Office teams working in commercial buildings throughout California can benefit from participating in PG&E’s demand response programs while maintaining the integrity of their building systems and providing a comfortable, productive work environment for employees. Some companies have set challenges for their operations teams—and employees, in general—to come up with creative ideas that are making a difference by finding ways to reduce the amount of electricity used.

Suggested Programs

• PeakChoice™
• Aggregator Programs
• Permanent Load Shift (PLS)
• SmartAC™

• More Programs
  • Peak Day Pricing (PDP)
  • Demand Bidding Program (DBP)
  • Base Interruptible Program (BIP)
  • Scheduled Load Reduction Program (SLRP)
  • Optional Binding Mandatory Curtailment (OBMC) Plan
  • Technology Incentive (TI) Programs
  • Automated Demand Response Program (Auto DR)

Energy Reduction Strategies

• Turn off all non-essential indoor/outdoor lighting, signage, window displays and office equipment not in use (i.e., printers, copiers, shredders, coffee makers).
• Turn off all decorative features, such as fountains, lighting and ambient audio and video displays.
• Pre-cool work areas, then cycle constant air volume heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units or temporarily re-set static pressure in variable air volume HVAC, turn off ceiling fans and room fans, and raise temperature settings.
• Some facilities with package AC units can do load-cycling, temperature reset, and possibly pre-cooling.
• Turn off beverage vending machines and shift use of ice makers before or after an event.
• Conduct meetings during events to minimize use of equipment.
• Charge batteries and battery-operated equipment prior to an event, then unplug battery chargers and use only pre-charged equipment during an event.
• Adjust employee schedules and shifts so that times of increased production or energy use occur before or after planned events.
• Complete dishwashing and housekeeping activities before or after an event.
• Turn off or turn down boilers, pumps, fans and equipment not in use, especially in printing facilities.
• Turn off excess elevator banks and escalators (as permitted).
• Turn off or turn down chillers, and reset chilled water temperature.
• Adjust variable speed drive controls to reduce load from fans, pumps and chillers.
• Apply ventilation control – temporarily reducing outside air flow can help reduce cooling demand.

Case Studies

• Adobe Integrated Case Study (PDF, 677 KB)
• Yahoo Integrated Case Study (PDF, 328 KB)

Articles

• How to Cut Energy Use and Get Paid for It
• Load Shedding Leads to Major Savings
• The Benefits of Demand Response

Get more information on rebates and incentives for office buildings.