ASHRAE Level II Energy Audit — 1.5 Million Square Feet

The Challenge

Lockheed Martin's Electronics Park Campus in Liverpool, New York is a major defense and electronics manufacturing operation — four buildings totaling over 1.5 million square feet, with an 1,800-ton chiller plant, specialized manufacturing environments, and energy-intensive operations running year-round. The facility's scale and complexity put it in a different category from typical commercial buildings. The systems are bigger, the loads are more variable, the tolerances are tighter, and the stakes of getting a recommendation wrong are higher.

Lockheed Martin wanted a comprehensive, ASHRAE-standard energy audit that would identify real opportunities — not generic recommendations, but measures that could work within the operational constraints of an active aerospace manufacturing campus.

What I Did

I performed an ASHRAE Level II energy audit of all four buildings under the NYSERDA FlexTech program. The scope covered every major building system, but several areas required particularly detailed investigation:

• The 1,800-ton chiller plant — I evaluated the performance of the existing central plant and analyzed options for improving efficiency, including expanding the chilled water system by replacing rooftop DX units with chilled water units served by the central plant

• Motor-driven frequency converters — the facility used motor-driven frequency converters for certain manufacturing processes. I evaluated replacing them with static generators — a measure that most auditors wouldn't know to look for, but one that can produce significant savings in industrial environments

• HVAC controls — across a campus this size, control system inefficiencies compound quickly. I evaluated system-wide upgrades to scheduling, setpoints, and sequencing

• Dust collection systems — manufacturing environments generate particulate loads that require dedicated collection systems. I assessed the efficiency and sizing of the existing systems

• Lighting and envelope — including window replacements and lighting technology upgrades across the campus

For each measure, I developed an engineer's estimate of probable cost, calculated annual energy savings, and provided a simple payback analysis — giving Lockheed Martin's facilities team the information they needed to prioritize investments.

I secured a 50% cost share through the NYSERDA FlexTech program to help cover the $164,000 cost of this effort.

The Result

Lockheed Martin received a comprehensive, measure-by-measure energy improvement plan for their 1.5 million square foot campus — with quantified costs, savings, and paybacks for each recommendation, tailored to the specific constraints of an active aerospace manufacturing environment.

At $164,000 in study cost — half covered by NYSERDA — this was one of the larger FlexTech studies I've managed, and it demonstrates the kind of detailed, system-level analysis that large industrial clients require.

The client liked my work so much they hired us again to perform a similar energy audit at their Wheatfield Facility. This was an ASHRAE Level II energy audit of a 46,000 sf aerospace manufacturing and office facility in Niagara Falls, NY, including cleanroom and manufacturing spaces. I evaluated rooftop unit scheduling, demand control ventilation, lighting retrofits, and HVAC equipment upgrades. A 50% NYSERDA FlexTech cost share was also secured for this effort.

Projects completed in a previous engineering role.

ASHRAE Level II Energy Audit — Manufacturing Headquarters

The Challenge

Car-Freshner Corporation — the company behind Little Trees, one of the most recognizable consumer products in America — operates its headquarters and primary manufacturing plant in Watertown, New York. The facility is a 125,000 square foot, single-story, high-bay manufacturing space running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with an annual energy cost of approximately $186,000.

The facility's HVAC system was the central problem. Thirty-one air handling units and three rooftop units — a mix of Lennox, Trane, and Bryant equipment — provided heating and cooling across the manufacturing floor. Nearly all of the split systems used R-22 refrigerant, which has not been manufactured or imported to the United States since January 1, 2020. That meant every future maintenance event on the cooling systems would be prohibitively expensive. The equipment was at the end of its useful life, and the company needed a clear plan for what to replace it with.

What I Did

I performed an ASHRAE Level II energy audit of the facility through the NYSERDA FlexTech program. The analysis started with a detailed utility assessment — 12 months of electric and natural gas data, establishing an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 89.4 kBtu/sf (low for a manufacturing facility, likely influenced in part by COVID-19 impacts on operations during the study period).

To understand how the existing systems were actually operating, I deployed CO2 sensing data loggers inside the facility to monitor CO2 levels and temperature fluctuations over a two-week period. I also obtained BAS trend data from nine different units and combined it with bin weather data from Watertown International Airport to develop runtime profiles for each piece of equipment. The data showed that the existing units were struggling to keep up with heating demand — anytime the outdoor air temperature dropped below 40°F, the units had to run at maximum capacity.

The study evaluated two major measures:

ECM 1: Complete HVAC System Replacement ($1.94M) — Replacing all 34 existing units with 18 new gas-fired packaged rooftop units, improving average cooling efficiency from 1.18 kW/ton to 1.03 kW/ton. This measure was recommended primarily for non-energy reasons: the existing equipment was at end of life, and the R-22 refrigerant issue made continued maintenance impractical.

ECM 2: Building Automation System Replacement with Demand Control Ventilation ($276K) — Installing a new BAS with CO2-based demand control ventilation to modulate outdoor air delivery based on actual occupancy. With the proposed system designed to deliver 15,015 CFM of outdoor air at full occupancy, the DCV strategy would reduce heating and cooling loads by matching ventilation to real-time need. This measure alone would deliver approximately $14,600 per year in savings with an 18.9-year payback.

The Result

The study gave Car-Freshner a complete replacement strategy for their aging HVAC infrastructure — grounded in field data, calibrated to their actual operating conditions, and structured to support capital planning.

More importantly, the study led directly to Car-Freshner engaging me to complete the full design package for the HVAC replacement — moving from analysis to implementation. That's the best possible outcome for any energy study: the client trusted the analysis enough to act on it immediately.

Project completed in a previous engineering role.

ReCharge NY Energy Audit

The Challenge

Revere Copper Products — one of the oldest manufacturing companies in America, founded by Paul Revere in 1801 — operates a copper rolling and manufacturing facility in Rome, New York. The company participates in the New York Power Authority's (NYPA) ReCharge NY program, an economic development initiative that provides participating manufacturers with a preferential electricity rate. To maintain eligibility, the program requires an energy audit of the facility every five years.

Revere Copper needed a current audit to stay in the program — but they also wanted practical, implementable recommendations, not just a compliance exercise.

What I Did

I performed the energy audit of the Rome facility, starting with a utility analysis to establish baseline energy usage and develop the utility rates used throughout the study.

The facility had already implemented a number of energy conservation measures over the years, which I documented as part of the audit. For the current assessment, I focused on two primary areas:

Lighting upgrades — The facility used a mix of fluorescent, metal halide, and incandescent lighting technologies. I evaluated replacing each type with LED technology, calculating energy savings, costs, and payback for each area.

Compressed air system improvements — I evaluated installing regenerative blowers to reduce compressor load — a targeted measure that addresses one of the most common sources of wasted energy in manufacturing environments.

For each measure, I provided a cost estimate, energy savings calculations, a simple payback analysis, and implementation information including equipment cutsheets and specific recommendations.

The Result

The recommended measures totaled $58,794 in implementation cost, with annual savings of $41,546 — a payback of just 1.4 years.

The audit maintained Revere Copper's eligibility for the ReCharge NY program's preferential electricity rate while delivering a set of recommendations that would pay for themselves in under 18 months.

Project completed in a previous engineering role.