HVACS O LU T IO N S

Taking control of your HVAC to Reduce Energy Costs, Extend Life Cycle, and Increase Operational Efficiency

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Remember the old introduction to the nightly local news…”It’s 10:00pm...Do you know where your children are?”? While your church HVAC units aren’t THAT important, wondering what each HVAC unit does throughout the day (and night) is still a valid question.

Are they running at the same settings as you’d have them run during normal operating hours? Do you have them scheduled to change settings based on the time of day, day of the week, or other parameters? What about various zones within each building on your church campus? Are your HVAC units coming on/off only when your spaces are being used?

These are all things to consider when it comes to being an excellent ssteward of church resources. Utility bills, HVAC maintenance, and HVAC replacement are significant costs for most churches. If we take the time to plan our energy usage carefully, we have the ability to reduce costs. This frees up money to spend on other ministry endeavors.

How do you know if you’re spending more than necessary? When managed managed well, a church can expect to see energy costs of no more than $1.50 per square foot. Unfortunately, we’ve seen churches who’re dealing with energy costs exceeding $2.00 per square foot. That $0.50 per square foot adds up quickly and that doesn’t even take into account the costs of maintaining, managing, and replacing HVAC units.

Why are we so obsessed with your HVAC?Well, our name is “Cool Solutions Group” so that’s part of the issue…But seriously, But seriously, we have a few good reasons to obsess over HVAC.

It’s 10:00pm...Do you know what your HVAC unit is doing?

REASON

#1God, through your congregation, entrusts you with funds to operate His church. One way you can stretch those dollars is to carefully manage your monthly utility costs along with the costs to maintain and eventually replace your HVAC units.

50-75% 50-75% of a church’s utility bill comes from HVAC usage. Because of this, the way we handle HVAC will be the top factor in how much utilities we use (and how big or small) the total for our monthly utility bill. Many churches turn on their units in the morning and off at night - even when rooms are not occupied. This uses energy (and costs money) unnecessarily.

“We have been using eSPACE with COOLSPACE for three years, and our church saw a 30% reduction in utility expense immediately after installation. installation. The interface is easy to manage, easy to teach to our staff, and we can make adjustments from anywhere. COOLSPACE has now paid for itself several times over in return on investment as we’ve saved on electric bills and maintenance. No more lock-boxes on thermostats, and no more forgetting to "turn the air up on the way out" after a service or event.”

- Hank Garner, First Baptist Church of Columbia

HVAC usage has a significant impact on the monthly budget

REASON

#2The average HVAC unit replacement costs $1,500-$2,000 per ton (this doesn’t refer to how much each unit weighs, but how much air it moves) to replace. A church with 50,000 square feet needs about 200 tons. At a cost of $1,500 per ton, that’s almost $300,000 to purchase new HVAC units. The average “direct expansion” HVAC unit (i.e roof top unit) and Heat Pump system should last about 15-17 years. The replacement cost alone is a great incentive to properly maintain your HVAC units. You want to get as much usmuch useful life out of them as possible. Properly maintaining your HVAC units can extend their life by at least 1-2 years. (Conversely, improper maintenance can shorten their life.) That’s significant savings to use elsewhere within your ministry or to save to help offsetting the costs of replacement.

Unfortunately, no matter how well you maintain them, at some point you will need to replace your HVAC units. It is inevitable. Saving money on monthly energy bills could help your church set aside those savings in a capital reserve fund so you have the money on-hand when it’s time to replace a unit (or more).

Maintaining and replacing HVAC units can get expensive

REASON

#3Let’s say your church hosts a ladies brunch on Saturday morning. When the head of the women’s ministry books the necessary rooms with the ffacilities manager, he has to decide what HVAC units to activate for that event, when they should kick on, what temperature they should maintain, and when to turn them off. Depending on your system and controls, he may have to come in early Saturday morning to make those adjustments manually and return later in the day to readjust those settings. If there are other events happening at the same time, he’ll also have to consider whether they should happen in different rooms (adjacent) to the women’s evevent to avoid activating other HVAC units unnecessarily. That whole process is time-consuming and prevents staff from spending time on other tasks.

Another scenario is that your church has events throughout the day and the staff has to run around the building constantly turning units up and down. Or maybe you have a building automation system and the event coordinator schedules the event in his/her event scheduling software then has to print out the calendar and give it to the facility manager, who then has to re-enter the same data into the building automation system causing double entry of the same information

None None of these scenarios are an effective use of your staff member’s time. Think of what other ministry activities they could support if they weren’t dealing with rescheduling HVAC units.

Your staff could spend their time elsewhere

REASON

#3“I have been managing our church facility for nearly 14 years and while I have experimented with other software tools to help me, Cool Solutions Group is hands down the best out there. Cost savings, better stewardship and higher production of our church’s support staff are a direct result of their Event, Work Order and HVAC management software. TThe relationship our church has with Cool Solutions Group is built on trust because we know they will always be there to support our mission and will continually innovate to do that.”

- Luke Littrell, Fellowship Bible Church

“Using eSPACE scheduling software has reduced staff time by 25% when it comes to scheduling rooms and HVAC. Before eSPACE, staff was entering the event into the calendar program to reserve the space and then entering the event into the HVAC control program to control temperature. We were always getting frantic calls about “the HVAC is not on” when we forgot. Sometimes we would heat or cool a complete building building for long periods of time, while it was not occupied, to ensure the HVAC was on when it needed to be. When you enter an event into eSPACE not only is the space reserved but the HVAC is taken care of and out of mind. Staff is now able to spend more time on ministry and less time worrying about HVAC.”

- Jeff McClanahan, Living Hope Baptist

Using eSPACE scheduling software has reduced staff time by 25% when it comes to scheduling rooms and HVAC. Before eSPACE, staff was entering the event into the calendar program to reserve the space and then entering the event into the HVAC control program to control temperature. We were always getting frantic calls about the HVAC is not on when we forgot. Sometimes Sometimes we would heat or cool a complete building for long periods of time, while it was not occupied, to ensure the HVAC was on when it needed to be. When you enter an event into eSPACE not only is the space reserved but the HVAC is taken care of and out of mind. Staff is now able to spend more time on ministry and less time worrying about HVAC.

- Marlin Yoder, Church Administrator

REASON

#4Another reason why we’re focused on HVAC is the comfort factor. Yes, believers around the globe worship in very uncomfortable environments. However, how many people will stick around for service if the A/C is out during a hot Texas summer? How many moms will let their babies stay in Sunday School during a cold Minnesota winter if the heat doesn’t work?

Let’s Let’s face it...us Americans like our heating and air! Since you want to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel and make disciples, part of making that happen requires creating an environment in which people will come and stay. Properly working HVAC units definitely contribute to that goal.

Functioning HVAC units make people happy

1. https://www.smartwatt.com/building-automation-system-basics/

HVAC - Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning

DDC (Direct Digital Control) - The use of a computing device to control equipment (such

as an HVAC unit)

BAS (Building Automation System) - “a network of microprocessor based wired or

wireless controllers connected to diverse systems in a building to better manage the

equipment and optimize a company’s energy spend . BAS controls provide access to

ininformation on equipment performance and utility metering, and gives users the ability to

easily schedule equipment and control it at a more granular level.” 1

BACnet - A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks.

A data communication protocol is a set of rules governing the exchange of data over a

computer network. The rules take the form of a written specification that spells out what is

required to conform to the protocol.

JJACE (Java Application Control Engine) – In order to integrate diverse systems, a physical

connection to a device’s network is required. A JACE is a mechanism/device that provides

connectivity to systems (HVAC, electrical…even security in some instances) within a building

via the Niagara framework. By connecting common network protocols such as LonWorks,

BACnet, and Modbus, along with many proprietary networks a unified system without

seams emerges.

Niagara AX/4 – The Niagara Framework is a universal software infrastructure that allows

organiorganizations to easily build custom, Web-enabled applications for accessing, automating

and controlling “smart” devices in real-time over the Internet.

Legacy Systems - Older Building Automation Systems that do not naturally communicate

Integration - The ability of devices and software to communicate

Before we get into the nitty gritty of HVACmanagement, here are some common terms:HVAC Lingo

How to Reduce Energy Costs and Extend the Life of Your HVAC Units

TIP

#1Book rooms strategicallyWhen scheduling various events at your church, consider how to book rooms in such a way as to use the fewest number of HVAC units. For example: If you have a ladies’ Bible study, childcare, and a volunteer training session all on Tuesday evevening...see if you can have the Bible study and volunteer training session in rooms that use the same HVAC unit. That way you don’t have to use multiple units.

Program HVAC units to reduce usageChanChances are your church facility isn’t being used 24/7. There are times when it makes sense to have all HVAC units set to a temperature that will reduce energy costs. You’ll also only need to use certain units at specific days/times based on the activities going on at the church. Work with the staff to determine when various aspects of the building will be in-use during a typical week. Then inincorporate the facilities team in the process of booking rooms throughout the building. This gives facilities personnel the opportunity to schedule rooms that use the same HVAC unit for events occurring at the same time.

In addition, here are a few tips from ENERGY STAR2: Change HVAC filters at least once a quarter. During higher usage seasons (when you have to use more heat or air conditioning than usual), you may need to replace filters each month. Clean heating and cooling coils. You may need to do this annually. Clear any clutter around fan coil units and baseboards to ensure proper air circulation. Schedule special events and cleaning duties on days right before or after major services. Use fans when an area is occupied to keep air circulating. Tune-up the HVAC system with annual maintenance completed by a professional.

2. ENERGY STAR Action Workbook for Congregations

Adopt more effective behaviors

TIP

#2Controlling your HVAC units to reduce energy costs and extend the life of each unit doesn’t have to be a complicated endeavor. COOLSPACE integrates with the eSPACE Event Scheduler and other event scheduling systems to control your HVAC units. This enables you to easily program units to turn on/off based on events scheduled at your church facility. Depending on which type of system you currently own, here are three options for controlling them with COOLSPACE: 1.1. If your church has a JACE device and a system less than 10 years old, then integration is fairly simple. The JACE works off the Niagara N4 or AX platform. Cool Solutions Group can provide a driver (software) that goes in the JACE that talks to eSPACE. These are the easiest installations for the church and eSPACE. 2. If your church has programmable or standard wall thermostats replace those with a wifi thermostat that has an API so it can talk to eSPACE. 3. Things get a little more complicated with "legacy systems" and with complexity comes the potential for increased costs. One product, the JACE 8000, comes preloaded with various drivers that allows you to add this device to almost any automation system so you can connect to it. There are other options being developed and implemented on a regular basis, so if you have a "legacy system", give us a call so we can let you know the options available.

Use an HVAC control system

TIP

#2

Considering how much of your church’s budget is allocated to energy and HVAC replacement costs, putting these tips into practice can help your church steward its resources well. You can keep your facilities comfortable and your costs down with these energy-saving tips.

Want to learn more about COOLSPACE and how it can save your church time and money? Contact us at Info@coolsolutionsgroup.com

“Implementing the WiFi thermostats from Cool Solutions Group was so easy. It took one maintenance staff a couple hours to wire and install and took me about an hour to program with the Event Scheduler. Once it was done I no longer had to incessantly monitor HVAC and change the controls manually. It was such a relief to remove this workflow off my plate so I could do other things.

Ministries enMinistries enter events in the calendar and now the HVAC just magically turns on for their events. It is truly a win-win!

The savings we have seen is real and quantifiable. It was not just in the hundreds of dollars, but in the thousands.”

- Luke Littrell, Fellowship Bible Church

RecommendedResources

1. ENERGY STAR for Congregations (https://www.energystar.gov/build-ings/owners_and_managers/congregations) 2. Energy Conservation & Stewardship for the Church (http://www.worship-facilities.com/download/energy_conservation_e_book)3. eSPACE Facility Management Software (https://www.espace.cool/)4. COOLSPACE HVAC Integration (https://www.espace.cool/products/h-vac-integration/)