Efficiency Vermont successfully completed a 66-rooftop unit (RTU) high-efficiency replacement project on a large 140,000 square foot office building in Vermont. Real savings nearly doubled the estimated savings of $41,000 annually and was recognized by DOE's Advanced RTU Campaign.

This case study details Walgreens' successful development of a program to strategically retire RTUs prior to failure and replace them with high-efficiency units. In just 150 stores, this project brought back more than $1 million in savings from material and labor budgets.

As part of their efficiency efforts, Adidas is involved in DOE's Advanced Rooftop Unit Campaign (ARC). They successfully implemented a planned rooftop unit (RTU) replacement program to save energy and avoid costly emergency replacements. The new high-efficiency RTUs have helped Adidas reduce both maintence costs and electricty consumption by 20% and 40% depending on location.

Through its partnership with the Better Buildings Advanced Rooftop Unit Campaign (ARC), Target has developed a highly successful rooftop unit replacement program that will produce estimated cost savings of $1.3 million annually.

The U.S. Department of Energy developed the RTU Challenge to test high performance rooftop air- conditioning units versus standard units at two Publix store locstions, which resulted in anual energy and utility costs savings of 16,000 kWh and $1,600 respectively.

Arby's Restaurant Group developed a comprehensive, portfolio-wide rooftop unit (RTU) assessment approach that has led to over $280,000 and nearly 3 million kWh in annual savings.

Fontana Unified School District in Southern California used grant money to install over 200 high-efficiency RTUs in 30 buildings across four schools, resulting in $214,000 saved per year.

RTU Inventory Spreadsheet
The rooftop unit inventory spreadsheet can be used to gather basic RTU information in a streamlined evaluation process.

RTU Field Evaluation Checklist
The RTU Field Evaluation Checklist is a visual-based field evaluation to help identify damage, dysfunction, or degradation that requires more than routine maintenance.

Advanced Energy Retrofit Guides
The Advanced Energy Retrofit Guides (AERGs) provide practical roadmaps and example efficiency measures for effectively planning and implementing performance improvements in existing buildings. The AERG series covers K-12 schools, retail buildings, grocery stores, office buildings, and healthcare facilities.

Buildings Re-tuning Training
Re-tuning is a low-cost process to identify and correct building operational problems that lead to energy waste. The Department of Energy and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed training curricula focused on re-tuning large and small commercial buildings.

ENERGY STAR® Building Upgrade Manual
This manual contains energy-saving building upgrades and cost-effective retrofit opportunities. See Chapter 5 for retro-commissioning, Chapter 8 for air-distribution systems, and Chapter 9 for heating and cooling upgrades.

Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) purchasing requirements
A FEMP resource on procuring high-efficiency products, many not covered by ENERGY STAR®. Although developed for a federal audience, they can apply to the private sector. 

HVAC Equipment Replacement: Integrated Systems Package
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab created an integrated systems package (ISP) for achieving deeper energy savings during RTU equipment replacement in existing commercial buildings. To minimize required expertise and effort, the ISP includes a checklist, specifications, and procedures for a high-efficiency RTU, advanced controls, energy monitoring, and envelope improvements to reduce HVAC sizing.