010 and the recommended limits for Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and associated Percent People Dissatisfied (PPD) or b) manual setting of occupied and unoccupied times and indoor air dry-bulb temperature bands. If, for example, occupancy is defined to be from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, and the desired temperature band is 71 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit, CUE will optimize within the defined bounds, and the zone air temperature will remain within this prescribed band during those hours. In either case, when conditions are conducive for precooling, the building thermal mass and associated surfaces will be cooler in the morning than the afternoon.
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Why wouldn’t I simply schedule precooling in my building automation system?
Weather and energy pricing inputs are required to dynamically determine the best way to adjust HVAC electric load throughout the day. Outside temperature and humidity have a big impact on cooling a building. Controlling on a fixed schedule without insight into weather, eliminates the ability to take advantage of cool temperatures, free cooling, low energy prices, etc., and may actually lead to higher energy expenses.
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What if the service fails to deliver estimated savings? Will you guarantee savings?
CUE does not guarantee savings as energy markets and weather conditions can drastically change. Our user interface provides the ability to track performance.
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What if my operation changes? Longer hours of operation or increases/decreases in occupancy?
The building operator would simply log into the user interface and make changes to occupancy hours and temperature bands. Changes are immediately implemented in the system.
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I am not sure our IT department will allow a remote connection. How do we address that? Is the data safe?
Our connection between the SaaS platform and the BAS is encrypted and safe. Our data center is an ISO certified facility with redundant systems across multiple geographies, daily backups and physical security. Our customer’s data is protected using strong passwords. If IT departments object to a port in the firewall, we can work with a cellular or RS485 dial-up, dedicated DSL, or VPN connection.
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We are in the middle of (or recently performed) energy efficiency projects or retro-commissioning. How will that impact the solution?
One advantage of our detailed building energy model is that we can update it to reflect changes made at the building as they are made. This ensures that your building will always be operating according to the most up-to-date information, rather than relying on past performance data.
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How do we know if the system is working as planned?
Our web-based user dashboard allows a user to log in at any time and view savings for the day, week, month, or year. We break down the savings categories by expense determinants such as demand, consumption, etc. The dashboard also shows our space temperatures, allowing the user to graphically see how the load has been manipulated throughout the day.
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Our building is LEED Certified and/or has a very high Energy Star score. I don’t think you can provide much savings.
The Energy and Atmosphere (EA) LEED credits and Energy Star scores address energy efficiency. Having high scores means you have high energy efficiency. We address load profile and operational cost savings. Even the most efficient buildings have a load factor (indication of how flat a load is) of 0.55 and lowering peak usage will still provide significant value. Also, energy efficient buildings are typically “tight”, meaning efficient windows, lighting, etc. Less heat gain and higher thermal mass capacity increases the potential of CUE savings.
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I have different uses in various parts of the building; data center, cafeteria, and office. How will the global setpoint work?
Our system sends a global setpoint but when we integrate to the BAS, we can exclude any zone form the CUE setpoint. If there is a data center or other interior space that should be excluded from the global control, CUE would exclude that zone and legacy control sequences would be maintained.
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Your controls are exclusively adjusting space temperatures. How will we manage humidity that may rise even if temperatures are comfortable?
The Building Automation System (BAS) has control sequences programmed by the BAS vendor to deliver required space temperatures and humidity. The system will continue to do that and ventilate when needed. We do not eliminate electrical usage during peak times, simply reduce it. All thermal comfort requirements continue to be monitored and maintained by the BAS.
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Is it possible that I could use more electricity in the process of lowering costs?
The primary CUE value proposition is cost reduction: moving electricity use to inexpensive times of day versus reducing electricity consumption. That being said, we often have a modest impact on efficiency as chillers run more efficiently during off peak times and free cooling is often available. Our chiller data analysis can also provide recommendations on how to sequence chillers and often times the improved chiller plant operation can have big efficiency improvements.
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I have a competitive electric supplier and pay a flat rate. I won’t save money by shifting load.
For buildings on a flat rate, the savings opportunities are more modest but there are significant savings opportunities on the demand portion of your bill that comes from the regulated utility and the capacity portion of the competitive supplier bill. The average utility demand charge during peak times is between $11 and $20 per kW/month, and higher in many markets. Capacity charges range from $6 to $90/kW-yr, depending on location and time frame. Reducing peak demand by 400 kW could translate to thousands of dollars in savings monthly. In addition, CUE could enable more aggressive demand response participation and allow for more aggressive electricity procurement once the flat rate contract expires.
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Will cold mass/surfaces make tenants feel cold even if the air is at a comfortable level?
Potentially, yes. Occupant comfort is affected by “operative temperature”, which is the average of the room air (dry bulb) temperature and the mean radiant temperature MRT, i.e., the temperature of the enclosing surfaces. By precooling the building mass, we reduce the MRT, which is desirable as it allows higher air temperatures to be tolerated for the same comfort perception. However, should the resultant operative temperatures drop too low in the early hours of occupancy and tenant cold calls become frequent, the lower precooling temperature limit during the unoccupied period should be raised, e.g., from 65°F to 67°F.
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