Business View Magazine l January 2023

36 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 “So I started talking not just about lighting but about customers’ energy consumption as a whole. And I knew immediately that I’d hit on something.” Today, LeVeck’s engineering consulting and project development firm, Facility Innovations Group, exemplifies this more holistic approach to building energy use. The company provides a comprehensive, white- glove experience for its customers, focused upon decarbonization and sustainability. “These organizations are looking to become more sustainable and lower their carbon footprints,” said LeVeck. “We first help them build a decarbonization roadmap, based upon their portfolio of facilities across the country; the local electric utility rates, the rate structures and the available incentives; and the ages of their energy assets (lighting fixtures, mechanical heating and cooling equipment, etc.). We then pick a pilot facility and do a deep dive into that facility, creating a proposal with detailed energy efficiency improvement recommendations and a financial analysis.” “Typically, we look first at energy conservation measures within the building envelope,” said LeVeck. “That could be mechanical systems, building control systems, ventilation, lighting, Chris LeVeck, CEO and Founder and even the roofing material and color. Next, we start to engineer and model out which energy efficiency solutions will provide them with the best payback and the best opportunity to lower their carbon footprint.” But you can’t get to net zero with savings alone. Energy efficiency measures can typically knock about 15-30% off a building’s annual energy consumption, with the higher end of the range more applicable to older facilities, which often have older equipment. For the other 70- 85%, Facility Innovations usually turns to solar energy generation and battery energy storage. This is often coupled with fueled generation (typically natural gas) for demand response management, emergency backup power Today, LeVeck’s engineering consulting and project development firm, Facility Innovations Group, exemplifies this more holistic approach to building energy use. The company provides a comprehensive, white- glove experience for its customers, focused upon decarbonization and sustainability.