Thought Leadership from Sieben Energy Associates

On the afternoon of February 15, I led a presentation in front of 40 members of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA Chicago) about best (and worst) practices relative to successful retro-commissioning projects. First, I set the context for retro-commissioning, including its historical origins and relationship to the commissioning of new buildings. Next, I explained why BOMA Chicago members should care about the ComEd retro-commissioning incentive program.

For almost ten years, all member buildings have been paying into the funding pool for the utility's energy efficiency programs. Participating in retro-commissioning represents an opportunity to get back some of that money. Retro-commissioning also plays an important role in supporting credits for LEED Building Operations and Maintenance (LEED O+M) certification or re-certification.

We will host a brown bag lunch seminar entitled "What Makes a Successful Retro-Commissioning Project" later this month. The seminar will commence at 12 noon on Wednesday, February 15, in the Harris Bank Building, 115 South LaSalle Street, Chicago. Sieben Energy Associates has to date performed over 80 retro-commissioning projects, comprising over 55 million square feet of building space.

During this seminar, we will draw upon our leadership and expertise in retro-commissioning to advise members of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA Chicago) on the project attributes that lead to a positive outcome. This event is listed on the BOMA Chicago website.

On the evening of Tuesday, December 6, Sieben Energy Associates attended the Illinois Chapter of ASHRAE's annual holiday party. For the second year in a row, we left with brand new hardware recognizing our energy efficiency work. We were honored by our industry peers with two Excellence in Engineering Awards for projects completed in 2016. The Chapter hosted the party at the Metropolitan Club on the 66^th and 67^th floors of Willis Tower in downtown Chicago.

Joining us at the ceremony were representatives from the client organizations with whom we worked on the award-winning projects. Thanks to the esteemed judges for recognizing the innovative and cost-effective approaches to energy efficiency our engineers demonstrated in their work.

As we reported on July 11, one of our retro-commissioning projects was a finalist for the Michigan Governor's 2016 Energy Excellence Award in the "Best Projects – Commercial (Private)" building category. We had nominated Matt Roman and Visteon for the award. 

The ceremony was a roaring success. The Odawa Casino Resort, owned by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Petoskey, won the award in the commercial (private) category.

One of Sieben Energy Associates' recent retro-commissioning projects has been recognized as one of three finalists for the Michigan Governor's 2016 Energy Excellence Award.

During 2015, we worked closely with Matt Roman, Director of Global Facilities and Real Estate at Visteon, a leading global automotive supplier, to perform retro-commissioning of their Grace Lake Corporate Center headquarters in conjunction with DTE Energy's Retro-Commissioning Pilot Program. We nominated Matt and Visteon for this well-deserved award earlier this year. DTE Energy is the electric utility that serves Detroit and much of southeastern Michigan.