Final answer:
Energy consumption comparison involves unit conversion, and for the provided example, electricity usage is about double that of gas when expressed in kWh. Initial energy management opportunities include LED lighting, HVAC upgrades, and motor upgrades. Further assessments could involve heat recovery installations and enhancements to insulation systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Energy Consumption and Management
Comparing energy usage across different utility metrics involves converting units to a common basis. For instance, 1 Therm of natural gas equates to approximately 29.3 kWh of electricity. Hence, if you have a bill indicating 230 kWh of electricity and 4 Therms of gas usage, the gas usage in electric terms would be 4 Therms * 29.3 kWh/Therm = 117.2 kWh. This conversion shows that natural gas usage is about half of the electricity usage when expressed in the same units. To convey the comparison simply, one might say: "In electric terms, the building uses roughly double the amount of energy in electricity as it does in natural gas."
Assessing energy trends and consumption patterns can reveal areas for improvement, and this process begins with a thorough energy assessment. Following the principles of energy assessment, we can identify initial management opportunities such as an LED lighting upgrade, an HVAC system upgrade, and a motor upgrade. Each of these opportunities comes with an upfront cost but also potential for significant energy savings and a reduction in utility bills, resulting in a feasible payback period.
For further assessment, a plan that includes installing heat recovery systems, upgrading compressed air systems, and enhancing windows and doors' insulation can be developed. Investigating these opportunities requires careful monitoring of current energy performance through data analysis, including creating scatter plots to correlate natural gas consumption with Heating Degree Days (HDD) and electricity with Cooling Degree Days (CDD), as well as time-series charts that plot these relationships over time.