Everyone has heard about energy conservation or going green. But sustainable design and energy conservation are not new or innovative at Larson Design Group.
Larson Design Group’s take on energy conservation is this: we have always been helping clients conserve energy, because as architects and engineers, that’s what we do. Going with a company whose professional creed envelopes sustainability? Now maybe that’s an innovation.
Larson Design Group’s energy conservation services include energy audits, systems commissioning, grant assistance, and more.
What is an energy audit?
An energy audit analyzes the use of energy in your facility through its fixtures and equipment and how efficiently your building performs while heating and cooling. It evaluates how much energy you consume, and how much energy is lost through inefficiencies such as insulation, outdated equipment, and leaky windows and doors.
The goal of an energy audit is to enable you to identify ways to make your building more energy efficient through a prioritized plan of small or large projects, depending on your budget. Over time, each project will help you save money through reduced energy consumption. An audit can even provide groundwork materials for helping you apply for PA DEP energy grants, and possibly load reduction incentives from your electric utility provider. Visit http://www.dep.state.pa.us/grantscenter/GrantAndLoanprograms.asp for more information.
An energy efficiency and conservation strategy is part or fits within an overall facility master plan. A master plan is a comprehensive planning document that covers everything from energy, to parking lots, to condition of roofs, etc. This also aids in capital budgeting for facilities and campuses.
How does Larson Design Group compare to an ESCO (Energy Service Company)?
An ESCO packages the design, installation, financing, and management for energy efficiency projects – in doing so they typically focus on large dollar-value projects with long-term performance contracts and control of your facility’s energy systems.
Larson Design Group’s strategy is different. We help keep the control of your facility in your hands by designing an overall energy efficiency and conservation strategy, based on our energy audit findings. This strategy breaks out different projects to help you prioritize what you can afford now, and what can be saved for in the future.
Architects and engineers are well skilled in determining the costs of designing retrofit projects, which provides better individual project estimates. Breaking out projects through a master plan can help you better justify any necessary financing with banks. Larson Design Group can assist you in the design and competitive bidding of separate projects to fit your needs – projects related to energy efficiency and your vision for the effective use of space in your facility.
By working with architects and engineers, you can help ensure that your projects will meet or exceed current energy and building codes. Larson Design Group also provides systems commissioning, which means we will help you handle the implementation of your energy master plan and manage construction through completion, verifying systems are installed properly and tuned for performance.
How does Larson Design Group help clients conserve energy?
Larson Design Group’s energy conservation services include:
- Architecture
- Building Positioning
- Daylighting
- Electrical Design
- Energy Audits
- Energy-Efficient Lighting
- Energy Modeling
- Energy Optimization
- Geothermal Heating and Cooling
- Grant Assistance/Incentive Research
- LEED Consultation and Documentation
- Lighting Controls
- Mechanical Design
- Photovoltaic Systems
- Plumbing Design
- Process Scheduling
- Renewable Energy Feasibility Studies
- Solar Energy for Domestic Hot Water Heating, Space Conditioning
- Solar Energy for Electricity Production
- Water Conservation
We will review which options make the best solutions for your facilities and incorporate them into your design projects.
For more information on our architecture services, contact Aron Lantz at ajl@larsondesigngroup.com.
Electric Utility Deregulation – What is it?
De-regulation allows electric power utilities to act as profit-making entities and consumers to choose their power producer. It adds several new sections to and amends several sections of the Public Utility Code. While you will continue to receive distribution and transmission service from your current provider, you can now shop for your best fit electricity supplier. In order to make it easier for the consumer to compare rates, energy suppliers are providing the price to compare which sums the three charges (transmission, distribution, and energy generation) into one number.
What is Act 129?
Act 129 is a Pennsylvania statewide initiative requiring EDCs with more than 100,000 customers to reduce overall energy consumption 1% a year over the next three years and peak power demand by 4.5% by May of 2013. In order to achieve this, they are providing incentives to commercial and industrial power users implementing energy conservation measures in the form of rebates. These measures are reviewed and approved by the Public Utility Commission (PUC).
Available Incentives
Incentives may depend on your electric distribution company. Click on each utility provider for more information.
Duquesne Light
Med-Ed Company
Penelec Company
Peco Energy Company
PPL Electric Utilities
Allegheny Power
For a list of available federal, state, local, and utility incentives, visit www.dsireusa.org (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency).
Energy Consultation Survey
We would like to assist you in identifying areas you can conserve energy. By filling out this form, we can review important information about your facility before setting up a consultation. Please fill out all questions below as accurately as possible. We will contact you shortly to set up an appointment to better understand your energy conservation needs.
When you meet with us, please provide utility bills or billing summaries for the last two years for all energy sources:
Electricity (PPL customers: Please bring last monthly statement)
- Natural Gas
- Fuel Oil
- Coal
- Propane
