Analysis of energy use in building services of the industrial sector in California: Two case studies. Final report

Abstract

Energy-use patterns in many of California's fastest-growing industries are not typical of the existing mix of industries elsewhere in the U.S. Many California firms operate small-and medium-sized facilities housed in buildings used simultaneously or interchangeably over time for commercial (office, retail, warehouse) and industrial activities. In these industrial subsectors, the energy required for building services (providing occupant comfort and necessities like lighting, HVAC, office equipment, computers, etc.) may be at least as important as the more familiar process energy requirements--especially for electricity and on-peak demand. Elecmcity for building services is sometimes priced as if it were base loaded like process uses; in reality this load varies significantly according to occupancy schedules and cooling and heating loads, much as in any commercial building.Using informal field surveys, simulation studies, and detailed analyses of existing data (including utility commercial/industrial audit files), we studied the energy use of this industrial subsector through a multi-step procedure: (1) characterizing non-process building energy and power use in California industries, (2) identifying conservation and load-shaping opportunities in industrial building services, and (3) investigating industrial buildings and system design methodologies. In an earlier report, we addressed these issues by performing an extensive survey of the existing publicly available data, characterizing and comparing the building energy use in this sector. In this report, we address the above objectives by examining and analyzing energy use in two industrial case-study facilities in California. Based on the information for the case studies, we discuss the design consideration for these industrial buildings, characterize their energy use, and review their conservation and load-shaping potentials. In addition, we identify and discuss some research ideas for further investigation.This study concludes that the lighting and HVAC energy-use characteristics of high-tech industries (as represented by our case-study buildings) and their conservation potentials are com-.parable to those of office buildings. Simulating the impact of conservation measures commonly recommended for office buildings, we estimate that more than 50% of electricity and gas use for the building services in the two case-study facilities can be saved. Case studies in other regions and for other important industries can provide useful information to better understand the energy-use patterns and the impact of conservation and load-shaping measures on the industrial loads.