「英中对照」NEMA高管提出B级楼宇分阶段节能改造路径以控制成本

Operators of Class B buildings who stage upgrades over time can make their buildings more energy efficient without having to ask owners to put up a lot of money, according to executives at the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.美国全国电气制造商协会（National Electrical Manufacturers Association）的高管表示，分阶段进行升级改造的乙级（Class B）建筑运营商可以在不要求业主投入大量资金的情况下，提高建筑的能源效率。

By starting with the savings from relatively low-cost upgrades, like a new occupancy-based LED lighting system, operators create a starting point for funding a capital stack that they can apply in stages to more impactful upgrades, Todd Sims, NEMA’s senior director of regulatory and industry affairs, told Facilities Dive in an interview. NEMA 监管与行业事务高级总监 Todd Sims 在接受 Facilities Dive 采访时表示，运营商可以从成本相对较低的升级所带来的节省入手，例如采用基于占用感应的新型 LED 照明系统，从而为构建资本栈（capital stack）创造起点，并将节省下来的资金分阶段投入到更具影响力的升级改造中。 

“Start with low hanging fruit,” Sims said, “then implement a building or energy management system and take the savings from that and add that to the capital stack to make more capital-intensive improvements.”“先从容易实现的目标做起，”Sims 说，“然后部署楼宇或能源管理系统，再把由此产生的节省加入资本栈，用于实施资本密集度更高的改造。”

Staging improvements in this way enables each level of upgrades to pay for the next one, he said.他表示，以这种方式分阶段推进改造，可以让每一层级的升级为下一层级的升级买单。

The challenge isn’t with Class A buildings, Sims said. A third of these are already LEED certified for efficiency, and if they’re not, finding ways to pay for upgrades is less pressing for them than for lower-tier buildings because of the rents they can charge, he said. “They can largely afford many of the upgrades they want to make,” he said. Sims 表示，挑战并不在甲级（Class A）建筑。这类建筑中已有三分之一获得了能效方面的 LEED 认证；即便没有认证，由于它们可以收取更高的租金，为升级寻找资金的紧迫性也不如较低等级的建筑。“它们基本上负担得起想要进行的大多数升级，”他说。 

The challenge is concentrated in lower-tier buildings. “Something like 80% of the buildings that will be around in 100 years have already been built, and the preponderance of those are Class B buildings,” he said. 挑战主要集中在较低等级的建筑上。“100 年后仍将在使用的建筑中，大约有 80% 已经建成，而其中绝大多数是乙级建筑，”他说。 

In addition to lighting, initial upgrades might include energy monitoring and submetering, which enable owners to bill energy costs at the tenant level and also generate data for tracking building performance through Energy Star data feeds. Tracking performance in turn can help buildings meet reporting requirements if they’re in a state or municipality that requires owners to meet building performance standards. 除照明外，初期升级可能包括能源监测和分项计量，这使业主能够按租户层面收取能源费用，同时还能通过 Energy Star 数据接口生成用于跟踪建筑性能的数据。如果建筑位于要求业主达到建筑性能标准的州或市镇，性能跟踪反过来也有助于建筑满足报告要求。 

A second group of upgrades might include adding variable frequency drives to air handlers, pumps and fans. The drives reduce energy use by adjusting the amount of power that’s needed based on what the systems are being used for rather than by dampening the motor, an inefficient operation that conventional drives tend to use, according to Zack Valdez, NEMA senior director of regulatory and industry affairs.第二组升级可能包括为空气处理机组、水泵和风机加装变频驱动器。NEMA 监管与行业事务高级总监 Zack Valdez 表示，这种驱动器可以根据系统的实际使用需求调节所需功率，从而降低能耗，而不是像传统驱动器通常采用的那样通过抑制电机来调节，后者是一种效率低下的运行方式。

“If you think of a [typical] motor, it’s only got two speeds — 0 or 100 — and to go to 75%, you use some sort of dampener,” Valdez told Facilities Dive. “A variable frequency drive says, ‘I’m going to cut the energy to 70% for that motor and just give it 70% of the energy that it needs,’ so you’re saving roughly 30% of the energy.”“如果你想想一台[典型的]电机，它只有两个速度——0 或 100——要达到 75%，你就得使用某种阻尼装置，”Valdez 对 Facilities Dive 表示。“变频驱动器则是说，‘我要把那台电机的能量降到 70%，只给它所需的 70% 的能量，’这样你就能节省大约 30% 的能源。”

Technology for these drives has been around for years, and the kinds of motors that can benefit from the drives are ubiquitous in building systems and industrial processes, Valdez said. 这类驱动器的技术已经存在多年，而能从中受益的电机在楼宇系统和工业流程中无处不在，Valdez 表示。 

“What pushes your AC or your heat through your system, what pushes water through these buildings, whatever heats something probably has a motor that [can] incorporate it,” he said.他说：“推动空调或暖气通过系统的动力、推动水流过这些建筑的动力，任何需要加热的设备，很可能都有一台电机可以安装这种驱动器。”

But many facilities managers remain unfamiliar with the technology, and building owner leadership, if they know of it, might be reluctant to spend money on it despite the savings it can produce, he said. 但许多设施管理人员对这项技术仍不熟悉，而建筑业主方的领导层即便了解这项技术，尽管它能带来节省，也可能不愿为之投入资金，他说。 

“If finance is writing the check, they’re concerned about the next quarter, not four years from now,” he said. 他说：“如果是财务部门在开支票，他们关心的是下个季度，而不是四年之后。” 

NEMA tested almost 20 types of systems and, in an industrial context, the cost of the drives in some cases can be recouped in fewer than three years, he said. NEMA 测试了近 20 类系统，在工业场景中，某些情况下驱动器的成本不到三年即可收回，他说。 

A third group of upgrades might include improvements to the electrical system, including panel upgrades for EV-ready and renewable-ready infrastructure, the addition of supplemental heating, like dedicated-zone heating for vestibules, and adding a building management system if the facility doesn’t already have one. 第三类升级可能包括对电气系统的改进，包括为电动车就绪（EV-ready）和可再生能源就绪基础设施进行的配电盘升级、增加辅助供暖（如为门厅设置独立分区供暖），以及在设施尚未配备楼宇管理系统的情况下加装一套。 

A last group might include adding back-up power or storage, enabling the building to shave its peak energy use and enroll in a demand-response program if one’s available.   最后一类可能包括增加备用电源或储能，使建筑能够削减峰值能耗，并在有条件的情况下加入需求响应计划。   

“There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity there,” Sims said. “Class B buildings can do it on their own if they [can] stagger the upgrades.”Sims 表示：“这里面蕴含着巨大的机会。B级建筑如果能够错开升级的时间安排，完全可以自行完成。”