On Dec. 17 the Town of Millis School Building Committee heard a detailed presentation from Interworld Data Systems (IDS) about post-occupancy energy monitoring and operational performance services intended to help the new school meet design energy expectations.

Bill Gennari, presenting for IDS, said the firm’s work focuses on tracking energy from day one, conducting operational performance reviews, and partnering with facilities staff to 'apprentice' building operation so problems are fixed during the warranty period rather than after. IDS described the practice of overlaying the energy model (the baseline established during design) with actual meter and building-automation-system data to find deviations.

Dave Venturoso of IDS walked the committee through a case study (Pine Hill School) that identified common problems: HVAC equipment short-cycling overnight, pumps running continuously, and an unintended peak created by kitchen startup procedures. IDS’s tuning work reduced overnight base loads, eliminated short-cycling, cut peak demand and—by the firm’s example—reduced energy use intensity by several percentage points and 'saved about $4,000 in monthly energy costs.'

Committee members asked how IDS establishes a baseline for a new building with new equipment, whether data collection would be at meter-level or component-level and how phasing (old versus new buildings) would affect analysis. IDS said the energy model developed during design becomes the baseline; monitoring uses both whole-building meters and component- or terminal-level data when available. For phased projects IDS proposed staged trending beginning when each phase reaches operation.

IDS and staff agreed the long-term ability to continue monitoring depends on town staffing and dashboards; IDS’s services are concentrated in design and the first year or so after occupancy, with the goal of correcting issues during the warranty period so the owner realizes the operating savings.

The committee did not vote on IDS’s proposal at the meeting but asked staff and the facilities director to meet with IDS to refine scope and timing and to bring the item back for committee consideration.