How We Can Guarantee You Energy Savings
What is the “guarantee” of a Guaranteed Energy Savings Company? In its simplest (and most understated) form, the objective is to quantify energy savings that will be guaranteed. Your facility’s energy use is examined to find clear, direct ways to use less, thus saving money on your continuous operational costs.
That guarantee is a given; it’s the reason the guaranteed energy savings industry even exists. While the process to save that money is relatively complicated to those outside of our industry, it’s a straightforward process for those of us in the know. At AFP, we want you to take our guarantee for granted. We’re in this business to do more than what’s standard and conventional. When it comes to energy savings, we are thinking bigger and longer-term.
Our Guarantee is As Easy As 1,2,3,4
We talked to David Belt, Finance Principal, to get his perspective on energy savings. He’s our number cruncher; the finance guy. More than anyone, he understands the value of a dollar and, more importantly, what it’ll be worth later if you invest it.
“When you look at it from a high level, a Guaranteed Energy Savings Company needs to do 4 things for its client; assess the client’s facility to identify problem areas as well as opportunities, send out proposal requests to actually get the work quoted and lined up, oversee the implementation of the proposed changes, and measure the results of the work to ensure that we achieved the efficiency that we guaranteed.”
David is quick to explain the difference between what we do, versus the typical energy-savings companies. “A typical guaranteed energy savings company is more interested in introducing products and lining up projects. We’ve decided to dig deeper than that with our clients.”
We Do More Than Guarantee Energy Savings
“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again,” David continues. “AFP is an engineer-led company. That shows in our work. Beyond that, we are client focused. We’re more interested in a long-term relationship with our clients. Many have already worked with us on other projects, but even with new clients we want to work on the long game; that’s where your facility aims to gain a profound advantage that will last you generations. That’s where the real change happens.
Take our work with regional school districts. We have many relationships with school districts through our engineering work at BFW/Marcum. We’re now working with many of them to profoundly change their philosophy toward energy use. We understand their principles and what they care about, which makes it that much easier for us to develop energy-saving strategies that inherently benefit them, and will do so for a long time. We aren’t just in this to save you a buck, nor are we in it to make one.
We provide holistic tailored energy savings solutions that fit your mission.”
Decades of Financial Expertise Gives Us an Edge
David is no stranger to finance and accounting, nor are the nuances of the construction and engineering industries lost on him.
“I bring to AFP 30 years of finance, accounting, and management experience. I’ve been a CPA and partner at an accounting firm as well as a Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional. I’ve also been CFO of a construction firm operating in 20+ states and I am the current CFO at BFW/Marcum. I like to think that I understand how construction and engineering clients think; what their concerns and desires are, and how I can meet them there.”
We Listen, Then We Answer
We asked David what his finance experience brings to AFP. Does he merely stay behind the scenes?
“I think about our clients constantly. The majority of my financial background has been in financial planning, so understanding the client or organization’s needs, priorities, and resources and working with the key stakeholders is something I’ve always enjoyed.
It brings me a lot of joy to develop a plan for clients that brings the best value. What we do at AFP is really no different from what I did as a CPA. We address the clients’ facility goals and determine a path that allows them to invest in decisions that allow them to target and achieve those goals. When we say our work pays for itself, it really does.”
The Best Time to Save Was Yesterday
How do you convince a client that they should invest in the long-term success and longevity of their facility? We asked David for his argument for hiring a Guaranteed Energy Savings Company.
“While the future is always difficult to predict and energy-related variables have different degrees of volatility, history shows that overtime costs go up. Therefore, the sooner an organization’s energy consumption is quantified, and energy conservation measures are identified, the sooner a savings plan can be formulated. An organization cannot get back what it spent on electricity last month, but it can certainly influence what is spent in the coming months and years.”
As Warren Buffet once famously said, “The best time to invest was several years ago. The second best time is now.”
What about brand-new facilities? David has an answer to that, too.
“The innovations in the GESC world are continually changing and evolving. We have even identified energy savings opportunities in relatively new facilities. Sometimes due to recent innovations and other times due to budgetary constraints during the original build. It’s also important to remember that these types of savings are not one-time savings. Savings occur every month, stacking up.”
We Want to Help at Every Level
Lastly, David explains to us what makes him passionate about energy savings. Surprisingly, the financial aspect takes the second stage.
“I have a passion for helping people with financial matters. However, the kind of work we do in the name of energy savings has positive benefits for the occupants of the facilities we work on. Schools, for instance, benefit from a more comfortable environment; healthier, warmer lighting, and better air management. That’s my real passion; improving the state of our buildings and making the people in them healthier and happier.”