U.S. Energy Group's PlanUSE: A plan to help reduce fuel use by 2.4 billion gallons of heating oil

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, presented an initiative on April 22, "Making Buildings Energy Efficient is the Single Biggest Step New York Can Take to Go Green." However, this announcement failed to address the fact that the city has not updated J-51 legislation, which would support EMS technology, the single most cost-effective way of reducing oil and gas consumption and carbon emissions in large existing buildings. In response, Jerry Pindus, CEO of U.S. Energy Group, has come up with a practical approach for buildings in New York City to reduce fuel use over the next 15 years - in the amount of 2.4 billion gallons. PlanUSE, which has been shared with city officials, is the continuation of public policy discourse over PlaNYC that the company has had with members of City Council and City agency officials. U.S. Energy Group already works closely with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Multifamily Performance Program. The central focus of the PlanUSE is to reduce the "open windows effect," wherein many New York City residents open their windows in the middle of winter due to over-heated buildings - literally throwing fuel, carbon-emissions and money out the window. The goal is to promote greater fuel efficiency, building control and energy monitoring. Pindus said, "In order to prevent the 'open windows effect,' we must end the overheating of buildings in New York City." PlanUSE involves a legislative recommendation for the city to revise J-51 legislation to make the EMS incentives offered through that program current. The plan also has an educational component, which would encourage the development of general guidelines for the maximum indoor temperature of a building. The idea is to empower property managers to monitor and then manage their buildings' indoor temperatures within a very specific range. The boiler control technology to manage building temperatures within a very specific range exists and is called an energy management system. By measuring both indoor and outdoor temperature to cycle the boiler more efficiently, energy management systems (EMS) are a heat monitor, preventing buildings from being overheated. By monitoring boiler information, they provide greater heat control. All of the building's data is accessible through the Internet and can be monitored closely and controlled remotely for maintenance and compliance. Tenants are more comfortable and do not need to open their windows. It is an inexpensive way to retrofit a building, and is currently being installed in many buildings under the NYSERDA sponsored Multifamily Performance Program. EMS systems generally feature a savings of 15-30% on heating oil and gas consumption, with a very fast payback; typically under two years If the average size apartment or office building uses 20,000 gallons of oil each year; there are 40,000 buildings that could benefit from energy management systems (EMS) in New York City; the typical fuel savings from an EMS is 20% - Over 15 years, buildings in New York City could reduce fuel use by 2.4 billion gallons of heating oil. U.S. Energy has already demonstrated the success of this plan through research into its customer base. U.S. Energy Group's EMS are currently used in over 3,000 buildings, which each would have used an average of 20,000 gallons of oil each year, or 60 million gallons annually. However, these buildings have saved 20% on average, which equals a savings of 12 million gallons of fuel annually and projects to a savings of 180 million gallons over the next 15 years. Additionally, an independent study last spring, by Metropolitan Property Services, showed that its 25 building portfolio saved on average 26% on fuel-use through an application of U.S. Energy Group's EMS, indicating that the PlanUSE numbers are conservative estimates. If this rate of savings is projected to New York City's 40,000 buildings that would benefit from an EMS, fuel use would be reduced by 2.4 billion gallons (or gas equivalent).