Avion Solutions, Inc, an engineering and logistics service support contactor located in Cummings Research Park, was awarded the Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR certification in November of this year; the first of its kind for an office building in the Huntsville region.
The ENERGY STAR program was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help businesses improve their financial performance and reduce carbon emissions through a strategic energy management approach. ENERGY STAR certified buildings save energy, save money, and help protect the environment by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings by meeting strict energy performance standards set by EPA.
Specifically, to be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, a building must earn an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher, indicating that it performs better than at least 75 percent of similar buildings nationwide. Benchmarking buildings through Portfolio Manager, EPA’s online energy management and tracking tool, generates a 1 – 100 score for many types of buildings. The ENERGY STAR score accounts for differences in operating conditions, regional weather data, and other important considerations.
Avion began taking steps toward greater energy efficiency when they noticed their air conditioning system operating when it was 19 degrees outside in January of 2013. After benchmarking their building in Portfolio Manager, they discovered their score was a 2. By making reasonable investments in building controls and LED lighting, they were able to increase their score to an 86 in November of 2016. The investments they made cut their electricity consumption and bill by over 50% annually and will pay for themselves over a six-year period. Additionally, Avion installed a 50 kilowatt grid-tied solar photovoltaic array in their parking lot which also reduces their electric bill through TVA’s Green Power Provider program.
Avion’s Energy Solutions provides our customers lower operating costs at their facilities through reasonable measures of energy efficiency. We accomplish this through an unbiased, four-pronged service approach. The foundation includes billing analysis, benchmarking, and energy auditing services to help you determine how efficiently your commercial building is running when compared to similar buildings. Using this data, we will work with you to create an action plan based on what fits your needs and budget to include measurement and verification processes, ultimately enabling you to quantify and realize your return on investment.