EMAIL
INTERVIEW
– Andrew Heitman and Ken Sinclair
EMA President Andrew Heitman
Andrew Heitman CxA, EMP, CEM, CEA, LEED AP, is the President of the Energy Management Association (EMA)
and Owner of Building Energy Sciences, LLC of Pensacola Florida. Mr.
Heitman has been involved in the building systems design and
construction industry for over fifteen years. Building Energy Sciences
focuses on building commissioning, energy analysis, and building
systems analysis.
Energy Management Association (EMA)
EMA is a new and innovative association that is dedicated to advancing
the quality of energy management products and services for the benefit
of the building owner.
Sinclair: What is the Energy Management Association’s Energy Management Professional (EMP) certification and how is it unique?
Heitman: The Energy Management Professional
certification was designed for individuals who provide energy
management services and have not only a deep understanding of energy
concepts, but also an intimate, hands-on understanding of how building
systems operate. It is unique in that it applies energy management and
analysis skills with knowledge of the commissioning methodology. We
emphasize identifying and understanding where and why energy is used in
a facility and using that data to minimize that consumption and meet
performance standards. Most traditional approaches tend to rely on
limited solutions that do not address overall building performance. The
scope of the EMA Energy Management Process is broader than energy audit
programs and protocols and incorporates the implementation and
validation of energy efficiency and performance improvement measures as
well as the continued maintenance of those efficiency improvements.
Sinclair:
Are commissioning and energy management competing or complementary professions?
Heitman: They are not only complementary, when
used together the benefits compound. We’re on very solid ground in
making that statement. A major study by the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, Portland Energy Conservation Inc., and The Energy Systems
Laboratory at Texas A&M University concluded that comprehensive
retrocommissioning is one of the most cost-effective means of improving
energy efficiency in commercial buildings.
It’s important to remember that the commissioning methodology provides
for systematically investigating, analyzing and optimizing building
performance. This inclusive approach reveals how closely a building is
performing to specification, identifies areas of equipment malfunction
or underperformance and is essential for developing strategies for
improving performance of the various building systems, which provides
benefits beyond improved energy efficiency.
Sinclair:
Specifically, what kind of benefits beyond energy efficiency are you referring to?
Heitman: This is something about the EMP program
that appeals in particular to building and facility owners and
operators. We’re talking about operational savings due to improvements
in building performance beyond the actual cost of utilities to operate
the systems. This can include everything from how reliably equipment
operates in the facility’s mechanical systems or to how hot or cold
occupants feel on a daily basis—and that obviously leads to happier and
more productive tenants.
To the building or facility owner, performance improvement means a drop
in the number of work orders for O&M staff, better management of
labor expenses, fewer unanticipated calls to materials or maintenance
vendors, improved safety and security, and code compliance. When you
can deliver that concurrent with reduced energy costs it’s truly a
winning proposition.
Sinclair:
What do you mean by saying that the EMP process is “data-driven?”
Heitman:
Analysis of both historical and newly acquired energy usage data is a
key component of the EMA Energy Management Process. To underscore this
point, we conducted our first EMA webinar in July and the topic was
“Analyzing Energy Use Data.”
The EMP program specifies a commitment to raw data collection and
focuses on field testing and detailed analysis rather than theoretical
assumptions or general suggestions. The EMP’s execution of building
system diagnostics depends on adequate data collection. Data collection
is not a single exercise but rather the end result of a thorough
process in which the EMP has invested much time and thought. This data
serves collectively as the foundation for calculations that produce
estimates for energy conservation and facility improvement measures as
well as the tool to maintain the improvements to energy efficiency
after they are realized.
Sinclair:
The Energy Management Association is relatively new to the industry, how are things going?
Heitman: We officially launched EMA in April in
conjunction with the Cx Energy Conference & Expo. The reception has
been excellent. We’re involved in a variety of activities, but it is
all done in the spirit of pursuing EMA’s stated goal, to advance the
quality of energy management services for the benefit of the building
owner.
This is a huge market. There are more than 17 million commercial
buildings and 800,000 industrial buildings in the U.S. The
owners/operators of these buildings and facilities are served by
architects, engineers, commissioning authorities, consultants,
manufacturers of hardware, technology specialists, mechanical
contractors, utilities, facility managers, building operators and
realtors, all of whom have a home among EMA’s four membership
categories.
We already have more than 60 member companies across our four
membership categories and over 70 certified EMPs working in the field.
We also announced at our inaugural meeting that Siemens Industries, one
of the best-known and respected brands in the field of energy
management, signed up to become EMA’s first Founding Industry Partner.
More than 30 industry professionals have volunteered to serve on EMA’s
committees and we’re getting them organized and setting agendas. We’ve
launched our webinar program and on September 8-9 we’ll have a new
class of EMPs certified. It’s a very exciting time and I urge anyone in
the energy efficiency industry to contact EMA and get involved.
For more information visit
www.EnergyManagementAssociation.org. Telephone: (202) 737-1334.
For an application, registration form and study materials for the Sept.
8-9 EMP seminar and exam visit here.
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