Energy Engineering career- energy audts 2

[UBbaja]

I have always been interested in Energy since i began my engineering studies bakc in college. I currently have a a position with an aerospace company I enjoy, but in teh long run, ie- 3 years from no maybe, I woudl be interested in getting into a career of engergy engineering. Ideally I would liek to find a company that does energy audits. these audits, at least in new york state where I am, are wholley or partially paid for by government subsidies. With this in mind and the issue of energy not going away in my lifetime, I would like to explor teh possibilty of starting thsi type of consulting business in teh future. I am 22 years old, have been working for 1 year after getting my BS in mechanical, and am looking for advice on teh best way to pursue this path. As I said I dont want to leave my current company at tehmoment ( they are paying for my MBA plus they are a great company to work for). I am awaiting my reults from my FE exam, i plan on getting my PE. Advice?

 

[davefitz]

see <

http://www.aeecenter.org>

for the association of energy engineers for certificattion.

 

[dpc]

To me, doing energy audits is about the most boring way I can imagine spending a work day. It will be the same issues on every project, the same payback calcs, the same report. Groundhog day forever.

Because there is "free" money available, it's certainly possible to make a living doing this = as long as the government keeps funding it.

It all depends on your goals and on what motivates you. Luckily, we're all different.

 

[UBbaja]

Thanks, I really appreciate the responses and differing opinions out there.

 

[MrBadabing]

Well, I thought I'd add my 2 cents worth, if no one minds. I'm an electrical engineer that does design work, and also does energy engineering for our company in upstate NY.

If you're looking for a company as a target, go to NYSERDA's web site (

http://www.nyserda.org)

and look for the list of approved FlexTech providers. These are engineering companies (contractors and consultants) who are approved to perform the audits on behalf of NYSERDA, file the appropriate reports, etc. NYSERDA only pays a portion of the audits and projects developed. The customer pays a significant portion, and getting companies to let loose their wallets is not so easy, even if it means it will save them money.

At times, energy audits can indeed seem like doing the same thing over and over. The customer wants an immediate payback, and a cheap price to do the research (energy calcs, modeling) and perform the projects developed. Commercial buildings, and educational buildings, have already been tapped pretty heavily for the "low hanging fruit", or the easy to grasp projects (lighting, occupancy sensors, simple HVAC equipment scheduling). Next to be focused on will be industrial/manufacturing buildings and process companies. In fact, that is now the next "wave" of types of companies/buildings that NYSERDA is focusing on as well.

The key is to be able to understand larger issues, and to keep your commissioning or retrocommissioning skills sharp. Look for areas where chillers and cooling towers (or other pumping systems) aren't staging properly, be able to review programming of EMCS systems and look for means by which you can maintain a comfortable environment inside the building envelope, and yet reduce KWH's or BTU's. Also, don't ignore process automation systems. I'm currently working with a manufacturing company to review their various systems and processes, and reprogram them to minimize the run time of various motor and conveyor systems, and maintain the manufacturing levels they need. Because many of the tasks will have a longer return, the way to shorten this is to include tasks that merely require labor (no materials, such as reprogramming manufacturing or HVAC equipment), and minimal labor, to exact an energy savings that is significant and reduces the overall, combined payback.

There are many levels of this, and the real task in a few years will no longer be changing T-12's to T-8's, or even to LED's. The real successes in this field will be those who can look deeper and manipulate the bigger mechanical equipment for a realized savings. In many cases, that can be done without the addition of new equipment, and the only cost associated is with the labor to reprogram the existing equipment.

Finally, because this is a field that is heavy in reports- no offense here, LEARN TO SPELL! I realize English may not be your primary language and I'm not criticizing you for that, but it is the primary language in the US engineering world, and each report you develop is a sales tool for your company. This is something that will represent you in the future, even when you aren't around. It's your legacy, your lasting business card and sales pitch. People will share that report with others, and your name will always be associated with it.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[vpl]

MrBadabing

Thanks for joining in. I feel you made a valuable contribution here, both in regard to your technical reply about the future of energy audits and in regard to your advice on spelling and the use of reports as a way of "selling" your engineering abilities.

I gave you a "little purple star".

Patricia Lougheed

Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.

 

[UBbaja]

I really appreciate you feedback and insight. It is interesting to learn your views on the industry and your forecast of what is next to come. Ingles es mi primer idioma, pero Ud.tiene razon, necesito eletrear mejor en mis comunicaciones. (English is my first language, but you are correct, I need to spell better in my communications.)

Mr. Badabing- Do you belong to a Society or professional organization devoted to this industry? I would be interested in learning more about it, especially if a chapter exists in my area.

 

[Rick99]

Well, if the aerospace company you are working for is Honeywell, then you could transfer to HBS and apply for any of the PCE openings posted on Honeywell Jobs. PCE stands for Performance Contracting Engineer, which involves energy auditing, among other things.

 

[UBbaja]

No,it's not Honeywell, but thank you for the advice. I have a contact inside Honeywell, maybe I could use that in the future.

 

[MrBadabing]

Well, Hopefully UBBaja, I wasn't too harsh.

If you are interested in professional associations, you might look at ASRHAE, AEE, USGBC (just do a search on these acronyms, they will come up!), and tag along with someone to a meeting or two- see what fits. (I thought about putting the links in here, but that takes all the fun out of what you might find as you search!!!) And, you might even make some great professional connections that may lead to the your next employer. AEE offers well regarded courses such as Certified Energy Manager (CEM), which I believe are only a week long course. However, be prepared to work nights on that one- the certification testing is at the end of the week long course/seminar.

Also, you might look at some of the engineering forums and such for software packages such as eQuest, Trace, and other building modeling packages. There is a list of forums at

http://www.onebuilding.org

that you can sign up for emails and join the mailing lists. You can generally download eQuest for free, as well as the tutorial, and start working on it in your free time (if you are so motivated).
I wish you luck in your quest!

Additionally, it seems as if every company wants to get on board with some sort of energy conservation. GE, Siemens, Exxon/Mobil, Johnson Controls, are all becoming energy services companies again, much like Ameresco already is (I am not endorsing anyone, nor do I work for any of the above). Companies such as Google and Hewlett-Packard are now hiring for in-house energy engineering professionals to re-evaluate their efficiencies at each facility, especially their data centers and server farms, which consume mass amounts of energy.

With each state crafting their own initiatives, well into 2050, the future is bright, but will be very competitive once the easy projects are complete.

Again, good luck! There's plenty of room for you in this field!

Mr. Badabing.