Vital Group of Companies Blog

Mandatory Energy Benchmarking would make building energy consumption public and give context to the energy consumption of buildings Buildings that perform well stand to gain — on top of their up-front energy savings There is growing interest across the globe to make mandatory energy benchmarking a reality. Smart building operators should take the opportunity to get ready now  Getting an energy audit is a smart move. It can help identify and develop opportunities to increase energy efficiency and lower energy costs — but though the benefits to pursuing green building certification are clear in reputational, sustainability, and financial terms, it is entirely voluntary.

It’s one thing to shake an 85-page engineer’s report at a board meeting and say, “this is what we need to do!” and have everyone nod in agreement. 

Incandescent and fluorescent lighting consumes a lot of power and produces a large amount of excess heat, which is an inefficient use of electricity Most businesses, organizations, and institutions can obtain significant savings by undergoing an LED lighting retrofit The payback period can be relatively short, making LED lighting retrofits a great choice for energy conservation

The public demands green businesses now more than ever Many inefficient processes hold businesses back from the green ideal, and the way forward is blocked by numerous confusing options Do ‘green’ correctly, and you’ll stand out from the competition. The best part? You save money.  The Green Business Expectation With climate change in the news more than ever, an increasing number of people are taking a real interest in how they can reduce their own carbon footprints. The desire of consumers and investors to choose green businesses is only rising.

Municipalities operate large buildings and facilities in the communities they serve There’s no immunity from the carbon tax — with the biggest impact being natural gas consumption There is increasing public pressure to be a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions Technologies in energy efficiency may hold the keys to significant savings  The Municipality’s Energy Dilemma Effective energy management in Alberta is no easy task for municipalities. No matter how small your municipality is, you’re responsible for many things. The City of Edmonton, for instance, has multiple large recreation facilities, waste and drainage, road maintenance, and huge parkland to maintain. The city is also responsible for emergency services, mass transit, and all the infrastructure these services require. 

There are some very common mistakes organizations make when seeking to save money through energy initiatives. These can lead to lengthy or unrealizable payback periods for their investments Maximised energy efficiency depends on two factors: the minimization of both electrical loads and natural gas needs Implementing a strong energy and emission reduction plan means combining two approaches into one holistic strategy that tackles your major energy challenges together The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Pitfalls Plaguing the Payback Calculation What’s holding you back from an energy transformation? New energy technologies always sound promising, but the details can trip you up. For example, solar panels may allow companies to offset some of their electricity costs — but at today’s low electricity prices the payback on solar panels can usually stretch into the realm of 20 to 25 years (even with incentives). Getting a project with that kind of ROI delay approved can be a major hurdle.

The Vital Group of Companies is an integrated Alberta-based energy services and engineering company that uses its Energy-as-a-Service Integration (EaaSI) model to offer comprehensive energy services to clients. That’s all well and good- but who are we? Why do we do what we do? And how do we do it?