Open Surface Parking and Energy Star Score
< 1 min read The engineered model developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to calculate the Energy Star score adjusts to include parking energy usage since this is one of the most common end-uses in commercial buildings. To obtain an accurate estimation of the building’s energy usage, the model estimates parking energy use and subtracts this from the…
Little Things Can Be Overlooked: Indoor Air Quality
< 1 min read Appropriate ventilation is essential to maintain good Indoor Air Quality and keep the air fresh in residential homes. Windows and mechanical systems go hand in hand to provide that and keep the living space free from pollutants. There are ways to control the amount of fresh air that is coming into the unit. One of…
What is Missing: Design Phase Commissioning
< 1 min read Reviewing building design drawings is an integral part of a Design Phase Commissioning scope and with good reason: with the minute level of detail and the sheer volume of information, there’s a good chance that some piece of equipment is mislabeled, differing systems aren’t coordinated, or that typos are present that may cause confusion at…
Rooftop Unit Installation Issue: Unfriendly Neighbors
< 1 min read One fun aspect of performing a building walk-through is getting to go out on the roof. There is almost always technical equipment up there to be inspected and the vantage point often offers great views. System designers and installers favor placing equipment on the roof because there tends to be a lot more space for…
Follow the Energy
< 1 min read While reviewing trend data from an air handling unit, we noticed that the supply air temperature was significantly above the setpoint. Whereas the supply air should have been kept at around 20°C, it got up to 26°C. When we see a problem we often assume that the cause is at the same spot, in this…
Look Behind the Curtain
2 min read While conducting an energy audit of a 5-year-old hotel, we looked into their tempered water system. This is a water loop that has both a heating source (boilers) and a cooling source (cooling towers) and maintains a relatively neutral temperature (in this case, around 80°F). This tempered water system serves a large number of water…
Launch of the Building Performance Standards Coalition and impact for building owners
3 min read On January 21, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the launch of the Building Performance Standards (BPS) Coalition. A partnership including 31 municipalities and two states, Colorado and Washington, which pledge to implement policies to reduce emissions due to the operation of existing buildings by 2024. This coalition will take administrative, regulatory, and legislative steps to…
Cybersecurity Hardening, the Commissioning Process, and Lessons Learned
8 min read With cybersecurity threats increasing, the requirement to protect systems and address security flaws has become more prevalent. This blog describes some of the lessons learned during the commissioning process of complex security and audio-visual systems. In 2020, IBM found the public sector lags behind other industries in terms of time to spot and contain data…
DC BEPS Blog Series: BEPS Pathways in Brief (Part 3)
4 min read The District of Columbia’s Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) is now in full effect. This blog series will give you a breakdown of BEPS, its requirements, deadlines, compliance pathways, and strategy and implementation. In Part 3 of the blog series, we will explain the four compliance pathways that DC property owners can follow to avoid…
Careful Commissioning of Healthcare Facilities
< 1 min read The pandemic truly highlighted the importance of healthcare facilities and how essential it is for them to operate 100% accurately for better human health and safety. As a part of the fundamental and enhanced commissioning services of a healthcare facility, the Baumann team commissioned medical equipment such as the nurse call station and the medical…
A Guide to Montgomery County’s Approved Building Energy Performance Standards
6 min read On April 19, 2022, the Montgomery County Council voted unanimously to pass Bill 16-21, the new Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS) Law in Montgomery County, Maryland. County Executive Marc Elrich signed Bill 16-21 into law on May 2, 2022, which will take effect on July 31, 2022. This article will give an overview of the recent…
Danica Lance’s 10-Year Baumann Anniversary
2 min read When Danica Lance joined Baumann Consulting in 2012, it was intended to be a six-month stint to help us with the implementation of a new ERP system. Now, 10 years later, she is a respected and valued member of Baumann Consulting’s corporate management team who handles and manages the company’s ERP system and HR policies….
