Denver, Colorado

AECOM is currently working side-by-side with the CU Anschutz Sustainability Team to evaluate more than one million square feet of facility assets in an effort to advance their Climate Action Plan and reduce their energy footprint.

Facility energy assessments are currently underway. AECOM is conducting a detailed engineering review of how the buildings consume energy — steam, electricity, water, natural gas, etc. AECOM is examining all the major building systems (architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing) to determine if they are functioning as originally intended, or if opportunities exist to increase performance and reduce energy consumption. The assessment and analysis will lead to recommendations in the form of energy conservation measures (ECM) to improve the overall operations of the buildings through improvement of building system components that support each facility. The identification and evaluation of the ECMs presented in the final program plan deliverable report are developed in the following, general evaluation stages:

Modeling: Existing system components are modeled through a whole-building energy model that utilizes connected loads developed through the equipment inventorying process and calibrated to facility energy consumption data.
Benchmarking: AECOM will determine the energy use intensity as compared to peer buildings using square footage, building use type and other criteria. Data will be assessed on monthly and annual bases to determine consumption patterns versus climate and relative building activity.
ECM Design: Recommended conservation measures to architectural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are developed based on potential for success; as determined by their impact on energy usage.
ECM Evaluation: ECMs identified from the facility inspections will be modeled against component systems energy consumption in order to evaluate energy and cost savings.
Cost Estimations: Implementation costs associated with the prescribed ECMs are developed using known contractor pricing and RSMeans cost data.

Financial Analyses: Cost/benefit analyses were developed, including payback calculations for the proposed energy conservation opportunities.