Giles W. Willis, Jr., PhD, PE, LEED AP

THE STRAITS. CAN WE KEEP IT CLEAN?

The Energy Business 30 years ago.

The world was still reeling from the energy shortage of 1973. There were articles, presentations and much consternation about the shortage of energy and the US dependence on foreign oil. I had just retired from the USAF where the gloom scenario of no fuel for the armed services urgently needed a solution. On my arrival at Texas A&M, I was given a joint position with TEES where we had begun to develop a training program for Engineers, Architect and others on energy conservation principles. The program was called “Energy Conservation in New Building Construction”. It was funded by the Texas Governor’s Office of Energy Resources, known as GOER. This program was begun as a response to ASHRAE standard 90-75 which provided energy benchmarks for buildings. At the time it was certain that the state of Texas would adopt a statewide building code based on this ASHRAE standard.

Then we did a study of the “Impact of the Model Energy Code on Building Construction in Texas”. The study looked at buildings that had approved building permits in representative Texas cities throughout the state. The conclusions of the study were that about 75% of the current buildings met or exceeded the requirements of the Model Energy Code, even though it was not a mandatory requirement. Consequently, as a result of the study, the legislature did not adopt the Model Energy Code. Soon after that, the statewide training and certification courses ended.

The energy conservation problem did not end, however and our next step was to work to prepare an Industrial Energy Audit course for the Texas Industrial Commission. We worked with the University of Texas and the University of Houston to develop a short course material package. Dr. Phil Schmidt of UT Austin and Milt Williams, a consultant, were also active leaders in this project. The course consisted of 40 hours of instruction. This course was run two or three times a year.

The next program that came into being was the federally funded program for energy audits known as the “Schools and Hospitals” program. This was the time we began our consulting firm known as “Entek Associates, Inc.”, an energy consulting company specializing in diagnostic energy audits. Our slogan was “One data point is worth one thousand expert opinions”. During the first year of the program, Entek Associates, Inc. had conducted more energy audits than any other firm in the state. We were not the only people who were getting on board the energy conservation wagon. Two other firms that provided competitive energy services were headed by Dick Bywaters, in Dallas and Mike Hart in Austin.

Unfortunately, after the first year or two, the Schools and Hospitals program, which began with much promise, soon became just another federal program. The program directors decided that it was “not fair” for a professional engineer to reap the benefits of this federal program and the auditors should be diversified. Before long, the program became just an avenue for schools and hospitals to get the federal government to buy chillers and other big ticket items for them. The energy forms were simply modified to justify whatever they needed to make the project feasible.

Energy conservation measures were designed to save money. One of the most widely used methods was the Energy Management Control System. This topic was developed into a training manual and a short course by Entek Associates, Inc., and funded by TENRAC. Many firms most notable Time Energy began a shared savings plan in which they funded an energy management system and then shared saving for the next few years. Since Time energy programmed the units, their attitude in many cases was “let ‘em sweat”. If the client changed the program, Time energy would demand the remainder of their payment for the equipment. While it did save energy, duty cycling had the long term unintended consequence of encouraging mold growth in the building thus contributing to the sick building syndrome.

There were other examples of business that focused on the energy crisis. One that comes to mine was American Solar King of Waco. They were a national leader in solar for hot water. The government and or power companies would partially pay for installation of the system. This subsidy permitted the 15 year payback to be reduced to about 7 years.

We continued to do energy consulting work for commercial, medical, religious, educational, and industrial clients for a few years, but the anticipated leap in energy prices did not materialize. The next federal administration did not continue the bounties on energy conservation equipment and the incentives for energy savings disappeared. Most clients we worked with did not want to see paybacks that stretched beyond five years and so most clients decided to pay the power companies instead of the engineers and contractors. In 1985, I put my full time consulting work on hold and returned to full time teaching with only occasional forays into the consulting world. In 1998 I left Baylor University and returned to my home on the Straits. I have a published book about life on the Straits from 1700 to 1850. I began to notice how the landscape had changed from its early pristine quality. Development was proceeding at an alarming rate. I could see that the Straits, as I knew it, would soon be gone.

In June of 2005 I attended the PENC annual meeting where papers were presented on green building design. I was introduced to LEED and building commissioning. Furthermore, it was clear that federal agencies, cities, and private developers were again interested in energy and the environment. I also met Ed Mazria a leading proponent of green buildings and was convinced that we could help solve problems facing our way of life. I am excited to return to full time consulting. It is my hope that Entek Associates, Inc. can play a role in making our planet a better place to live and work.

Biographical Data

Dr. Willis received a BEE from North Carolina State University and an MS and PhD from Texas A&M University. He is a retired Air Force Colonel, and a retired professor of engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas. He continues to serve as president of Entek Associates, Inc.

E-mail:

gww@entek.eng.pro