A scenario I forsee begins with buses complete with video shows and bars transporting people from the metropolitan areas in luxurious comfort and low cost. To attract customers, I see advertisements comparing the cost of ski weeks and weekends to the cost of staying home. The ads will calculate the savings from shutting down the hot water heater and turning the home thermostat down, the bus ride compared to using the family cars around town, the cost of cooking vs. being cooked for, and so on.
At the same time, ski areas will create low energy activities during off peak seasons such as jogging trails, raquet sports, camping and even gardening. During the peak seasons they will incorporate skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoe trails and firelight/candlelight parties, all well advertised as energy efficient to capture the imagination and the money of a concerned clientele.
Once at energy efficent areas, skiers won’t notice anything different from previous years—no drastic price increases attributable to energy costs, no inconveniences, no guilt trips about energy waste.
In short, smarter ski areas are going to meet the most intense challenges of the energy problems and take them in stride, making more profit dollars and smiling. The fundamental factor behind this success is not going to be technical. New motors, demand limiters, window curtains, solar collection and other technical advances will be part of it, but not the fundamental factor, because ski areas do not waste energy and they never have. People waste energy, and the smart, energy-efficient ski areas will base their energy programs on people rather than on machines.
You could go to many conservation conferences on energy run by architects and engineers and other technical trades, and you would learn about electrical rates, machines, storage heat and other highly technical things; but the people part of energy management is sorely lacking. Recent studies of Project Conserve in Massachusetts, the Twin Rivers housing project in New Jersey and the energy analysis of several identical learning centers in Dallas have proven beyond any doubt that people are more important in energy management than any technical, architectural or mechanical solutions.
The people part of energy management begins with the boss. Without the commitment of the corporation head no program succeeds. One way to commit top management is to challenge every other area to document greater energy reductions than your area, or to display a commitment in strong advertising statements. In any case the commitment must be clear and consistent.
Second, if your area has no energy manager you can either hire one or develop one from within the custodial ranks. Have you ever thought about how institutions treat their custodians? Dirty little rooms for offices, emergency calls on the coldest nights of the year to fix lousy equipment, tons of complaints and no compliments, low pay. These custodial people are the energy managers of the institutions, and yet they are treated with lowest respect.
Corporate heads are beginning to realize how important the custodial help is to energy management. Janitors are now becoming plant engineers, custodial engineers. If you have a sharp person within your ranks, send him or her to a few conferences on energy and buy some good energy books and subscriptions (listed in the boxes), and pay him or her a salary plus a cut of the avoided energy costs resulting from the program successes.
Third, put anyone with an outspoken opinion about energy on some sort of committee to hash out differences and come up with a consistent approach to any energy problems at your ski area. Many people have strong (and sometimes wrong) opinions about energy. Put them on the committee and let them argue the fine points over beer and crackers. You can make allies out of adverseries with energy committees.
Fourth, purchase an independent energy analysis of your ski area. Many people are trying to give away energy audits when you buy a product that they are selling. Stay away from these deals at first; they are good for free advice later on.
A good energy analysis is done by a professional energy auditor. This person may be an engineer or an architect, but the government has been involved with many programs to train paraprofessional energy auditors for public buildings, utilities, fuel oil companies and other groups. Your state energy office should have a list of qualified auditors. I would interview several thoroughly before signing a contract with one.
A good energy analysis involves careful study of past energy consumption patterns. Why guess at energy use when your ski area’s energy bills are a complete documentation of your energy history? A good energy audit lists recommedations in the order of the most cost effective measures first. Each recommendation should contain information gathered from the utility, from manufacturer’s specifications and recorded implementation at other ski areas so that you won’t have to guess if they will work or not in your area.
Fifth, set some goals for reducing energy consumption. The energy analysis will have pointed you in that direction. You monitor and record the progress with an analysis of the energy bills or with separate instrumentation on big energy users like the lift motors or electric heat or snowmaking equipment. One energy standard that you may consider is British Thermal Units of energy used per dollar of income. This type of cost/benefit ratio will balance energy and economics.
Sixth, do not spend money on fancy “black boxes”—at least for a while—because you are in the people business and many of the most effective changes involve behavior modification and attitude change. Most of your savings will come with alterations in the maintenance and operation of your area. The smaller dollar improvements generally pay back the quickest and can be deducted from taxes rather than depreciated. If “black boxes” are necessary they can be paid for out of money saved in other areas.
Last, if you have a successful program you will never know it unless you constantly monitor the reduction in energy consumption. And if you do have a successful program, no one will know it unless you publicize it. From now on, any advertisements you produce should feature your interest in energy. Recreation is a healthy and wise alternative to the city hustle and bustle, and it can be low energy as well.
If the government should come up with money to help you out with a minimum of strings attached, take it. But don’t wait for it or you will freeze in a dark place. The feds have shown only minimal interest in giving assistance with energy problems. The Arabs have done far more to cut energy consumption in this country than any member of the U.S. Congress.
Steps to Successful Energy Management
- Commit top management.
- Develop or hire an energy manager.
- Put “tough” occupants on a committee.
- Purchase an independent energy analysis.
- Set goals.
- Start with the most cost/effective conservation.
- Monitor and publicize the results.
Where to Advertise for Energy Managers
- Plant Engineering Magazine, Technical Publishing Co., 1301 South Grove Ave., Barrington, Ill. 60010
- Energy User News, Fairchild Publications, 7 East 12th St., New York, N.Y. 10003
- The ASHRAE Journal, 345 East 47th St., New York, N.Y. 10017
Books for the Energy Manager
- Energy Conservation Manual, The Hospitality, Lodging and Travel Research Foundation, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, N.Y. 10019, $45.00
- Handbook of Practical Energy Management, Institute for Management, Elm St., Old Saybrook, Conn. 06475, $79.95
- The Systematic Energy Conservation Management Guide (11 volumes), American Management Assoc., 135 West 50th St., New York, N.Y. 10020, $315.00
Andy Rudin is an energy management consultant from Fairlee, Vermont. He is currently president-elect of the Vermont chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air conditioning Engineers and works for Heat Conservation Engineering Inc. in Glens Falls, N.Y.
