Energy Management

A VFD controls the speed of an electric motor — most commonly on HVAC fans and pumps — so it only uses the energy needed at that moment instead of running full speed all the time. The savings follow what engineers call the affinity laws: reducing motor speed by 20 percent cuts energy use by roughly 50 percent. In a typical NJ commercial building, VFDs on air handling unit fans and chilled water pumps can reduce HVAC energy consumption by 20 to 40 percent. At NJ electricity rates, the payback period is usually 1 to 3 years.

A smart thermostat controls a single zone or unit and is fine for small spaces. A building management system controls and monitors every piece of mechanical equipment in the building from a central platform — HVAC units, chillers, boilers, pumps, fans, lighting, and sometimes refrigeration and fire alarms. A BMS gives you scheduling, trending, alarming, energy reporting, and the ability to adjust setpoints and sequences remotely. For any building with more than 3 or 4 HVAC zones or more than 10,000 square feet, a BMS delivers returns that a smart thermostat never will.

This is one of the most common calls we get. Many buildings have proprietary BMS systems from companies that have been acquired, discontinued, or simply stopped supporting the hardware. If the system uses standard protocols like BACnet or Modbus, we can usually integrate with it, replace failed controllers, and take over service. If it is a fully proprietary system with no open protocols, we can migrate to an open-architecture platform in phases — replacing controllers building by building or system by system so you are never without controls.

The NJ Clean Energy Program offers several incentive programs for commercial buildings. The Small Business Direct Install program covers up to 70 percent of the cost for qualifying HVAC upgrades including programmable thermostats, VFDs, high-efficiency motors, and LED lighting. The Commercial and Industrial program offers prescriptive and custom incentives for larger projects — chiller replacements, boiler upgrades, BMS installations, and building envelope improvements. Incentives change annually, so we check current availability for every project and handle the paperwork as part of our scope.

In most cases, do not wait. A BMS delivers savings by optimizing the equipment you already have — proper scheduling, night setback, optimal start-stop, and demand-based ventilation can cut energy costs 15 to 25 percent with no new HVAC hardware. When you do eventually replace the equipment, the BMS integrates with the new units and delivers even more savings. The BMS also gives you data — trending and alarming — that helps you prioritize which equipment to replace first based on actual performance rather than guesswork.

Start with your HVAC system. The most common causes of unexplained energy spikes are: an economizer damper stuck open (bringing in hot or cold outside air when it should not be), a unit that has lost a compressor stage and is running 24/7 on the remaining compressor, a failed or overridden occupancy schedule on the BMS or thermostat so equipment runs overnight and on weekends, or a steam trap failure if you have a boiler system. Check your utility bill for demand charges too — a single piece of equipment starting up at the wrong time can spike your peak demand and raise your bill for the month.

VFDs can be retrofitted onto most existing fans and pumps — you do not need new equipment. The motor needs to be a standard three-phase induction motor, which covers the vast majority of commercial HVAC motors. We mount the VFD in or near the existing electrical panel, wire it to the motor, and program it for the application. The only cases where a VFD retrofit does not work well are very old single-phase motors (rare in commercial), motors under 1 HP (not worth the cost), or applications where the motor already has a different type of speed control. For most commercial HVAC systems, VFD retrofits are straightforward.

An energy audit evaluates your building’s energy consumption and identifies opportunities to reduce it. ASHRAE defines three levels: Level 1 is a walk-through assessment that identifies low-cost and no-cost measures; Level 2 adds detailed analysis of equipment, energy bills, and calculated savings for each recommendation; Level 3 includes investment-grade calculations for major capital projects. We perform Level 1 and Level 2 audits for commercial clients. A standalone Level 2 audit for a mid-size commercial building typically costs between $3,000 and $8,000.

Peak demand is the highest amount of power your building draws during a billing period, measured in kilowatts (kW). Your utility charges you for this peak separately from total energy consumption. In NJ, commercial demand charges can range from $5 to $25 per kW, and a single 15-minute spike can set your demand charge for the entire month. Common causes of demand spikes are multiple HVAC units starting simultaneously after a power outage or a morning startup, electric defrost heaters activating at the same time, and large motors starting across the line. A BMS can stagger equipment startups to reduce peak demand — this alone often pays for the BMS within two to three years.

Commissioning is a systematic process of verifying that all building systems — HVAC, controls, electrical, plumbing — are installed correctly and operating as designed. It sounds like something that should happen automatically, but in practice, many commercial buildings are handed over with controls that are overridden, sequences that were never properly programmed, and equipment that is not operating efficiently. Retro-commissioning (for existing buildings) typically uncovers 10 to 15 percent energy savings from correcting control sequences, fixing stuck dampers, recalibrating sensors, and adjusting schedules. If your building has never been commissioned, it is almost certainly wasting energy.

Warehouses and distribution centers have unique energy challenges — large volumes of air to condition, frequent dock door openings, high ceilings, and often 24/7 operations. The highest-impact measures are: installing high-volume low-speed (HVLS) destratification fans to push warm air down from the ceiling in winter, adding VFDs to ventilation and process fans, installing rapid-roll dock doors to minimize infiltration, upgrading to LED high-bay lighting with occupancy sensors, and tuning HVAC setpoints for actual occupancy patterns rather than maintaining a constant temperature 24/7. We see 20 to 35 percent energy reductions in warehouses that implement these measures together.

The building envelope — roof, walls, windows, and doors — determines how much heating and cooling your HVAC system has to provide. A poorly insulated roof or single-pane windows can increase your HVAC energy consumption by 30 to 50 percent compared to a well-sealed building. We evaluate the envelope as part of any energy assessment because upgrading insulation or replacing windows may deliver better returns than replacing HVAC equipment. In older NJ commercial buildings, roof insulation has often deteriorated or was inadequate to begin with. Air sealing alone — caulking penetrations, weatherstripping doors, and sealing duct penetrations through the roof — can noticeably reduce drafts and energy costs.

Yes, and integrating both onto one platform is ideal for facilities like grocery stores, restaurants, convenience stores, and pharmaceutical buildings where HVAC and refrigeration are both critical. A unified BMS monitors temperatures, compressor run times, defrost schedules, and energy consumption across all systems from one interface. It can also coordinate HVAC and refrigeration — for example, reducing store cooling when the refrigeration cases are already rejecting enough heat to keep the space warm in winter. This integration eliminates finger-pointing between separate HVAC and refrigeration contractors when something goes wrong.

The Direct Install program is designed for small to mid-size commercial buildings with peak electric demand under 200 kW (roughly buildings under 50,000 to 75,000 square feet). The program covers up to 70 percent of the cost for qualifying energy efficiency upgrades including HVAC controls, programmable thermostats, pipe insulation, VFDs, high-efficiency motors, and LED lighting. A program-approved contractor performs an audit, identifies measures, and handles the installation and incentive paperwork. If your building qualifies, this is the single best way to fund energy upgrades. We can determine your eligibility and walk you through the process.

A BMS with energy metering provides real-time dashboards showing electricity, gas, and water consumption broken down by system or zone. For buildings without a full BMS, standalone energy monitoring devices like eGauge or Leviton submeters can be installed on specific circuits — your HVAC, lighting, and plug loads — to show where the energy is going. Your utility may also offer interval data through a smart meter. Real-time monitoring consistently reduces energy use by 5 to 15 percent simply because people manage what they can measure. We install monitoring systems and set up automated alerts for abnormal consumption patterns.

For a typical commercial building in NJ, a BMS payback period ranges from 2 to 5 years depending on the building size, number of systems controlled, and current state of the controls. Buildings with no existing controls or with failed controls see the fastest payback — often under 2 years — because the savings from proper scheduling and setback alone are substantial. If you factor in NJ Clean Energy incentives (which can cover 20 to 50 percent of the BMS cost), the payback shortens further. Beyond energy savings, a BMS extends equipment life by reducing unnecessary runtime and catching problems early.

NJ is pushing building electrification through incentive programs and updated codes, and for many commercial buildings, the economics are increasingly favorable. Heat pumps (including VRF systems) can replace gas-fired RTUs and boilers with 2 to 3 times the efficiency. Electric rates in NJ are high, but so are gas rates, and heat pump efficiency closes the gap. The strongest case for electrification is buildings with aging gas equipment that needs replacement anyway — the incremental cost of going electric is modest, and you eliminate gas infrastructure, maintenance, and carbon emissions. We evaluate each building individually because the right answer depends on your existing infrastructure, utility rates, and capital budget.