Commercial Recommendations

WAREHOUSES

Energy Use

Overall, warehouses generally have lower illumination requirements as well as lower space conditioning requirements than do other building types. Accordingly, overall energy use is generally lower than for most other buildings. Warehouses are often ventilated sporadically, only partially heated, and rarely cooled. Energy for lighting is the largest use (68%), followed by ventilation and plug loads (24%), and miscellaneous (8%). (For energy-efficiency strategies for administrative areas, see Small Office Buildings.)

Measures that are frequently found to be cost-effective include the following:

Lighting

• Incorporate skylights and photocell controls. Standard 4-foot by 8-foot bubble skylights equal to 4 percent of the floor area are adequate in Colorado’s sunny climate. Place skylights above warehouse isles to achieve best daylighting distribution.
• Install photosensors and occupancy controls to control electric lighting, and make sure they are carefully calibrated.
• Replace T-12 fixtures with T-8 or T-5 fixtures with electronic ballasts.
• Consider replacing metal halide and low-pressure sodium fixtures with T-5 fixtures.
• Provide task lighting controlled by occupancy sensors in narrow aisles to more efficiently illuminate tall storage racks. Mount fluorescent fixtures on storage racks to facilitate access to the storage aisles and avoid the need to install extra fixtures at the ceiling level.

Find a list of ENERGY STAR-qualified CFL bulbs at www.energystar.gov/ia/products/prod_lists/cfl_prod_list.pdf. A list of ENERGY STAR-qualified LED exit signs can be found at www.energystar.gov/ia/products/prod_lists/exit_signs_prod_list.pdf.

HVAC

• Control heating, ventilating, and cooling systems as a function of occupancy and the needs of goods stored using automatic controls as appropriate.
• Use variable-speed drives, high-efficiency motors, and cast aluminum fan blades for ventilation fans, using demand control to adjust ventilation rates as needed.
• Install gas-fired infrared heaters instead of forced-air convection heating systems.
• If cooling is needed, install evaporative cooling systems in Colorado’s dry climate.

The Consortium for Energy Efficiency designates specifications for high-efficiency commercial packaged air conditioning equipment and maintains a database of qualifying products at www.cee1.org.

Building Envelope

• Ensure that entry doors are weatherstripped and other sources of infiltration are carefully air-sealed.
• In particularly warm climate areas, consider installing an ENERGY STAR cool roof, even if the structure is not air conditioned, to improve comfort for warehouse workers and keep products stored from becoming too hot. Ventilating fans operating during cool nights can help control temperatures during hot days.

Learn more on the Building Envelope Energy Efficiency Measures page.

Benchmarking

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy through the ENERGY STAR® Program have developed an energy performance benchmarking tool. The tool enables building owners to evaluate the energy performance of their buildings on a scale of 1-100 relative to similar buildings nationwide. The rating system accounts for the impacts of year-to-year weather variations, as well as building size, location, and several operating characteristics. Buildings rating 75 or greater qualify for the ENERGY STAR label.

Eligible space types, representing over 50% of U.S. commercial floor space, include:

• Offices (general offices, financial centers, bank branches, and courthouses)
• K-12 Schools
• Hospitals (acute care and children's)
• Hotels and Motels
• Medical Offices
• Supermarkets
• Residence Halls
• Warehouses (refrigerated and non-refrigerated)

For further information or to download the performance benchmarking tool, see www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_announcing.

Assistance

Utah Power has a host of programs targeted to meeting its customer’s energy efficiency needs. Visit the Utah Power profile page by clicking here.

© 2006 Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
2260 Baseline Road, Suite 212, Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 447-0078 fax: (303) 786-8054 info@swenergy.org