Energy management is a wasted profit opportunity for commercial integrators.

That was my premise anyway when I wrote that energy monitoring solutions provide CIs the tools to meet increasing demand to make buildings more energy efficient.

Few commercial integrators, however, are providing those solutions to clients.

But my premise is flawed, pointed out David Thorson, programming supervisor for AVI-SPL’s Chicago office. Clients don’t demand energy-efficient systems and the inherent utility savings as much as you’d think, he said.

Most of the demand for efficient automation systems, Thorson said, is tied to clients aiming to achieve energy efficiency standard certifications, such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification.

That limited demand may get a high-profile boost from the Empire State Building, which has been awarded LEED Gold for Existing Buildings certification. It’s the tallest U.S. building to receive LEED certification and one of only a few National Historical Landmarks to earn the designation.

Related: Building Automation: Can Your Company Compete?

The energy tweaks came as part of a $550 million Empire State ReBuilder program as the 2.85 million-square-foot building celebrates its 80th anniversary.

Johnson Controls and Jones Lang LaSalle headed up the retrofit, which should reduce the building’s energy consumption by more than 38 percent and save $4.4 million in energy costs annually. 

When it comes to selling clients on energy-efficient solutions, it often comes down to metrics. Energy dashboard solutions from automation manufacturers like AMX, Crestron and Savant are effective at showing clients their energy consumption, giving them tools to make utility-saving adjustments.

Most prospective clients’ utility savings won’t come close to that of the Empire State Building, but an effective presentation of how utility usage metrics can be monitored can be just as dramatic.

About the author

Tom LeBlanc - Editor-in-Chief, CI, Tom

Tom has been covering electronics integration since 2003. Prior to being named editor-in-chief of CI, he was senior writer and managing editor of CE Pro. Before that, he wrote for the sports department of the Boston Herald. Migrating to magazines, he was a staff editor for a golf publication and an outdoor sports publication. Follow him on Twitter @leblanctom.

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