So often we try to justify our services with the cost savings they provide. We go to great lengths to educate our customers with the knowledge we’ve acquired. It’s not always well received and at times our intent is viewed with skepticism. Sometimes a project leaders feeling is that everyone’s intention is to up-sell the project; which will put it over budget. Unfortunately too often we find out after the project is complete that the owner was never made aware of the opportunity to substantially reduce operating cost for the life of the building. Sometimes the “old school” mentality kicks in and things get done “the way they’ve always been done”. Often times however it’s the perception that the owner can’t afford the latest and greatest.
The ASHRAE 90.1 guidelines suggest that a permit should be held up if a project doesn’t meet the minimum efficiency requirements. I fully agree, with the ROI information and BIM technology available today the expected operating cost should be evaluated to protect the building owners, occupants and the environment.
In the world of lease agreements a shell is built complete with basic mechanical services and the tenant fits out the space. Here we see the vanilla building that is inexpensive to build but expensive to operate. Some property management company’s refused to come to terms with the fact that high expenses either hinder a tenant’s growth or forces them to relocate. Right now we are seeing companies move from one property to another just to lower the cost to lease and operate a facility. The space that can prove lower total cost per square foot gets the tenant. The mentality “I don’t care what it costs for electricity, the tenant pays that” are over. The smart property manager should welcome BIM and ASHRAE 90.1 to help attract tenants.
In the world of owner occupied buildings we often see the “it works this way let’s just update it”. Even when the information is clearly presented and accepted things still don’t always go the way of new technology. It’s hard to convince someone with even a 20 year old building that advances in technology make their systems obsolete. Some companies have a high level of trust and we’ve made great reductions in operating expenses. Unfortunately others seem to take the advice of someone that doesn’t have a broad perspective of the industry.
ModernControls has such a diverse customer base that we see many different aspects of a buildings life. From plan and spec BAS projects we see the latest from the engineering companies and equipment manufactures. From plan and spec certified balancing and building commissioning project we see the latest from the design and installation innovations. Servicing the mechanical systems in existing building for over 20 years we get to see what lasted and maintained efficiency at a reasonable expense. When you take the experience from those 3 things and incorporate them into design/build mechanical projects completed by some of the most talented people in the industry you get quality installation that stand the test of time.
