The (Almost Endless) Benefits of Submetering New Construction

The Synergies of Good Submetering in New Construction

On the regular, facility owners and managers come to us in frustration because their new building(s) aren't operating as expected. And because submeters were just thrown up here and there, they have no way to tell what's out of spec or interacting poorly.

Painfully for that owner, the solution would have been so much simpler and less expensive if a good submetering design had been part of the original plans.

We're engineers and analysts, so when we see a problem repeating itself needlessly, we want to fix it. The best part of this particular fix is that you were likely going to put in submeters anyway. Why not plan for them to be useful?

Good submetering design is a win-win-win. Taking the time during the design phase to figure out what should be monitored and how to do that effectively, when the changes are relatively easy to make, pays off at every phase that follows:

1) In the build phase: Submetering lowers construction costs and helps to find problems before the hand-off to the owner.

2) In the operating phase: Submetering helps allocate tenant/departmental utility costs, identify meaningful efficiency measures, and protect all that effort and capital.

3) In the sales pipeline: Whether you’re the design engineer, the construction contractor, or the facility manager, a building that operates well pays you back multi-fold in lower aggravation as well as that all-important repeat business and referrals.

As the old saying goes, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Translation: A timely effort prevents more work and expense down the road. And in the case of metering, it also boosts your reputation.

Whether you follow ASHRAE 90.1, LL97, BERDO, or the new SEC disclosure requirements for carbon emissions, you have to monitor energy. Why not do future-you a favor and do it right the first time?