AEP Transmission building earns ENERGY STAR certification

AEP Transmission’s office building at 700 Morrison Road in Gahanna has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification, which signifies that the building performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

GAHANNA, Ohio — AEP Transmission’s administrative office building at 700 Morrison Road in Gahanna has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification, which signifies that the building performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

“We are pleased to accept EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification in recognition of our energy efficiency efforts,” said Lisa Barton, executive vice president — AEP Transmission. “Through this achievement, we have demonstrated our commitment to environmental stewardship while also lowering our energy costs.”

AEP has improved its energy performance by managing energy strategically across the entire organization and by making cost-effective improvements to its buildings. At 700 Morrison Road, kilowatthour (kWh) usage through October 2012 decreased by 20 percent compared to an established baseline of 2007 usage.

Overall, AEP Ohio facilities achieved a 22 percent savings in kWh usage in 2012 YTD compared to an established baseline of 2007 usage. Systemwide, AEP reduced kWh usage by 23.10 percent during the first 10 months in 2012 compared to the 2007 baseline, saving a total of 39,583,921 kWh and $3.56 million. Since the beginning of the program, the work AEP employees have accomplished to reduce kWh usage has saved a total of $12.5 million in energy.

“In the AEP Ohio service territory, our facilities including 700 Morrison Road continue to show energy reductions due to the excellent partnership with employees in each location,” said Mike Roman, region manager – Workplace Services. “We appreciate employees’ help in keeping garage doors closed when heating or cooling, turning off lights when not needed, making sure HVAC setbacks are used, and much more.”

Among the actions taken to earn the ENERGY STAR for the 135,681 square-foot 700 Morrison Road building by AEP Real Estate and Workplace Services, working in partnership with AEP Transmission, included:

• Analyzing and modifying usage and settings for the building automation system that controls the building’s heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) units. The HVAC units were timed to cool or heat during work hours only, and off on weekends and holidays.
• Resetting the water temperature for restrooms from 140 degrees to 125 degrees.
• Changing the building’s cooling setback temperature from 75 degrees to 80 degrees.
• Installing occupancy sensors in all the conference rooms, restrooms and most offices.

Workplace Services began analyzing energy usage at 700 Morrison Road in 2007 as part of its overall departmental goals to improve energy efficiency in AEP facilities.

“ENERGY STAR’s energy performance program allows rating and comparison with similar buildings in terms of size, usage and other factors,” said Roman. “When we first ran the program in May 2007, the 700 Morrison Road building had a rating of 50, well below the needed 75. After the changes were made to the building, we achieved a rating of 91.”

Roman credited Workplace Services employees Dale Koski, area supervisor; and Darian Spiers, Ugo Fregonas and Terry Stewart, all building maintenance mechanics A. “They all got to work and noticed different things, that when changed, helped us reach our ENERGY STAR rating,” Roman said.

Commercial buildings that earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

EPA’s ENERGY STAR energy performance scale helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. A building that scores a 75 or higher on EPA’s 1-100 scale may be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification. Commercial buildings that can earn the ENERGY STAR include offices, bank branches, data centers, financial centers, retail stores, courthouses, hospitals, hotels, K-12 schools, medical offices, supermarkets, dormitories, houses of worship, and warehouses.

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Results are already adding up. Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy in 2010 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 33 million cars — all while saving nearly $18 billion on their utility bills.