University of Iowa
IN-4: Innovation 4

UI Energy Hawks

The UI Energy Hawks is an award-winning, quick-hit, high impact team of specialists from various Facilities Management units including maintenance services, building commissioning, controls engineering and energy management. Drawing from a rotating group of energy engineers, building controls technicians, maintenance personnel and operations engineers, the group members work in synergy to evaluate and resolve energy issues in buildings quickly and efficiently. The Energy Hawks take a holistic, cross-organizational and cross-functional approach. To maximize efforts, the team searches out opportunities where a concentrated minimal investment produces a major return. Drawing from a rotating group of energy engineers, building controls technicians, maintenance personnel and operations engineers, the group members work in synergy to evaluate and resolve energy issues in buildings quickly and efficiently. The team inspects and analyzes building equipment components and systems, and evaluates historical energy data in buildings across campus. The process goes beyond routine operational fixes to a comprehensive evaluation of the whole system revealing solutions for better systems management.

Saving energy and reducing utilities costs is the chief goal of the Energy Hawks. Improving occupant comfort is also at the top of the list of priorities and can be achieved through a parallel process. The Energy Hawks focus on issues related to Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. The team seeks out short-term projects that result in quick fixes like the replacement of thermostats
and tuning, calibrating and adjusting controlling devices, as well as projects with longer-term paybacks like replacing dampers and louvers.

The Energy Hawks are creating real energy savings and improving occupant comfort in the following ways:
• Holistic approach brings together utilities and building maintenance staff to problem-solve the system as a whole instead of as individual components.
• Dedicated team of experts can perform a more thorough and detailed analysis of energy efficiency and performance in the building and give increased attention to uncovering root causes.
• Improved communication between energy side and maintenance side allows for better flow of information and increased collaboration and troubleshooting.
• Building occupants report more comfortable and productive work environments.
• Effective monitoring of systems and data collection helps identify maintenance and energy use trends for future.
• Mechanics can increasingly operate in a predictive mode, which saves time and money.
• Lessons learned can be incorporated into operational practices.
• Communication with the occupants and greater presence in the building expands and improves relationships with building occupants. Because occupants are more aware of energy use in the building, they may be able to influence behavior.