Energy: The Biggest Savings Come from the Basics

By Darren Kimura

Last year was an extremely volatile year with energy costs nearly doubling in just a few months. During this period, building owners and operators struggled to keep energy budgets in check. This led many to seek “outside of the box” alternatives to energy.

While there are many great claims behind energy technologies, the real wins come from those users who remember there is no silver bullet. These facility operators manage their buildings like a financial manager handles a well-balanced portfolio. The best way to truly save energy is to apply the basic rules of energy efficiency.

These five concepts will help you maximize your dollars and achieve a superior return on investment. Starting from the bottom, the No. 5 concept is:

5 “BEAM.” Applying the BEAM principals will ensure you achieve energy savings. B – Baseline, E – Establish, A – Apply, M - Measure. In every energy project you must start with a “Baseline” of energy use. This can be derived from a reliable utility meter or by installing a portable data logger. You must next “Establish” your action plan. This can be installing a new technology or a more systematic approach to using your energy system. The next step is to “Apply” your plan and give yourself an opportunity to achieve realistic yet challenging goals. “Measure” your progress by checking your energy use today versus your baseline.

4 Install Variable Frequency Drives (VFD). Today’s VFDs are very reliable and allow motors to speed up or slow down based on your need. The modern day facility has many motors operating at any time and the real opportunity is only limited by the imagination of your facility engineer. VFD installations have the potential to become the next lighting retrofit with its low first cost and quick paybacks. (BMH covered the topic in the February-March 2006 issue, so be sure to check your magazine archive or visit us online at www.buildingmanagementhawaii.com.)

3 Combine Photovoltaic (PV) panels with energy conservation measures. The market is showing a major interest in this technology. PV systems convert sunlight to produce electricity and can be installed directly on building rooftops. Unfortunately, system costs, even after available tax credits, have paybacks over 10 years. By the energy industry standard, this is a no-go decision. By combing PV with other energy conservation measures such as lighting retrofits and HVAC upgrades you can reduce paybacks significantly and save energy in the process.

2 The “30/2 Rule.” The real return in energy efficiency comes from the big two energy technologies, efficient lighting and efficient AC. While there are exceptions to the rule, most of the time, chasing energy savings outside of the big two is simply chasing an incremental savings. Facilities today require your laser focus to truly reach savings and by focusing on your lighting and AC, you should be able to achieve a 30 percent savings.

1 100 percent law. And the No. 1 concept is shut the lights when you leave the room. In the end, 100 percent of the energy you don’t use is 100 percent energy saved. Turn things off, leave them off. Make sure you train your staff to turn things off. The old myth of leaving things on because they use more energy upon start up is mostly gone now with electronic technologies common to today’s equipment.

Darren T. Kimura is a recognized expert in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He is the founder and chairman of Energy Industries, a Hawaii-based energy services company with branches in Washington, Oregon, Texas, Illinois, California and the Philippines. He can be reached at darren.kimura@energy-industries.com. He was recently given the Trade Ally of the Year award at the Energy Expo sponsored by Hawaiian Electric Co.

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Copyright 2003 Trade Publishing Company ®

Energy Industries

By Jacy L. Youn
A Shock to the System
Hawaii Business Magazine

What would you say if someone told you they could retrofit your business with all the newest energy-efficient technologies, shave thousands off your monthly utility bills and leave you with positive cash flow on top of it all? Utter disbelief? According to Energy Industries Chief Operating Officer Miles Kubo, that is the most common response to his claim that Energy Industries can do all of the above and then some. "What we're able to do," he explains, "is go into a commercial building and evaluate what their energy savings could be by moving to more efficient systems. And then we figure out how that savings can translate into the acquisition of the necessary equipment. Often, the client pays zero dollars out of pocket, and, in some cases, could even end up with positive cash flow. It's a pretty hard concept for most people to wrap their heads around, though, so there's a lot of education involved." The lack of understanding, however, has done little to take the wind out of the company's sails. In 2004, Energy Industries earned $2.9 million in gross annual revenues, and, in 2005, $7.4 million—a 155 percent increase, and a far cry from the $54,000 it generated in 1994, when president and founder, 31-year-old Darren Kimura, first started the company. Kimura says a few key things have aligned, contributing to the company's recent, dynamic growth. BOILING POINT: Energy Industries' Duane Ashimine, Darren Kimura, and Miles Kubo at the Ohana Waikiki Malia Hotel. photo: Scott Kubo Foremost has been the worldwide energy crisis and mounting conservation measures, combined with consumers' growing dependency on technology. Another contributing factor was the 2005 merging of Energy Industries' four separate divisions (advisory, engineering, conservation and smart buildings) into one mega-energy-conservation company. The final piece of the puzzle, says Kimura, was the hiring of Kubo in late 2004. "Miles has really brought a financial edge to the business. He's been able to do pro formas with clients to demonstrate their potential savings, as well as working with them to secure financing for energy-efficiency projects," says Kimura, citing the Ohana Waikiki Malia Hotel as a recent example of one such project (see sidebar). "The primary focus has always been on energy conservation and efficiency. But now that the business has evolved, and now that we've got Miles on board, we've been able to develop a highly integrated approach to save energy, and save businesses money!" >> THE OHANA WAIKIKI MALIA GOES GREEN For most managers, selling the idea of a $750,000 capital-gains project to the higher-ups would be nerve-wracking. But when general manager Glenn McGinn approached his superiors at Japan-based Lucky Hotels U.S.A. Co. Ltd. with a plan for a large-scale energy-efficiency project at one of its Waikiki properties, he didn't flinch for a second: "We needed to upgrade our mechanical systems at the Ohana Waikiki Malia Hotel. So I said to the owners, 'Okay, it's going to cost three-quarters of a million dollars—but let me finish!' Then [ I told them] how much money they were going save us and how little it was going to cost us up front." It didn't take long for McGinn to get corporate buy-in. In August 2005, Energy Industries began retrofitting the Malia with new equipment, including chilling systems, sewage pumps and lighting. By December, the property was an energy-efficient green machine. And, because Lucky Hotels put no money down on its investment, by using an equipment lease-purchase program, it was earning the company money, as well. The Malia's monthly utilities savings of $10,000, when netted against its lease payments of $9,000, brings in $1,000 positive cash flow each month. And that's not all. Early conservative estimates on annual savings for the property were around $90,000 year, but McGinn and Kimura now estimate actual savings could exceed $100,000. McGinn says that's probably the reason it was such an easy sell to begin with: "What's not to like? The system is paying for itself."

ENERGY INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES: ENERGY$MART™ EDGE™

Story from: energyvortex.com

Energy Industries, LLC. a national provider of energy services that focus on efficiency, generation and renewable energy proudly announces the Energy$mart™ EDGE™. “We estimate that in 2005 alone over 5 million dollars could have been captured by businesses for their energy efficiency projects. These dollars are in the form of utility rebates, tax credits and government grants, yet they were left on the table by US businesses.” said Brian Kealoha, Energy$mart™ Program Administrator. “The Energy$mart™ EDGE™ is designed to help businesses capture these dollars by handling all of the administration. We tap into this hidden cash stream and help our customers make money by saving energy!”

The Energy$mart™ EDGE™ is a national program that assists customers who are planning, implementing or recently completed energy efficiency upgrades. The program is based on a success model so there’s no risk on the part of the customer. “The Energy$mart™ EDGE™ is a good example of how customers can MAKE money by saving energy. We are happy to extend this valued added service to our customers and continue to seek ways to help customers become more profitable.” said Darren T. Kimura, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Industries.

About Energy$mart™ Program.

The Energy$mart™ Program was created in 2001 by a utility commission to help market demand side management programs. Through the success of its work, the Energy$mart™ team developed information solutions helping identify customer side incentives, in some cases getting rebates to cover over 80% of the project cost. Visit www.energysmartprogram.com for more information.

Visit Energy Industries at the upcoming West Coast Energy Management Congress (EMC) June 7-8, 2006, in Seattle, WA!

To learn more about the EMC visit the show website at: www.energyevent.com

The Suprising Upside of Energy Efficiency

Miles M. Kubo, Executive VP/COO, Energy Industries, LLC Did you budget enough for electricity bills this year? If not, you are not alone. Who could have predicted double-digit increases in fuel costs driving up utility expenses? Unfortunately, crude oil prices continue to trend upward with no apparent end in sight. The good news is that there is something you can do to control your energy costs. In fact, it might surprise you to know just how valuable energy conservation can be to your company’s bottom line. Throughout the country, millions of dollars are wasted on inefficient building systems –- HVAC, lighting, pumps, and motors -- that use more electricity than needed. By replacing old equipment with high efficiency equipment and adding new energy-saving technologies, businesses can often gain operational and financial benefits beyond expectation. When measured in financial terms, energy-efficiency projects, or energy conservation measures (ECMs), can generate significant returns of 20% to 60% on capital improvement costs. A lighting retrofit project alone might achieve a 50% internal rate of return (IRR). These are numbers that will make any CFO sit up and take notice. Upon implementing an energy-saving measure, the associated reduction in utility bills represent a cash stream of “usable” or “savable” funds that can either offset other operating costs or enhance operating income. Think of the ECMs as “unrealized” cash streams waiting to be tapped. Generally speaking, energy-efficiency projects are different than other capital improvement projects because of their cash stream component, and should be evaluated on both operational and financial merits, apart from typical capital improvements. A good rule is to place energy-efficiency project on a separate list than other capital improvements, and do them first. Despite excellent cost saving opportunities, many energy-efficiency projects are never accomplished because the cost of the ECM is often greater than the company’s capital improvement budget allowance. The conundrum, therefore, is… “How does one benefit from energy saving measures if one cannot afford the measures?” Interestingly, there is an ideal solution for addressing this aspect of energy projects -– equipment leases. While companies frequently use equipment leases in the normal course of their businesses for vehicles, computers and photocopiers, they are often unaware that it is possible to lease almost any fixed asset used in business operations, like HVAC or lighting equipment. Equipment leasing is a form of financial leveraging that eliminates the large front-end payments in favor of smaller monthly payments over a period of time. This allows for the “matching” of cash inflows (monthly utility savings) and cash outflows (monthly lease rents). For energy projects, the desired condition occurs when monthly utility bill savings are greater than monthly lease payments. When projects are properly leveraged using equipment leasing programs, they become “sources of cash” that can be used to fund other expenses. Here is an example: Assume a lighting project for an office building -- say, retrofitting 1,000 fluorescent fixtures with energy efficient components. The project might cost about $50,000, and reduce utility bills by about $1,666 per month, or $20,000 annually. The project will have a “payback” of about 2.5 years on energy savings alone. The calculated internal rate of return (IRR) is 49%. Now, if this retrofit is procured under an equipment lease program (capital lease) at 8% for 5 years, monthly payments would be approximately $1,000 per month, or $12,000 annually. When the monthly lease payments and utility savings are netted together, the result is positive cash flow of approximately $666 per month, or $8,000 annually – yes, positive cash flow. In addition to positive cash flow, the utility company will often provide a rebate check to encourage energy saving, say $10,000. In total, over a five year period, $50,000 of “usable” or “savable” cash is made available to the customer, not to mention the operational improvement to the property. Through the use of leverage, the project IRR increased from 49% to an number that cannot be calculated because there are no periods of cash outflow. As illustrated, this energy project has become a real “source of cash”, not just a “use of cash” like other capital improvements. To some, this might sound too good to be true, but it is simple math when investment returns are greater than interest rates. It does not take “rocket science” to determine that borrowing at 8% to achieve returns of 49% makes good economic sense. Financial benefits like this are available to all those who choose to take energy conservation seriously. Here are some financial tips for the energy-minded: Don’t underestimate the real value of energy efficiency. Find out for yourself, because the results might surprise you. Consider old inefficient equipment to be unrealized cash streams, waiting to be tapped. Place energy efficiency projects on a different “to do” list than typical capital improvement projects. They might be sources of cash. Match your cash inflows and outflows. When possible, use equipment financing to let energy savings pay for projects over time. If you think you can’t afford an energy project, think again. There is definitely a “cost of delay” for energy inefficiency. In summary, there are two important concepts to understand and remember about energy-conservation measures. The first is simply that the investment value of an ECM can be excellent, often much better than traditional security investments. The second point is that thoughtful use of financial leverage can make an ECM become a source of cash. As fuel costs increase and the demand for power grows, expect your electricity bill to grow as well. To all those who have not included energy conservation in their business plans, this will be a wake-up call –- don’t be caught by surprise! Miles M. Kubo, MBA, Finance, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, frequently speaks with financial officers on energy finance. He is Executive Vice President & COO of Energy Industries, LLC, a Hawaii-based energy services company with branches in Washington, Oregon and California. Mr. Kubo can be reached at miles.kubo@energy-industries.com.

Kimura appears on the KHON 2 Morning Show

Kimura Appears on KHON 2 Morning News: HONOLULU, HI - Darren T. Kimura, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Industries a national provider of energy services is featured on Hawaii's Morning News, April 21, 2006.

"Brian Kealoha promoted to Senior Vice President"

Posted on: Monday, April 3, 2006
Story from: The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii


*Carrie Castle has been named business manager/market controller for Clear Channel Radio in Hawai'i. She will oversee all financial matters for Hawai'i's seven Clear Channel stations. She most recently served as market controller for Emmis Television Broadcasting.

*Amy Watabayashi has joined Bank of Hawaii Insurance Services as an account executive. Her responsibilities include overseeing the life and benefits department in addition to managing and developing new business opportunities.

*Bruce Shewalter has been promoted to the position of vice president of sales and marketing at Contract Furnishers of Hawaii, Inc. dba Office Pavilion. NorthStar Alliance has promotedAudrey Foster to wholesale account executive.

*Sheryl-Ann Wong, senior vice president of NorthStar, will be in charge of its new real estate sales division.

*Rick Peterson has been promoted to vice president of e-commerce at Hawaiian Airlines. He previously served as senior director of e-business and marketing programs..

*Brian Kealoha has been promoted to senior vice president of Energy Industries, an energy company focusing on efficiency, generation and renewable energy.

*Shannon Ladd is the new director of human resources at Sheraton Kauai Resort. She will direct employment, wage and salary administration, benefits, training, employee/labor relations and organizational development for the Po'ipu Beach resort.

*Maryl Construction has announced its new employees: Doug Costales, superintendent of the Villa Erickson residence at Hualalai Resort on the Big Island; Clyde Wakida, general superintendent of Kapalua Village Phase 1; Chris Spencer, project manager of Wainani at Kiahuna and other Kapalawai projects on Kaua'i; and Eric Wong, project manager of Kapolei Spectrum project.

*The Ritz-Carlton Club announced recently that Jeffrey Berger has been named director of sales and marketing for Kapalua Bay.


Sponsored by:

Energy Industries opens Puget Sound office

by Linda Anderson - 3.24.06
Story from: nwcurrent.com

Honolulu-based Energy Industries LLC has opened a sales office in Bellevue, Wash., adding to the company’s Northwest presence. Founded in 1994, the energy services company now operates 12 offices throughout the world. The office opening follows the company’s purchase of Quantum Lighting of Spokane in 2005. The purchase allowed the company to broaden its lighting offerings to include scheduled lighting maintenance, including emergency repair services, for commercial and industrial accounts. It also offers data-com maintenance, installation and repair. Energy Industries founder Darren T. Kimura is host of the recently launched Energy Smart News (ESN), a weekly Internet radio program featuring guest speakers and promoting energy-efficiency. As of mid-January, the program had been downloaded more than 3,000 times, according to the company. “We’re trying to get the industry to move forward faster by sharing information and promoting energy-efficiency,” Kimura said of the program. Energy Industries employs 200 people who specialize in designing and delivering energy management and conservation programs for commercial and industrial customers in the United States. The company also operates a 24-hour National Accounts Center.

Energy Industries, LLC Local Company Goes International From Hilo to Honolulu to the World

By Alvin Koo
Story from: Building Management Hawaii

I love it when things just work out. Like they’re meant to be. For instance, Elvis went to Sun Records to make a gift for his mama. Bill Gates got a small contract to make a quickie piece of software for IBM. J.K. Rowling was riding a crowded train home to London when the idea for Harry Potter simply fell into her head.

Darren Kimura is a third generation electrical professional. He learned his business in the cradle of the family business.

From his earliest days, he could see that energy production was not being planned well and that our dependence on oil would lead to problems someday. He asked his dad’s customers if they were interested in energy efficiency.

They said, “You mean like in saving money? Let’s do it.”

His first customer was a small office building in Hilo, where he’s from. It was the kind of dark, dingy type country building with dark wood and incandescent lights. He cut the number of fixtures in half and replaced them with fluorescent lights. Not brain surgery. But it worked. Even you knew that.

A lot of the world’s best ideas are like that… simple.

Today, Kimura has a company with offices in Kahului, Hilo, Seattle, Spokane, Boise, Portland, Guam and New York. Originally founded in Hilo in 1994, Kimura’s company, Energy Industries, LLC, is a national energy efficiency company with headquarters in Honolulu. In total, the company has about 180 employees worldwide.

His next step is Hong Kong.

Then, of course, the world!

It was only two years ago I first talked to him and he sounded like a nice local kid you’d invite to meet for business at Zippy’s. In 2000 Pacific Business News listed him in its inaugural top Forty Under 40. He then went on to win Entrepreneur of the Year for SBA in 2002 (Hawaii, California, Nevada, Arizona and Guam). That same year his company was named service firm of year for SBA.

He started by doing mostly consulting work with the electric company to improve its rebate programs and started moving toward project development type work, where he could go into a customer facility and figure out ways to save energy and bring in the components to make it happen.

When he got big enough to hire contractors or buy things acting as an owner’s representative, he started adding staff and opened his first branch office in Maui.

He went to Honolulu in late 1996, early 1997, and started Pacific Energy Services in 1998.

It did engineering work, meaning more mechanical work with chillers, heat pumps, the kind of components that made him a player in the biggest buildings in Hawaii.

In 2000, he opened eControls for building automation systems, which means wiring up a building to a computer, from lights to A/C, anything that uses energy, thermostat, timers, the works. Then in 2002, he began Energy Smarts, which was designed to market all these different services and include rebates from manufacturers and utilities in a complete package.

“I realized most electrical contractors or mechanical contractors had the technical expertise but not the sales engineers able to communicate these great ideas with the customers effectively. With Energy$mart, we now had a really comprehensive approach to energy,” Kimura says in his youthful voice.

In 2003, he decided to begin changing the umbrella organization which had seven different companies. It had the Facility Service Group, Energy Conservation, eCONTROLS, Lighting and Electrical, Pacific Energy, Quantum Lighting and Energy$mart. He rolled them all into one, called Energy Industries, and began expanding to the West Coast starting with Sacramento. By this time, he had about 90 people.

“Ninety people is not a large company when you look at the national level,” Kimura says.
In 2004, he opened in Seattle and January 2005 bought a company in Spokane, Wash., which gave him a presence in Canada, Idaho and Alaska. In 2005, he opened a training center for customers and employees in Seattle. “The training center was designed for continuing staff education which leads to a better, more professional business,” says Kimura.

In mid-2005 came Guam. Kimura plans to go international next. The reason is simple.
“People need our services and there are no other firms like us in the U.S. Some firms do a portion of what we offer, but no one provides it in a one stop shop. The complete package allows for our customers to not only identify their savings but achieve it. Without a full line of services, our customers wouldn’t achieve their ROIs! ”

And why not the world? Energy is everywhere we look and our lives are becoming more dependant on electricity now more than ever.

“Today, our firm’s Honolulu staff exceeds 50 professionals experienced in a wide range of disciplines all focused on the goal of helping our customers save money by saving energy.
“Our strength lies in our ability to provide high-quality products with:

1) proper energy efficient design,
2) proper installation, and
3) proper long term maintenance.

“We specialize in finding solutions to the problems that commercial and industrial customers face.”

Kimura’s motives are not like Donald Trump’s.

“My goal always was to help people. This has been instilled in me from my parents and promoted though out my career as a scout, ultimately helping me achieve Eagle Scout. I had a vision that as long as I can help others, the rest will be taken care of.

“By helping businesses save energy, we help the environment in reducing atmospheric pollution, we help the electrical utilities by reducing rolling blackouts, ensuring our energy security and deferring future generation and we help the customer by saving money… of course we also help the government by paying taxes.

“Additionally, we help reduce dependence on imported oil, help integrate renewable technologies into today’s facilities and help provide efficient solutions without the sacrifices of traditional conservation.

“Through our concepts of energy economics, our goal is to save our customers so much energy that from the first day we install their measure, they’re at a positive cash flow.
“This is a unique win-win-win industry.”

Alvin Koo has been a writer and public relations practitioner in Hawaii for 30 years. His book “Stuff Nobody Told Me” can be found at Amazon.com.

More is Less With Variable Frequency Drives

By Duane Ashimini
Story from: Building Management Hawaii
February - March 2006 Edition

“Run your equipment less to save energy.” Seems simple, right? But, did you know that there are instances when running more equipment will actually save energy? As counterintuitive as it may initially seem, it is possible by using Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs). A VFD is a equipment controller that can vary motor speeds based on system load requirements. The VFDs of today actually make running multiple pieces of equipment in parallel more efficient than using a single one. This has not always been the case. Just over a decade ago VFD may as well have stood for Very Foolish Decision. Their high cost and low dependability made it difficult to justify their installation and were often viewed as an afterthought to fix oversized equipment. The 21st century welcomed vast improvements in the reliability, pricing and understanding of the technology, turning VFDs into a leading weapon in the arsenal of energy cost reduction. Many of the first and second generation VFDs still lurk in your mechanical rooms taking up wall space. Our experience has been that most are either disconnected or in permanent bypass mode. This is not a surprise considering the early versions had no standard protection against power strikes or brown outs which caused routine failures. Failures cost money and embarrassment and so goes the equipment back into full power mode never to be returned to automatic VFD control. The next generation of VFDs is here. They cost half of what they did a decade ago and are produced by more than 15 major manufacturers. However, price is irrelevant if we’re buying the same unreliable product. Fortunately, the increased competition has created demand for built-in features such as power transient protection, harmonic reduction and built-in control sequences. VFDs have become one of the standard features in our design and implementation of HVAC systems today. Old school ideas commonly called for dedicated back up or redundant equipment to ensure continuous operation. We have seen that it is frequently more economical to operate both pumps at half the flow. This can reduce the required pumping power by as much as 70 percent. Why limit VFDs to pumps? They are also big savers on cooling towers, chillers, air handling units, all types of centrifugal pumping, refrigerant compressors and exhaust fans. If the energy savings isn’t enough incentive to add VFDs to your facility, consider the reduction in wear on the motors, gears and belts due to reduced speeds and start up torque. If you’re still not convinced, Hawaiian Electric Company supports the technology on HVAC pumps and fans by providing a rebate to help encourage those who may not be entirely sold on the idea. With reduced costs, utility rebates and significant energy savings, VFDs offer a quick payback on your investment. So stop believing “less is better,” with the proper design, installation, control and commissioning of a Variable Frequency Drive systems running more equipment can save you money.

Duane Ashimini, CEM, is executive vice president/chief technology officer of Energy Industries LLC, a Hawaii-based energy services company that specializes in energy conservation for commercial customers. He is a pioneer of energy-efficient mechanical system design in Hawaii.

"Fuel Cells The next generation"

by Darren T. Kimura
March 1, 2005
Story from: Building Management Hawaii

Imagine a technology that allows you to produce electricity from water. Imagine creating electricity on-site at your facility as easily as producing hot water for your showers. Imagine doing all of this with a technology that has no moving parts and no combustion. As futuristic as this technology sounds, it is a reality today in a product simply know as a Fuel Cell

What is a Fuel Cell?

A fuel cell is a device that uses an electro-chemical process to produce electricity. In this sense, a fuel cell is similar to your standard car battery but the chemical components are constantly fed to the fuel cell which translates to constant electrical output. Typically chemical fuel choices include water and a gas such as hydrogen/propane or even methane. Current Fuel Cell Uses
Fuel cell technology is currently used in a wide range of industries. Fuel cell systems can currently be found on board NASA’s Space Shuttle flights producing electricity and water for astronauts. The automotive industry has embraced fuel cells and virtually every major manufacturer is offering a product on the market powered by fuel cells. GM recently introduced its Sequel, a SUV powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. It is available today. In the commercial sector, companies such as UPS have partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to test the use and economics of converting to an all fuel cell fleet. Fuel cells are also commonly found today aboard mass transit vehicles, at universities and federal facilities, in the military and even at residential homes or providing reliable standby power.

Advantages

There are many advantages to using a fuel cell. From a facility operation stand point, the fuel cell has no moving parts, thus it requires low maintenance and emits virtually no audible noise or emissions. Fuel cell systems create water, electricity and heat allowing for a highly efficient use of its chemical inputs. Finally tax credits may be available on the federal and state levels which help to offset the high costs of system installations.

Disadvantages

The major limiting factor behind the technology is that systems today are extremely costly. comparison, purchasing electrical power from your local utility will run you an estimated kilowatt hour charge of $0.11. Over a 5 year period photovoltaic power may run you about $0.27 cents per kilowatt hour. Fuel cells will presently cost an estimated $0.42 per kilowatt hour. While the concept itself is not new, the application is evolving thus and there is little understanding of fuel cell system use over time. In fact, it has been speculated that fuel cells may lose significant efficiencies as time goes on. These situations are being tested today by Hawaiian Electric and the military to quantify the trueeffect of fuel cell system use The Future of Fuel Cells As the market continues to evolve and systems become more economically viable, the near future will see vehicles powered completely by fuel cell and more on-site generation systems installed. On the consumer level, in the not too distant future we may see fuel cells included cell phones, wrist watches, laptop computers. One day you may find that a fuel cell is producing the electricity for your facility from the waste methane of your trash and sewage systems and is producing water for your landscape, as well as heat for your hot water. Darren T. Kimura is the President and CEO of Energy Industries, an energy services company focusing on the installation and implementation of energy systems in Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. Darren is an Electrical Engineer and Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and has over 14 years of experience in the energy industry.

Sponsored by:

Isle firm will buy Lighting Company in Washington

By Allison Schaefers
aschaefers@starbulletin.com
Story from: Business Star Bulletin.com
Thursday, March 24, 2005

Hawaii-based Energy Industries LLC said yesterday it will acquire Quantum Lighting, a Washington state lighting and energy consulting company. Adding Quantum Lighting is a strategically important move if Energy Industries wants to grow, said Darren T. Kimura, president and chief executive of the local company. "We're really trying to become a large national player so this is a very important first step to broaden our market outside of Hawaii," said Kimura, who launched Energy Industries in 1994 from his hometown of Hilo on the Big Island. Since then, the company has grown to include ECH, ECH Lighting & Electrical, ECH Lighting Co., Pacific Energy Services, and eCONTROLS. The companies design and build lighting and energy-efficient systems. Quantum Lighting, founded in 1974, provides design services, energy savings calculations, project management and utility rebate assistance for lighting retrofits to customers in Washington, Idaho, California and Alaska. Kimura said he learned of the company after partnering with them on several projects and he briefly served as their president in 2004. He stepped down as president of Quantum in October 2004 to begin preparing for the eventual acquisition, he said. "Energy Industries has gained a lot of great people who are very skilled at what they do," Kimura said. "They fit our company philosophy and we gain their existing customer base." Following the acquisition, Quantum will remain in Spokane, Kimura said. The company will serve as the Pacific Northwest main regional office for Energy Industries, which also has offices in Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Sacramento, Calif.



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Military bases test fuel-cell technology

From the December 31, 2004 print edition
Prabha Natarajan
Pacific Business News

Demonstration fuel cells installed at defense stations at Pearl Harbor, Marine Corps Base Hawaii and Schofield Barracks will test the viability of alternative energy sources. The one-year test installation at the military bases is part of a nationwide effort, mandated and funded by Congress, to explore emissionless power production to meet the needs of the U.S. Department of Defense. It also could become another source of contracts, worth millions of dollars, for local energy companies. Fuel cells, each with a capacity to produce 5 kilowatts of power, were installed at the bases earlier this month by a Hawaii company, Energy Industries LLC. The estimated $150,000 system will produce power, and heat released as a result will be used to heat water. "The system will allow us to reuse more of the energy we pay for," said Keith Saito,
energy manager for Navy Region Hawaii. "We are looking at how feasible, economical and efficient the system is." Saito had a fuel cell installed at his office building, called Building 166 at Pearl Harbor Naval Station. The 53,000-square-foot, two-story building is home to workshops,
warehouses and offices that support the Navy. Its round-the -clock operations generate an annual energy bill of $54,000 . He acknowledged that the energy produced from the demonstration fuel cell, presently 2.5 kilowatts, will not contribute much to its average daily consumption of 1,000 kilowatts. About 2.5 kilowatts are needed to power a home. "We are participating because we are trying to figure out how efficient these machines can be," he said.
The system should be at least 70 percent to 80 percent efficient to be commercially feasible.
Energy Industries, the local contractor handling the demonstrations, will keep track of production and consumption of propane that will fuel the cell, said company President Darren Kimura.


Sponsored by:
"After a year we will do a post-mortem on the product to see how it reacted," he said.
Reach Prabha Natarajan at 955-8041 or pnatarajan@bizjournals.com.

Trade Winds - Energy Industries announces Miles Kubo as its new Chief Operating Officer

Posted on: Monday, December 13, 2004
Advertiser Staff
Story from: HonoluluAdvertiser.com

• Property developer and manager MW Group Ltd. has named Brian Wong to two positions: general manager of the downtown Pioneer Plaza, and asset manager for the company's O'ahu properties. In the position relating to Pioneer Plaza, he will oversee all aspects of the downtown high-rise's operations, contract and lease negotiations, management of revenue sources, and budgeting and forecasting. In the latter position, company projects on O'ahu he will oversee will include Pioneer Plaza, Nimitz Center, 'Aiea Town Square and properties on Koapaka, Ka'ihikapu and McCully streets in Honolulu. He is former development and site acquisition manager for McDonald's Corp., responsible for real estate development, and asset manager for Hawai'i, Guam and Saipan. Also promoted was Samuel Chung, formerly vice president and general manager of Pioneer Plaza. As new vice president of acquisitions, he is responsible for MW Group's entire acquisition/refinance process

• Miles M. Kubo has joined Energy Industries LLC as executive vice president and chief operating officer. The Hawai'i-based energy services company specializes in energy management, energy-efficient technology and conservation programs for commercial customers. It operates in Hawai'i as ECH Lighting & Electrical, Pacific Energy Services and eControls. Kubo is past executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hawaii Dental Service, and past executive vice president and chief financial officer of Alaka'i Mechanical Corp.

• Mike McCartney, chief executive officer and president of PBS Hawai'i, has been named to the board of trustees of his alma mater, Pacific University, a 2,500-student private university in Forest Grove, Ore. He is a former state senator, a past director of the state Department of
Human Resources Development, and co-founder of the popular karaoke TV show "Hawaii Stars."

• Gregg Matsuura, a financial consultant in the Honolulu office of Smith Barney Citigroup, has been promoted to second vice president of investments. He is a 16-year veteran of the finance and real-estate industry. Smith Barney is a provider of comprehensive financial planning and advisory services to high net-worth investors, institutions, corporations and private businesses, government entities and foundations.

• Christine Kim has joined Peter Vincent & Associates LLC as a graphic designer. Kim is an eight-year veteran of design in Hawai'i and her native Taiwan.

• Dennis Stoltenberg has been named vice president/human resources for Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Inc., a position left vacant with the retirement of J. Susan Corley. Stoltenberg has held other jobs in personnel, organizational development and human resources. He was most recently vice president of human resources at GE Access, distributor of computer products and services, based in Denver. Maui Land owns about 29,000 acres of Maui land and is involved in pineapple cultivation; operation of the Kapalua Resort; and the creation and management of holistic communities.

• Judy Bishop, general manager of Honolulu-based CTA Staffing, has been named 2005 president of the Hawaii Staffing Association, affiliate of the American Staffing Association.

Companies save money, energy by getting

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
Story from: HonoluluAdvertiser.com

Ed Nakano saw such a benefit in replacing the lighting in the office and warehouse space of C.S. Wo & Sons that he did it at home, too. The vice president of the 95-year-old furniture giant, realizing how much energy — and money — the company would save by going energyefficient,
went to Home Depot to change the fixtures in his Royal Summit home. He replaced the less -efficient magnetic ballasts — devices used to stabilize the current in a circuit — with electronic ones and replaced his incandescent bulbs with new efficient fluorescent ones. "They had to be changed anyway," Nakano said. "Why not change them so that it will afford you some savings?"
C.S. Wo & Sons is one of more than 150 local businesses that have found a simple way to save
energy and lower their electricity bill: retrofitting their lighting. And the company did it with the help of Hawaiian Electric's Energy$olutions for Business program.

"The fastest way for a company to start saving money on energy is by retrofitting your lighting," said Sam Nichols, customer efficiency program analyst with HECO. Beginning last August, C.S. Wo had retrofitted light fixtures in several stores and its 90,000-square-foot warehouse in Salt Lake. In total, more than 900 fixtures were changed, saving about 198,000 kilowatt hours per year. The estimated total savings for C.S. Wo is $24,000 per year. With an $11,000 rebate from HECO, C.S. Wo will make up the cost to retrofit its lighting in about two years.

And already it's been worth it. The new lamps in the warehouse are nearly four times as bright as incandescent ones, making for a safer work environment, Nakano said. And because these lights are on at least 12 hours a day, the energy saved will translate into money saved on the company's monthly electricity bill. "We're getting more light with less energy consumption," Nakano said. While retrofitting light fixtures isn't the only way for companies to cut back on
energy consumption, it's easier and more affordable than changing larger units such as air conditioners or chillers. The reasons why companies are moving toward energy efficiency are largely the same. "Some (companies) are energyconscious," Nichols said. "But more of them are looking at how they can make their businesses more profitable. When they realize their fixtures are old, it makes sense for them to change them all so they can start saving energy." HECO has done 325 audits, with 170 businesses actually implementing the lighting retrofits. HECO conducts audits for businesses at no charge and provides a detailed report of the results. If the business wants to go forward with the retrofit, HECO arranges for a licensed contractor to do the work at a discounted cost. For small businesses, Energy Conservation Hawai'i does the retrofit at a discount of 20 percent, said president Darren Kimura. Better Brands, a wholesale beverage distributor, retrofitted its offices last year. The company then retrofitted its Waipi'o
warehouse, too. Certified Management Inc., a property management company, changed the
light fixtures in its parking garage and emergency stairwells, saving 54,000 KWH a year with an annual savings of $6,000. "It's successful because we've taken the guesswork away from the
customers," Nichols said. Before the program started in 1998, business owners had to arrange for audits with lighting companies on their own. This way, she said, they feel more comfortable with HECO providing the data. In addition, the program does all the work for businesses interested in retrofitting its fixtures — and at an affordable cost. HECO pays the contractor upfront, with businesses able to reimburse HECO in interest-free monthly payments. That's huge for small businesses, who may not be able to afford the retrofit cost upfront. "It's popular because the cost is low," Nichols said. "And we allow them to pay us back in monthly payments. That's a big deal for smaller customers that they don't have to pay this huge bill at one time. They're able to spread it out." Some businesses benefit more than others. Those who keep their lights on longer, such as parking garages for example, will save more. The Ice Palace skating rink retrofitted about 80 fixtures in its offices, retail shop and storage areas last November, costing about $3,000. But saving 28,000 KWH a year translates into a $4,000-a-year savings for the company. The retrofit project should pay for itself in less than nine months.
"We're very, very happy with it," said John Beck, general manager. "It seemed brighter immediately. It's great because we're consuming less (energy). It's good for the island and, of course, we're paying less ... Saving money, more light and costing us less — that's all very attractive."

For more info
• General energy efficiency inquiries: 94-POWER (947-6937)
• Lighting retrofit inquiries: 543- 4753
• www.heco.com

Benefits of program Part of Energy$olutions for Business:
• Offers a simple way to retrofit lighting to conserve energy
• Free audit and report
• Instant one-time HECO rebate
• Payment plan for retrofit through licensed contractor
For small business (10 to 199 fixtures) and big buildings (200 to 800 fixtures)

What makes T8 lights better Advantages of more efficient T8 fluorescent lights over older T12
fluorescent lights:
• Saves about 30 percent on the lighting portion of your bill.
• T8s run at cooler temperatures, which means your air conditioner doesn't have to work as hard to cool your rooms.
• T8 lamps have 10 percent more lumens — a measure of light output — than T12 lamps and less lumen depreciation so their light levels don't diminish as much as they get older.
• Because of the tri-phosphor coating on T8 lamps, the color rendering is better. Products such
as food or retail merchandise look better.
• T8 lamps fire faster than T12s, which may help employees who suffer from headaches because of flickering lights.

Source: Hawaiian Electric Company Inc.
Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com .

Power consumption increasing on O'ahu

Posted on: Sunday, July 11, 2004
Story from: HonoluluAdvertiser.com
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer

O'ahu residents paid slightly more in June for the same amount of electricity compared with last June. The increase added to electric rates that are among the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Energy — nearly double the national average on O'ahu and triple the national average on some Neighbor Islands. The power bill for an O'ahu customer using Hawaiian Electric Co's average 2003 residential use of 685 kilowatt hours was $104.66 in June 2003 and $105.23 in June 2004, according to HECO's Lynn Unemori. The effective rate per
kilowatt hour for O'ahu is $0.1536 per kilowatt hour. The recent increase is due to the rising cost of oil, which the electric companies are allowed by the state Public Utilities Commission to pass on to consumers. But a lot of folks have also been increasing their use of power, increasing
their bills even more. Average power consumption for O'ahu residences is up 7.4 percent in the past five years. Blame that on the demand for comfort, and perhaps not fully understanding
how appliances use power — some even when they're turned off. Those rising power bills are cutting into what consumers have available to spend on everything else.

Even though many residents are careful about their power use — and some have invested in solar water heating and other measures to reduce costs — rising fuel prices and an increasing use of electric-powered gadgets are undercutting conservation measures. "I don't think there's any question that in today's world, we're more of a plugload type of community. We're using more electricity than in the past, with laptops, air conditioning, landscape lighting and all the rest," said Darren Kimura, whose firm Energy Conservation Hawai'i conducts energy audits
and helps businesses and residents reduce their electric loads. Residents are concerned, and trying to balance conveniences such as air conditioning against the rising costs. 'Pay for comfort'
'Ewa Beach resident William Gonsalves said his power bill is about $350 a month, most of it represented by the drain of a central air-conditioning system that's on 24 hours a day. "You gotta pay for comfort," Gonsalves said. But he said he is interested in ways to cut the bill.
Denise and Troy Yamamoto of Mililani Mauka reduced a power bill that was even below the island average. They have installed a solar water heater and put in an attic fan to suck the sun-heated air out of the house. Their power bill is about $70 a month. "As far as our climate, it's very comfortable," Denise Yamamoto said. "We're not sacrificing anything at all." Maui residents Paul and Mary Akiona of Waiehu Terrace have recently seen their power bills increase from $125 to $155 a month — some of that because of oil price increases and some of it seasonal as they use air conditioning more in the warm months. The bill is near the average for Maui
residents. They have a solar water heater to reduce electric bills. Mary Akiona is conscious of power use and cuts down where she can. She looks for energyefficient appliances, turns off lights and TV when no one is in the room, uses cold water for laundry and uses fluorescent bulbs.
But the Akionas have their cell phone chargers, cable TV boxes and an upright freezer that is kept outdoors. Mary said unplugging cable boxes would be inconvenient because plugs and wiring are behind furniture. Kaua'i resident Charlie Cowden fixed that problem by having wall switches installed that turn off each of the power plugs in his North Shore home. Cowden installs solar power systems, so he is conscious of power demand. Home power systems Big Island resident Bob Jacobson, a Green Party member who sits on the Hawai'i County Council, lives in the Puna subdivision called Hawaiian Acres, where he installed a $20,000 home power system rather than pay an estimated $60,000 to hook up to commercial power. The core of his system
is 24 photovoltaic cells on the roof, with propane water heating and a diesel generator backup.
He has the appliances most households have — a large television set, microwave, refrigerator and washing machine. His home office has two computers, printers, a fax and a copier. Jacobson said he needs to run the diesel about once a week. An independent power system may not be for everyone. Jacobson describes himself as a "nerd" who is comfortable tinkering with electronics and diesel generators. A household looking for a road map to reduced power consumption can start with the water heater, Kaua'i's Cowden said. "The single best thing people can do is install solar water heating," he said. "For a lot of people (electric hot water) is half the power bill."
Mililani Mauka's Yamamoto family spent $3,000 on theirs. "It was definitely worth it. We're saving every month ... so we're really happy with it," said Denise Yamamoto, 32, an architect who works from home. Small things count Electric clothes drying is another huge load. Minimizing the dryer's use, switching to gas and air-drying clothes can create significant savings. The theory is simple, Cowden said: "Converting energy into electricity, and then converting it back to heat is not very efficient." Energy consultant Kimura said insulating walls and ceilings, putting in attic venting fans and tinting windows with materials that reduce heat transfer will
keep a home cooler. After water heating, "air conditioning is probably the biggest consumer of energy for a home," he said. Kaua'i Electric energy expert Ray Mierta said that most electrical equipment sold today is energy-efficient and that because 1992's Hurricane 'Iniki destroyed so many appliances, most Kaua'i residents have fairly up-to-date equipment. But if you have a 20-year-old refrigerator or freezer in the garage, its power demand may be costing more than the stuff it's keeping cold. After that, it's the small things that count. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents — especially for lights that stay on a long time daily, such as the light at your front door. Turn computers and monitors off when they're not in use. Unplug "phantom loads" from your plugs. Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245- 3074. Kevin Dayton, Catherine Toth and Christie Wilson helped produce this report.


Sponsored by:

Ozone water treatment is taking off

By Kelli Abe Trifonovitch
Story from: Hawaii Business Magazine: Industry Focus: Energy

It's so poetic it could sell the very detergents it's eliminating. Ozone is the same gas that turns the sky blue. When ozone is used to treat water in laundry systems, it saves on energy, water and the need for harsh bleaches and other chemical cleaners. That is why the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel decided to install an $80,000 ozone system for its laundry room a couple of years ago after a trial run, and why other hotel properties have recently followed suit. Beachcomber's Director of Housekeeping Roy Honda says he figures the hotel made a return on its investment in one-and-a-half years, since it began saving about $50,000 annually by using less water, less electricity and fewer chemicals. "It's been working great for us and saving us money. It's good for the environment," Honda says. A traditional wash cycle would have taken 200 gallons of water, much of which would need to be heated. Now the laundry cycle uses just 100 gallons of sky-blue, unheated, ozonated water. The man who sold Honda the system, John Connors of Ozone Industries Inc., says, "It's a huge savings in energy as well as chemicals, because ozone is a natural bleach, but it's a low-level bleach. So there's a lot of linen saved, because [the hotels] don't replace the usual amount of linen." He says the annual deterioration rate of linen has been reduced from 10 percent to less than 2 percent. "The ozone thing right now is crazy," says Darren Kimura, whose energy consulting company has supervised the installation of ozone water-treatment systems at a number of hotel properties. "It's kind of at the beginning of technology application here. It's really only been about three years that Hawaii has really taken to it." One of the biggest companies in the United States has been commercializing ozone purification for a couple of decades. GE Osmonics, a company of the GE Water Technologies division of General Electric Co., has been disinfecting water using ozone since the '70s, and partnered with Fuji Electric Ltd. of Japan in 1997 to develop commercial ozone generators.

ozone

Pronunciation: Ozon 1 : a triatomic, very reactive form of oxygen that is a bluish irritating gas of pungent odor, that is formed naturally in the atmosphere by a photochemical reaction and is a major air pollutant in the lower atmosphere, but a beneficial component of the upper atmosphere, and that is used for oxidizing, bleaching, disinfecting and deodorizing 2 : pure and refreshing air

Source: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (www.m-w.com)

Ozone-system companies such as Connors' got a huge boost in 2001, when the FDA ruled that ozone could be used as an antimicrobial agent on food, including meat and poultry. The decision has literally led to new markets of business for Ozone Industries Inc. Connors has placed ozone-disinfection systems in the Star Market chain of supermarkets, and recently added Times supermarkets to his list of clients. He says ozone treatment to kill bacteria and viruses can extend the shelf life of produce, meat, poultry and fish. At the time of this writing, his partner was meeting with Costco officials on the Mainland about these ozone systems.

"I'd like to corner the market with the grocery chains and/or Costco," says Connors. That would boost the approximately $150,000 in sales Ozone Industries expected in 2003. Connors says, "It's been a struggle and still is. I'm not getting wealthy, but am staying excited and interested."



Sponsored by:

T5 HO Cutting Edge Lighting Technology Brightens Historic YWCA

Story from: Powerlines
A Hawaiian Electric Company Inc., Publication

T5 HO. Sounds like a robot name straight out of a Star Wars movie. In fact, T-5’s are high output energy-saving, commercial/industrial fluorescent lamps with a broad range of applications. The “5” denotes a diameter of 5/12 of an inch. T-5 High Output (HO) lamps are superior to High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps in terms of energy savings, life, uniformity, color rendering index, and instant on/off capability.
T-5 HO’s are great for high bay applications, as they provide great color rendition and fast restrike for use with occupancy sensors. In contrast, the T-5’s fatter (“8” denotes a diameter of 8/12 of an inch) cousin, the T-8’s are good for low bay use, office or general lighting. T-5’s are ideal for use in warehouses, retail stores, show rooms, indirect lighting applications, parking structures with high ceilings, hangars, and gymnasiums to name a few. They are even used in
aquarium lighting. The T-5 HO lamps are said to help coral and plant growth. Because T-5’s are so bright, it is hard on the eyes when looking directly at a bare T-5 lamp. T-5 and T-8 operate at nearly the same energy efficiency level, but a single four foot T-5 will use more energy than a four foot T-8. With similar efficiencies, this just means that the T-5 generates more light than a T-8.

“T-5 lamps have been around for a very long time, but the longer T-5 lamp versions have not been cost-effective until recently,” said Derrick Sonoda, HECO Efficiency Specialist.
HECO Energy$olutions immediately found an application for this technology – the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Laniakea Center gymnasium, right next to HECO’s downtown offices. The YWCA has been serving Oahu for over 103 years. The Laniakea Center is
an historical building located in the heart of downtown Honolulu and has a wonderful history. Many of us were unaware that the YWCA had a gymnasium. In fact, badminton, basketball, and volleyball, among other activities, are played there – both day and night. The gymnasium was using mercury vapor lamps. These lamps could not be instantly turned on, and the light intensity in terms of lumens/watt slowly fades over time. Oftentimes, this gradual drop in lumens escapes unnoticed until you realize that the space is poorly lit. As a technology demonstration, The Light Edge, Inc. provided the T-5 HO fixtures and electronic ballasts
through their local distributor, Peter Dawson of Sunburst Designs at a reduced cost. GE Lighting’s Glenn Sameshima donated the T-5 HO lamps, Energy Conservation Hawaii’s Darren Kimura donated half the cost of the installation, and Bank of Hawaii provided the use of a
compact hydraulic high-lift to reach the light fixtures.

The results have been positive according to Clarence Allen, YWCA’s Controller: “The basketball school groups like it better. It was difficult to replace the old mercury vapor lights. These new T-5 HO lights are more efficient and because it’s a fluorescent, it’s easy to change out.”
According to Joanne Iha, Director of Sales and Member Services, “The T-5 HO lamps provide a bright, uniform light, and there are less shadows and better illumination. There have been no complaints from our sports enthusiasts because of the bright lights.” The bottom line is that a team effort has resulted in the application of cost effective lighting technology that brightens both Clarence and Joanne’s days and provides a 52% savings in energy costs!

What is T-5 HO technology?
T-5 HO (high output) is an energy-saving, 5/8 - inch diameter fluorescent lamp with a broad range of commercial/industrial applications from task lighting to replacement for High Intensity Discharge (HID) high bay lighting.
T-5 HO lamps are superior to HID lamps for the following reasons:
• Up to 55% energy savings compared to mercury vapor lights
• Rated life of over 20,000 hour
• Output of 5,000 lumens
• 95% of initial light output maintained over the entire lamp life
• Uniform light distribution
• “Instant on” – no delay or warm-up period
• Color rendering index (CRI) of 85

T-5 HO lighting sounds interesting to you, please call us at 94-POWER, or contact:

Michael Morse
Director of Sales, The Light Edge, Inc.
(503) 924-5893
mike.morse@thelightedge.com
www.thelightedge.com

Peter Dawson
Owner, Sunburst Designs
847-1960
peter@sunburstdesigns.com

Darren Kimura
President, Energy Conservation Hawaii
839-7300
dkimura@pac-energy.com


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"Sherrilyn Nago is promoted to Hawaii Sales Manager"

Story from: Pacific Business News.

Sherrily Nago has joined the company as corporate sales manager for Hawaii. She will be responsible for the development of existing corporate-level sales and acquisition of new sales opportunities.

Two Kinds of Green

Hawaiian Electric pays building owners
to install energy-efficient equipment

Different approaches

By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com
Story from: Honolulu Star Bulletin

A major Hawaii business pays customers to use less of its product. That may sound like a strange way top do business, but Hawaiian Electric Co. says it makes good sense. If total electricity consumption can be held down, the utility can put off the huge capital expenditure that would be needed to build new generating plants. That is worth paying for, by way of rebates to operators of buildings that take energy-saving steps, HECO officials say. There are also environmental considerations and the desire to reduce Hawaii's dependence on oil, but a big thrust of the utility's energy conservation activity now is in changing businesses' energy-wasting ways, said Keith Block, manager of the program that HECO calls Energy Solutions for Business.
It makes sense for the electric company to offer financial rewards. HECO will pay part of the cost for a building owner to hire an engineer to do energy planning. It joins in the consulting, providing help from its own experts. It pays companies rebates on their electricity bills if they install or retrofit lighting, air conditioning and other equipment to use less electricity.


The program has meant big money for customers since it started in 1996, from getting financial help to plan and install equipment to saving on their electricity bills because of increased efficiency. "We've paid out $10 million worth of rebates to commercial and industrial customers," Block said, "and those rebates have then encouraged them to invest another $59 million in projects" to cut energy use. A rough calculation showed that the projects will save energy over time and that participating companies will save $240 million over the life of the new equipment, he said. HECO earmarked $1.6 million for rebates to be paid out in 2002 and has already paid about one-third of that. The company is constantly looking for new programs. Under one recently announced program those who qualify can get a rebate of 35 cents for every square foot of window film that cuts the sun's heat coming into a building. HECO helps sponsor installation of low-energy fluorescent lighting, high-efficiency pumps, motors and air conditioning, and other equipment. One recent example:

The Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort received a check for just under $98,000 to help pay for
energy-efficient lighting, air conditioning and compact fluorescent lights for the hotel's
guest rooms.

Block's office puts out what it calls its "Power Book," a 12-page summary of its energy programs for business and it contains other examples. They include a $3,975 rebate for Zippy's Kahala restaurant to help pay for high-efficiency air conditioners that are estimated to save the restaurant $3,300 a year. Meadow Gold Dairies got a $5,700 rebate for replacing its lighting system with moreefficient fluorescents that use special reflectors and other features estimated to save the business $21,000 a year.

"Eventually, when the economy grows, we'll have to build another power plant. That's extremely costly and it would cost everybody, in higher rates," Block said. The longer that can be put off the better, not just for the electric company but for the consumer, he said.

The problem all electric utilities have is that they have to be able to meet the total possible
demand from all the customers they serve, even though those demand peaks may be rare.
Taking the present value of the capital that would be used for new plant and applying it
instead to programs that conserve electricity is a wise bet, he said.

Using it up

About 25 percent of electricity consumed in a typical office building goes for lighting. Cutting that use can provide a large savings. Ways to do that include using newer types of lamps and controlling them with computers so they are dimmed or off when specific areas are not being used. A building can save 30 percent of its lighting cost by taking out old, thick fluorescents and
replacing them with new thin versions, Block said. A HECO rebate can take care of about 30 percent of the cost of making the change, he said. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning make up almost half of a building's electricity consumption, HECO said. It costs money to install new energy-efficient equipment to handle that demand but it can save money in the long run. Not all projects will qualify for HECO's help. For instance, there has to be clear evidence that there will be electricity savings in the near future. A project that cannot demonstrate savings would not qualify. HECO has formulas to figure out the qualifications, based on the rate of return and the
effectiveness of the particular work the business wants to do. Another form of help is financing to help pay an independent engineer to study a building and come up with energy solutions.
One such engineer is Darren Kimura of Pacific Energy Services Co. His company worked closely with the operators of Alii Place, an office building on Alakea Street. Alii Place was built in 1992. Only a year later, beginning to be aware of energy costs, it tinted its windows. With help from Kimura's firm and HECO, the building over the past several years has made a number of other changes. The building recently was awarded the Energy Star award from the Environmental
Protection Agency, the first privately owned office building in Hawaii to get that recognition. The Prince Kuhio Federal Building received the same award in 1999. Alii Place owner Bristol Group has spent more than $1 million in energy improvements over a few years. Among the changes was a major improvement in the air conditioning system by installing new energy-efficient chillers and "soft-start" motors. Kimura said those motors get up to speed slowly so they don't suck up a blast of electricity just to get them turning when they are activated. Kimura did not have specific information on how much that would save, because of variables such as how often the air conditioner motors need to kick in. But typically a combination of changes that would include new motors and chillers, will cut energy costs by nearly one-third, he said. One-third of all office buildings in the United States have the new motors, Kimura said. The building has a digital energy management system, which controls the use of electricity throughout the building. Each floor has its own control room. Each individual office has its own air flow controls.

"Our industry is all about payback," Kimura said, spending a little extra now for a long-term
return in electricity savings.
The EPA's investigation to qualify Alii Place for the Energy Star rating was very thorough
and took about two years, Kimura said.
The award recognizes that Alii Place is among the top 25 percent of the nation's commercial
buildings for energy conservation. The Alii Place complex has 360,000 square feet of space in two buildings, one of 23 floors and the other, nine.

Where it goes

How much electricity is devoted to uses in a typical office
building:
HVAC*42.9%
Lighting26.5%
Office equipment16.9%
Misc.13.5%
Heating water0.1%
* Heating, ventilation, air conditioning.

Source: Hawaiian Electric Co.

Businesses tackle energy
efficiency differently

Many Hawaii businesses have tackled energy efficiency. One way is in increasing use of
photovoltaic systems, panels of cells that turn energy from the sun into electricity that can
run motors, air conditioners or lights, unlike other solar systems that use the sun only to heat water.
>> JN Automotive Group has a rooftop photovoltaic panel helping to power a Chevrolet dealership in Honolulu.
Owner Joe Nicolai, the prime mover behind the 40-story World Trade Center proposed for Kapiolani Boulevard, said he wants to use photovoltaic and other energy-saving devices with the goal of making the new high-rise completely self-sufficient.

>> The Mauna Lani Bay Resort on the Big Island installed a 100-kilowatt photovoltaic power plant in May 1998 and added a 110-kilowatt unit in January 1999.
They produce power for lighting and for charging golf-cart batteries. The resort is even going photovoltaic for the carts themselves, with individual units on each cart.

>> Farther along the Big Island coast, the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel has a smaller photovoltaic system, 20 kilowatts, and bought its own fleet of solarpowered golf carts.

>> Owners of homes isolated in parts of the Big Island that are hard to connect to the Hawaii Electric Light Co. grid have been arranging to lease or purchase home photovoltaic units through Helco.

>> Panels power lights for parks and sports facilities elsewhere in the state.

For more information on the systems, check the Web site of the energy division of the state
Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, www.state.hi.us/dbedt/ert/pv_hi.html

Other Web sites with information for business and private energy consumers include
DBEDT's energy resources offices at www.state.hi.us/dbedt/ert, and the federal energy network at www.eren.doe.gov/buildings.

There are also energy information pages on Hawaiian Electric's site at www.heco.com.


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No Small Success For Owner Of Energy Conservation

By Mark Skaer / Senior Editor. E-mail him at markskaer@achrnews.com.

Small Business Administration Honors Business Owner Kimura.

HONOLULU, HI — Darren Kimura and Energy Conservation Hawaii (ECH) have each come a long way since 1995.

Kimura, who started ECH more than six years ago, has developed into quite a businessman, recently being named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) 2002 Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Hawaii. Not only that, he was named SBA’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Region 9, which includes California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, and Guam. “It’s an honor,” is all Kimura could say, reluctant to brag or boast. Winners must be under 30 years of age and have owned their business for at least three years. Gwen Yamamoto, the business banking manager with City Bank who nominated Kimura for the SBA award, said she knew as soon as she met Kimura that he would be successful in business. “He has all the qualities everyone wants,” she told the local newspaper, the Honolulu Star Bulletin. “He’s very focused, goal-oriented, articulate, and mature. As soon as I got to talk to him, I knew he was the right candidate.” Kimura turned a one-time division of a large electrical contractor in Hawaii into the multi million dollar energy conservation business it is today. In 2001, ECH oversaw nearly $3
million in construction and energy upgrades, he noted. “We are proud of our growth and are excited to offer energy services that continue to provide Hawaii’s businesses with an opportunity to reduce their overhead, increase energy savings, and improve their indoor working conditions,” said Kimura.

SLOWLY BUT SURELY
Getting started was not easy.

“I started the company as a division of a larger electrical contractor here in Hawaii, Kimura. “They were interested in adding more services to their existing business, thus I was brought in to be the director of the new division. In this role we studied lighting, energy management systems, UVC systems for hvac, efficient pumps, efficient motors, and hvac replacements/retrofits. “Because we were formed as a larger company focusing mostly on contracting, it was difficult to begin to educate our customer base of the energy efficient side of things, where traditional contracting has been about value engineering projects and cutting costs. Additionally, Hawaii is historically behind the curve as far as trends go and at that time,
many businesses were not aware or as receptive to energy efficiency. “Things were slow moving in 1995, but we continued to push forward and we continued to grow.”
In a matter of three years, ECH had performed and installed hundreds of lighting projects on the Big Island. These projects included the Ululani Professional Building, Puuhonu Professional Plaza, Hilo Lanes, Kona Professional Building, and Hilo International Airport. By 1998, Kimura decided to split off from the electrical firm to become an independent energy service company.
“We added a new name to our company, called Pacific Energy Services,” he said. Energy Services is the division of Energy Conservation Hawaii where we provide energy engineering solutions. ECH, on the other hand, provides the project management, technical assistance, and field support to our projects. Combined, the companies provide turn key energy efficient services for our customers.”

With success on the Big Island, Kimura decided to move the company’s head offices to Honolulu, the center of business in Hawaii. A year later it opened a Maui operation. Here ECH designed and implemented lighting projects for such Maui businesses as Napa Auto Parts; McDonald’s of Hawaii-Kihei, Wailuku, and Kahului locations; and several large office buildings.

A NATURAL

Energy conservation was just a natural in Kimura’s eyes. “For our energy conservation measures, we focus on air conditioning in a big way, “Because we’re here in Hawaii, our ambient temperatures call for space cooling nearly year round. Air conditioning and water heating in a condominium, apartment building, or hotel can account for 40%, up to 65%, of a facility’s gas and electricity utility cost. “The chiller plant will normally have the largest motors in the facility, so with air conditioning at 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-aweek requirement, any percentage gain
in efficiency on this system can provide significant reductions in utility bills.” He said Hawaii’s year round warm ambient conditions and high cost of synthetic natural gas (SNG) or propane,
provide a great opportunity to take advantage of heat pumps, not for space cooling and heating, but as an efficient source of water heating.

“Air source heat pumps are providing COP of 2 to 3 year around,” he said. “Water source heat pumps, using waste heat from either the chilled-water return or condenser water system can provide combined COPs over 4. The use of waste heat for hot water generation provides an additional benefit in reduced cooling tower and chiller operation cost. “It is the integration of multiple facility needs and the implementation of efficient technologies that has provided the utility cost reductions.” Believe it or not, finding qualified workers has not been a problem for Kimura. “Finding skilled workers in Hawaii isn’t difficult,” he said. “In fact, we have many advantages to gaining good, qualified employees. We have the obvious tropical climate that people enjoy and actually seek out, as well as a geographic advantage where Hawaii is a bridge
from the U.S. to Asia. “Some of our engineers or consultants are actually Hawaii residents now, who visited on vacation and enjoyed it so much they decided to make it home here. Our employees range from administration, project managers, engineers, project engineers, sales people, and field technicians.”

Sidebar: One Example — Arcadia Retirement Residence

By installing several technologies in the Arcadia Retirement Residence, Energy Conservation Hawaii (ECH) president Darren Kimura said it has help the Hawaiian retirement facility see a 33% reduction in electrical cost and a 75% reduction in gas consumption. A feasibility study of the facility was conducted over a six-month period to identify energy conservation measures that could be implemented to reduce operating cost. The study identified the need to do the following:
*Replacement of a 400-ton centrifugal chiller with a 300-ton Trane CenTraVac centrifugal chiller with variable-speed drive. l In new cooling towers, install premium efficient motors and variable-speed drives.
*Installation of a Delta Controls energy management system to monitor and control all common area air conditioning and water heating equipment.
*Installation of a variable-primary flow chilled-water loop.
*Installation of premium efficient motors on all common area air-handling units.
*Replacement of synthetic natural gas-fired gas water heaters with a condenser water
source heat pump water heater.
*Retrofit of common area lighting to CFLs and T-8 lamps with electronic ballast.
*Replacement of two 15-hp constant-volume domestic water booster pumps with two 7.5
hp, multi-stage pumps with variable speed drives.
*Installation of a swimming pool heat pump water heater.
*Modulating control of outside air flow rates, based on indoor carbon dioxide levels.
*Qualified the facility for over $30,000 in utility demand side management funding.

“A guaranteed savings contract for the installation, commissioning, and maintenance of the
facility was completed,” said Kimura. “The installation was completed in April 2001. We are
in the process of completing the first year’s summary, but to date we have exceeded the
guarantee by 18%.”
— Mark Skaer
Posted on: 05/04/2002



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SBA awards come out this week

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - April 29, 2002 by Stan Fichtman

The Honolulu regional office of the U.S. Small Business Administration hands out its annual
awards this week.

The 15th annual statewide SBA awards luncheon will be tomorrow, Tuesday, April 23, 11:30 a.m., Sheraton Waikiki. Information: 541-2990.

Winners have already been announced. They are: Small Business Person of the Year: Thanh Quoc Lam, owner of Ba-Le Inc., the company behind 21 Ba-Le sandwich shops and restaurants in Hawaii. The Oahu winners are Alan and Jennifer Shintani, general contractors. Craig and Teena Rasmussen of Paradise Flower Farm in Kula won the same award for Maui. The Big Island award went to Colin Nakagawa of Seaside Restaurant in Hilo, and the Kauai award went to Ian Kagimoto of Aqua Engineers Inc.

The SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year -- winners must be under 30 and have owned their business for at least three years -- is Darren Kimura, a certified county engineer. Kimura also won the Regional Award. Entrepreneurial success awards are going to Big Island businessman David DeLuz Sr. and Maui Clothing Co.'s Ed Wayne.

Exporter awards go to Yu-Sen Hwang of Rainbow Farms Hawaii -- he exports fresh herbs -- and Pat McGrath of Hawaii Foliage Exports.

A sampling of several additional awards include Leona Jona of KNDI Honolulu for minority small-business advocate, the YWCA's Cheryl Ka`uhane for women in business advocate and Barry Gay of Maui Economic Opportunity for home-based business advocate.


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No small success

Lam, Kimura honored
by Small Business Administration

By Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.com
Story from: Star Bulletin

Darren Kimura, already acknowledged as the U.S. Small Business Administration's regional Young Entrepreneur of the Year, has a path laid before him. It is set by Thanh Quoc Lam -- this year's regional Entrepreneur of the Year -- who in 1989 won the same award as Kimura. Kimura and Lam are two of the 28 small business owners and advocates will be honored by the SBA on April 23. Kimura, president of Energy Conservation Hawaii LLC, not only placed first in his category in Hawaii, but has now been named Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the SBA's region that includes California, Oregon and Washington. The SBA accolades hold particular significance for Hawaii's small business community, said Jane Sawyer, the administration's assistant district director for business and entrepreneurial development. "In Hawaii we don't have the friendliest small business environment so this is a major testament to their leadership and business skills," she said. Lam began the now-familiar chain of Ba-Le Sandwich and Bakery stores in 1984. As an immigrant from Vietnam, Lam's rise to success came about as a result of hard work, perseverance and the ability to take on new challenges. Even throughout economically stagnant 1990s, Lam continued to expand his business.

Lam began the now-familiar chain of Ba-Le Sandwich and Bakery stores in 1984. As an immigrant from Vietnam, Lam's rise to success came about as a result of hard work, perseverance and the ability to take on new challenges. Even throughout economically stagnant 1990s, Lam continued to expand his business. He admits to still working 14-hour days but says it's a big improvement from when he first started the business and worked 20-hour days. Lam is modest about his many successes. He has no particular words of wisdom for other would-be entrepreneurs. "I try to not advise anyone. Just try your best, work hard, be honest and keep your word," he said. "I guess the best thing is to do what you love to do." Lam will be receiving this year's SBA award for the second time. Like Kimura, he was previously named Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Now, some 13 years later, Lam's multimillion dollar operation in Hawaii will soon branch out to Japan when two Ba-Le outlets open in Nagoya. Lam said he dreams one day of taking the Ba-Le concept to China. In the meantime, there are 21 Ba-Le sandwich outlet franchises on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, and one he retains. With Lam's help, a number of former Ba-Le employees have now become franchise owners. The company's bakery prepares and wholesales pizza dough, deli sandwiches and baked goods to a variety of clients including airlines, caterers, hotels, markets and restaurants. At the company's Honolulu headquarters and bakery plant, Lam employees 71 people. More immediately, Lam has plans for further Hawaii growth. He will open a new Ba -Le franchise at Daiei on Kaheka Street next month and plans another store and a bakery for Kapolei in August.
SBA's Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Kimura, says one of his biggest challenges has
been overcoming misperceptions about his age.
"When you are young, you really have to sell yourself and then your service," he said. But Gwen Yamamoto, the business banking manager with City Bank who nominated Kimura for the SBA award, said she knew as soon as she met him that Kimura he would be successful in his business.
"He has all the qualities everyone wants. He's very focused, goal oriented, articulate and mature," Yamamoto said. "As soon as I got to talk to him I knew immediately he was the right candidate." Kimura, who started Energy Conservation Hawaii in 1998 found the right niche at the right time.
The power crisis in California got a lot of people thinking about rising energy costs and ways to conserve, he said. "After California I think people became more conscious, especially when electric rates hit the ceiling," he said.
The company specializes in energy efficiency systems and retrofits lighting, air conditioning, hot water and motor systems in commercial and industrial buildings. Kimura, the president and owner who also serves as one of the firm's engineers, employs 15 people.
Kimura is looking ahead to working on large energy project developments such as giant cooling systems that would cool three or four buildings in a city block all at once. He is already thinking about the new generation of energy technologies. "Any business needs to use energy no matter what," he said. "Control is what it comes down to in energy."


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Light Savers

To cut utility costs, Alii Place and Pacific Energy Services have rolled out their own powersaving
program.

By Cathy S. Cruz
Story by: Hawaii Business Magazine: Office Design & Equipment

Thirty percent. That’s how much a company saves on monthly utility bills by replacing its lights with energyefficient T8 models. $7.5 million. That’s the total amount of rebates Hawaiian Electric Co. has awarded to local companies that have purchased energy-saving equipment over the past five years. In the first half of 1996 (the program’s pilot year) Hawaiian Electric awarded $600,000. Last year, the electric company shelled out rebates worth $1.7 million, a slight drop from 1998, when rebates reached a peak of $1.9 million. “We had a lot of early adopters, but the
program has started to level out,” says Keith Block, program manager for Hawaiian Electric. The transition to T8 lights so far has been the simplest, and most common, energy-saving solution for the majority of Hawaii companies. Other changes have included new chillers, air-conditioners and the temperature controls for milk machines. Although 80 to 90 percent of rebate recipients are large corporations, Hawaiian Electric this year has been pushing small- to mid-size businesses and hotels to join the rebate program, Block says. Power Trip:Hollis Johnson and Darren J. Kimura plan to cut utility costs for Alii Place.

One commercial building in downtown Honolulu plans to achieve star status. Alii Place, managed by PM Realty Group, already has earned up to $78,000 in rebates since 1996. Its next step is to be the first nongovernment structure in Hawaii to earn the prestigious Energy Star title — an official stamp of approval by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Buildings that bear the EnergyStar label rank in the nation’s top 25 percent, in terms
of energy performance. The only other agency approved structure in Hawaii is the Prince Kuhio
Kalanianole Federal Building and Courthouse on Ala Moana Boulevard. Reaching that status won’t happen overnight. The agency sets guidelines for all elements of energy, including thermal comfort, lighting levels, energy efficiency and indoor air quality. To expedite the benchmark process, PM Realty last January formed a partnership with Honolulu-based Pacific Energy Services, an engineering group that helps businesses slash energy costs through efficient means.
The group as of press time was conducting a detailed energy-consumption assessment at Alii Place, a 25- floor building. “The EPA has very stringent requirements,” says Darren T. Kimura, President of Pacific Energy Services. “Only 150 companies in the nation have achieved that benchmark status. GE, Microsoft, Intel. Those are some of the benchmarked buildings.”
Once Alii Place becomes the nation’s first private building with an Energy Star label, it no doubt will help save money for its 1,300 occupants and future tenants, says Chief Engineer Hollis Johnson. Building maintenance managers anticipate to save 30 percent in utility bills. Alii Place’s energy consumption from October 1999 to December 2000 ranged between $56,091 to $74,068. Meanwhile, the building’s two centrifical chillers are programmed to run between 2
a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. Except during the holiday season, only exterior door lights are on at night. And on weekends, elevators in Alii Place are shut off, except for two in the main building and one in the parking garage. These measures are important if a company wants to save money and energy, especially in Hawaii, says Block. “All over the mainland U.S., everybody is connected to a nationwide grid. They can buy power
from other states. In Hawaii, we have to rely on ourselves for power.”

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