State offices cut energy use by fifth

Missouri's Office of Administration announced that it has reduced energy consumption across 3,200 state buildings by nearly 22 percent in just four years. Missouri is one of the first states in the nation to plan, implement, and track such an goal.

An executive order requires all state agencies, whose building management fall under the direction of the State's Office of Administration, to reduce energy consumption by 2 percent each year for 10 years, using 2008 as a baseline.

Three components were involved to turn the vision into a reality: a defined goal, a system to track to that goal, and a process to prioritize the energy conservation projects that would ultimately achieve that goal.

Talisen Technologies, a St. Louis-based information technology company, was contracted to work with the state to help plan, implement and track the governor's ambitious directive. Much like when a doctor uses an MRI to determine medical treatment for a patient, Talisen's Enterprise Sustainability Platform (ESP) outlined areas of potential savings and the building owners use this information to prioritize which items to "repair or upgrade" to achieve the best value approach for savings.

In addition to leveraging Talisen's internet-based ESP to evaluate the "health" of the buildings, new low-cost technologies were used to help "fix" and "monitor" the large portfolio.

"When we began this effort with the state, there were no internet-based thermostats on the market, now you can buy them in your local hardware store," said George Brill, CEO of Talisen Technologies.

"It was technologies like these that allowed us to reach more buildings than we originally anticipated, allowing for more opportunities to save money with the same budget."