It’s 7:40 pm on a Thursday and the last of the tenants in a 5-storey office building has left for the day. The building generator is still running and carrying the load for the corridor lights, two server-room air conditioners and a split unit in a meeting room that nobody switched off. Up on the roof, a stuck ball valve on the overhead tank means the borehole pump is cycling to replace water that is spilling out through the tank’s overflow.
Little operational details like these happen everyday all over Nigeria and appear a couple months later in larger than expected fuel bills for the generator and increased costs for the water pump that fails sooner than expected. This is why controlling facility operating costs in Nigeria begins with small operational details.
Knowing the Sources of Utility Expenses
Commercial facilities in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt pay for utilities in a variety of ways at the same time. There is grid electricity from the distribution company, billed through prepaid or postpaid meters. There is a fossil fuel (diesel or gas) for the standby generator which in many cases carries the bulk of the electrical load. There is water from a public supply or a borehole. Then there are the various contracts for the maintenance of the equipment.
The bill shows only the cost, not the reason for the increase. A property manager has no way of knowing if higher costs are due to longer power outages, a new tenant’s equipment, a failing compressor, or fuel being drawn without a record of authorization. Effective utility cost management in a facility starts with breaking the total into individual components and tracking each component independently, so that the reason for any change can be explained.
Identifying Electricity and Generator Inefficiencies
One of the most important figures a facility team can document is the running hours of the generator. If the team documents running hours and grid supply time, and logs both daily, patterns will emerge. These can include a generator being started prematurely, or being left running after the grid is restored, or being left on all night to run a few lights.
Documents should be kept of the liters used. A rising consumption per hour used without a rise in load can indicate a mechanical fault or a clogged filter or a fuel leak. Long periods of operation at a very low load can cause a condition known as “wet stacking,” which makes a generator less efficient and increases the need for servicing.
Sizing matters too. A large generator supplying a small evening load is a huge waste of fuel. Some buildings use a smaller set during off peak hours, or have inverter and battery systems for essential circuits. Whatever the case, the first step towards energy management in commercial buildings is to establish the actual load profile and the sub-metering of floors, tenants or major equipment is the most dependable way of establishing this.
Reducing Water Waste and Associated Maintenance Costs
Water wastage is often overlooked because a great deal of it happens out of sight. A toilet cistern that runs, a dripping tap in the staff kitchen or a cracked pipe in the field can remain unnoticed for months.
In buildings that rely on boreholes, wasted water also means wasted energy as every unit of water wasted will have to be pumped again. Constantly cycling pumps wear out quickly. Revealing water wastage and leakages can be as simple as reading the water meter at the same time each day, including after hours when usage should be minimal. Float switches, ball valves and pressure controls in water pumps need to be inspected routinely. Faulty water fixtures should be repaired rather than deferred. A planned maintenance calendar, whether run in house or through a facility management company in Nigeria, keeps these checks from being forgotten.
Air Conditioning and Lighting Energy Use
Air-conditioning is frequently the largest electrical load in an office building. Units that keep cooling empty rooms after working hours mean that the building is paying for comfort that is not even enjoyed by anyone. This waste can be eliminated by managing cooling units based on the actual schedule of occupancy. Comfort is not compromised, as cooling units can be started as early as necessary to achieve the required interior temperature for the working period.
Thermostat settings may also be responsible for energy waste. Units that are set at lower temperatures result in the compressors working harder. Also, occupants may adjust the thermostats to their preferences. Setting an agreed standard temperature would help prevent this waste. Again, energy consumption can be saved by ensuring that the filters are clean, the refrigerant levels are optimal and the condenser coils are not blocked.
Lighting is a smaller load but simple to control. Occupancy sensors in toilets, stairwells and store rooms, timers for external lighting and the replacement of older fittings with LEDs are practical measures. They support energy management in commercial buildings without touching the spaces where people actually work.
How to Improve Decision Making with Logs and Data
Maintenance logs become very powerful when they are coupled with consumption logs. Let’s take the example of an office complex. Over a three-month period, the consumption of diesel for that complex showed a gradual increase while the supplied grid hours stayed relatively the same. Just looking at the diesel record creates a question. Looking at the maintenance logs, however, shows that during that period there were a series of calls for a chiller on the third floor. In this situation, the team has an answer and knows what to do next: check the chiller before approving further fuel increases.
This type of cross-checking creates a management tool from what was once routine paperwork. Monthly reviews of records help with decision-making regarding budgets and equipment upgrades. This type of cost management of utilities is the practical core of facility management.
The Role Professional Utility Management Plays
In most cases, the information needed is already available but there is no one to synthesize it. In an office, for example, the administration may buy fuel but the generators may be provided by a different vendor, air conditioning units by a third vendor, and plumbing by whoever is available. Each does their job but no one sees the big picture.
Service visits can be scheduled together to avoid repeated shutdowns. Reported faults by one contractor can be compared to utility record logs to determine if work was done unnecessarily. With consolidated facility management services in Nigeria, duplicated work becomes easier to spot.
Provast Limited offers utility management services in Nigeria. The objective is not to do more paperwork, but to gain a clearer understanding of utility spending.
Practical Actions for Facility Managers
The following provide an example of what actions can be taken for energy management in commercial buildings in Nigeria:
- Record the hours of grid supply and generator running as well as the litres of fuel issued, every day.
- Compare the litres of fuel used each month and take action for any significant changes.
- Perform after-hours meter readings of water meters to check for hidden leaks.
- Check HVAC and lighting schedules against the real occupancy schedules.
- Sub-meter major equipment and tenant areas, as appropriate.
- Link utility records and maintenance records for equipment.
- Hold a monthly review of utility records and address action items.
The key to realizing significant savings on facility operating costs in Nigeria is to inculcate a culture of constant discipline and follow up. Examples include checking the generator run time and acting on why it was running for an extended period of time, checking for tank overflows and acting on why it occurred, and checking if a conference room was cooled over the weekend and acting on why.
Effective utility cost management in facilities combines three things: accurate records, preventive maintenance and responsibility. These three things are the areas where well-coordinated facility management services in Nigeria make the most impact.
If your building’s utility bills keep rising without a clear explanation, visit Provast Limited to discuss utility management services in Nigeria suited to how your property operates.