ASHRAE Journal - January 2022 - 40

TECHNICAL FEATURE
attractive, given the long life span of the proposed systems,
the measures are still considered very viable.
The process that was developed by this pilot program
to conduct energy audits for K-12 schools is replicable
and can be used by other ASHRAE student branches
for their local K-12 schools as an excellent educational
experience for engineering students, added value for
future engineers and their employers and for the local
school district and community.
Conclusions
Through a collaborative effort between the ASHRAE
Florida Tech Student Branch, BPS, the ASHRAE Space
Coast Chapter and the Building EQ Committee, a pilot
program was established to perform energy audits for
K-12 school buildings in Melbourne, Fla. The purpose
of this activity was to empower the school district with
information while providing hands-on experiential
training for engineering students. ASHRAE Building
EQ was an important component of this effort, helping
with the documentation of the audits and with teaching
students about the audit process. The pilot program
was successfully completed with participation of five
students and the inclusion of three schools. The major
findings of the project are as follows:
Five EEMs were identified pertaining to lighting systems,
on-site power generation and HVAC systems. It
was found that implementation of all five EEMs would
result in a total of 58% reduction in the schools' energy
costs.
While the lighting EEMs were found to be the most
attractive options for quick payback, the installation
of the ice storage tanks were also very attractive due to
the generous rebate program offered by the local utility
company.
On-site power generation through rooftop PVs had a
relatively long payback period. This EEM's cost-effectiveness
would be greater if implemented along with other
EEMs. Along with the long life span of solar panels, the
return would be realized with the added value brought
through energy savings, carbon footprint reduction and
the opportunity for green energy education for elementary
and middle school students.
ASHRAE Building EQ was used as a tool to facilitate
the audits and train the students. The easy to use and
accessible Building EQ Web Portal with multiuser functionality
on the project fosters collaborative work. The
40
ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg
J A N U A RY 2022
comprehensive set of inputs along with a professional's
experience can be effectively used to prepare site visit
questionnaires. The energy audit report feature also
provides an educational opportunity for students to see
the process of an ASHRAE Standard 211-compliant Level
1 Energy Audit and how their work meets audit requirements.
The Portal provides thorough guidance that is
comprehensive and easy to use.
Acknowledgments
The Building EQ Pilot Program would not have
been possible without the efforts and dedication of
ASHRAE Florida Tech Student Branch members Ganesh
Doiphode, Obinna Uyanna, Tejas Thakur, Bhaskar
Aggarwal and Mariana Migliori. The support from the
BPS Energy and Resource Conservation Department
staff, Joseph Montemurno and Charles Mcmahon, is also
greatly appreciated.
References
1. Florida Department of Education. 2019. " Florida School
District Annual Energy Cost Information. " Florida Department of
Education. https://tinyurl.com/kw88p3dp
2. U.S. EPA. 2016. " Portfolio Manager. " U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. https://tinyurl.com/f533nupn
3. Quakenbush, J. 2013. " Energy Star Portfolio Manager
shutdown extended. " The North Bay Business Journal July 2. https://
tinyurl.com/5acyrtz6
4. BOMA Canada. 2018. " Breaking News: Potential Shutdown
of Energy Star Portfolio Manager. " BOMA Canada. https://tinyurl.
com/2p858s8c
5. Lindsay, B. 2020. " First Steps: Building EQ Pilot Program for
Brevard Public Schools. " 2020 ASHRAE Orlando Winter Conference,
Seminar Presentation.
6. ASHRAE. 2021. " Building EQ. " ASHRAE. https://tinyurl.
com/5yduruv4
7. ASHRAE. 2019. " ASHRAE's Building EQ: Be an Energy Genius. "
ASHRAE. https://tinyurl.com/4j4cveck
8. Architecture 2030. 2021. " About the Zero Tool. " ZeroTool.org.
https://tinyurl.com/2p8kta4c
9. Sharp, T.R. 2014. " Derivation of Building Energy Use Intensity
Targets for ASHRAE Standard 100. " Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
managed by UT-Battelle, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Document ORNL/TM-2014/215.
10. ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 211-2018, Standard for Commercial
Building Energy Audits.
11. U.S. Climate Data. 2019. " Climate Melbourne-Florida. " U.S.
Climate Data. https://tinyurl.com/4bdu44sw
12. Doiphode, G., H. Najafi, M. Migliori. 2021. " Energy efficiency
improvement in K-12 schools: a case study in Florida. " Journal of
Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities 2(1):011001. https://doi.
org/10.1115/1.4048894
13. Doiphode, G., H. Najafi, M. Migliori. 2020. " Energy
Efficiency in K-12 Schools: A Case Study in Florida. " ASME Energy
Sustainability Conference, Paper No. ES2020-1632.

https://www.tinyurl.com/kw88p3dp https://www.tinyurl.com/f533nupn http://www.tinyurl.com/5acyrtz6 http://www.tinyurl.com/5acyrtz6 https://tinyurl.com/2p858s8c https://tinyurl.com/2p858s8c https://tinyurl.com/5yduruv4 https://tinyurl.com/5yduruv4 https://www.tinyurl.com/4j4cveck http://www.ZeroTool.org https://www.tinyurl.com/2p8kta4c https://www.tinyurl.com/4bdu44sw https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4048894 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4048894 http://ashrae.org

ASHRAE Journal - January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - January 2022