Energy Engineering

RetroCom's staff has a long history in energy engineering. We're proud to offer our expertise in:
Energy Audits
Basis of Design
Control System Design
Measurement and Verification
Third-Party Evaluation

When initiating new projects or equipment upgrades to reduce energy costs, the results are only as good as the design. While traditional engineering design practices have successfully produced systems that are safe and effective, they often miss opportunities for greater energy efficiency, serviceability, and economy. Our experience in energy efficient retrofit applications has equipped us with the knowledge to avoid common pitfalls and maximize the energy saving benefits, often at a lower installed cost than would otherwise have been achieved.

Energy Audits
RetroCom provides comprehensive energy auditing services to develop projects matched to the specific climate, occupancy, and design of our clients' facilities, tuned to meet their financial criteria. We identify the specific opportunities appropriate to the conditions in each building and system, and provide our clients with the engineering analysis necessary to prioritize capital expenditures and accurately predict the economic costs and benefits of energy efficiency improvements.

Basis of Design
Basis of Design (BOD) documents reflect the owner's requirements and spell out for the designers the parameters that are essential to maximizing the energy and performance benefits of system and equipment upgrades. We have provided BOD documents for central plant renovations, building and process automation systems, duct and piping modifications, lighting upgrades, re-roofing and daylighting projects, window treatments, equipment replacement, and variable speed drive applications, ensuring that both energy efficiency and system integration are achieved in accordance with expectations.

Control System Design
The sequence of operations defines the functional performance of control systems, but is often specified in the most generic way or not specified at all. Since the sequence of operations is the very heart of what operations the hardware and software will perform, having it set forth in detail as part of contract documents is the only way to ensure that building automation controls, for all their sophisticated capabilities, are actually fulfilling their potential.
Coming from a long background in both the controls industry and the performance contracting business, we have the experience and expertise to provide design documents for control systems that allow true competitive bidding, while ensuring that projects fulfill their potential and perform optimally.

Measurement and Verification
Measurement and Verification, or M&V, is the tool for validating predicted energy savings for efficiency upgrades. With a first-hand understanding of M&V economics, and long familiarity with international and federal protocols (IPMVP, FEMP), RetroCom is able to provide M&V services for any energy project, from single measures in a building to comprehensive programs for a large campus.

Third Party Evaluation
RetroCom is available to review proposals from vendors and contractors to provide an independent assessment of applicability and predicted savings. With new products and services proliferating in the market, an experienced independent third party evaluation makes it possible to sort through the validity of vendors' claims.