Agenda - 10-19-1993 - VII-B - Laserfiche WebLink

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BOCC 3 Page 2 October 14, 1993 These factors include variables in hours of operation (example: Jail) , operating conditions (example: Motor Pool) , building use (example: comparison of Court St. Annex to Old Court House) , operation of high wattage electronic equipment (example EMS and Government Services Annex) . The analysis of available electrical consumption data is particularly problematic in that existing practices for metering electric consumption do not provide a means (through data evaluation) of pinpointing causes or areas of inefficient energy consumption. There is currently no way to utilize available data to differentiate among consumptive uses for lighting, air conditioning, air handling (blowers, fans) or operation of miscellaneous electric equipment. Electrical energy consumption analysis The electrical consumption table generally shows a trend of increasing electrical consumption through 1990 and decreasing consumption thereafter. A portion of that decrease is attributable to a comprehensive Public Works Department energy savings program, completed in 1990, in which energy efficient florescent tubes and ballasts were used to replace existing, less efficient florescent and incandescent lighting. Throughout the period covered by the data, it is generally apparent that the Moody, Whitted, Government Services Annex and Sheriff ' s buildings consume the most electricity on a per square foot basis. The Moody building is an all electric building (includes electric heat) while the Annex contains electronic gear and an air conditioning sub-system associated with the mainframe computer. The monthly use records for the Annex also indicate a very high seasonal consumption of electrical energy for general air conditioning. In all probability, this air conditioning demand probably has resulted from a combination of the building' s poor insulating characteristics and the use of the building' s attic as office space through August, 1992. The buildings with the lowest per square foot consumption of electricity are the Northside, Northern, Gym and Public Works Administration buildings. Public Works is one of the newer buildings and could be expected to be more energy efficient. Less than half of the Gym building is air conditioned, therefore electrical consumption at the Gym can be expected to be far less than other buildings which are completely air conditioned. Evaluation of the monthly electrical consumption data shows that peak monthly electrical consumption in most buildings is generally three to four times more than the lowest monthly consumption. As the peak consumption occurs in summer, a