Improving the energy efficiency of your facility and operations is an important way to lower costs. SMECO’s Business Solutions Program offers incentives to reduce your upfront costs and make energy efficiency upgrades more affordable.
SMECO’s programs help your existing building become more energy efficient.
For more information about SMECO’s Business Solutions, please call (866) 235-6044 or email SMECO Business Solutions.
Building Tune-Up
Returning your equipment to its proper operating state extends service life while improving occupant comfort and air quality. SMECO offers incentives to cover up to 75% of service costs. Get a fast return on your investment—often in less than two years— and enhance your building’s comfort and indoor air quality.
The SMECO Building Tune-up Program offers financial incentives to identify and implement relatively low-cost operational and maintenance improvements to existing buildings. The building tune-up process monitors, troubleshoots and adjusts electrical, mechanical, and control systems to optimize energy performance. The financial incentives cover up to 75% of service costs, with a per-project cap of $25,000 for small buildings or $50,000 for large buildings.
Benefits of Participating
Building Tune-up Services helps ensure that building equipment and systems are integrated so they perform together effectively and efficiently to meet your current operating requirements and expectations. This yields a number of benefits for your business:
- Returning equipment to its proper operational state and optimizing performance
- Extending equipment service life while reducing maintenance and repair costs
- Improving your building’s comfort and indoor air quality
- Adjusting and correcting equipment operating schedules
Over time, commercial buildings and industrial processes frequently undergo operational changes that can hinder optimal energy performance. Today’s systems are highly interactive, increasing the need for proper integration.
Enhanced Unitary HVAC Tune-Up
SMECO’s Unitary HVAC Tune-up Program can tune up your facility’s Unitary HVAC system while ensuring its energy-consuming components function at peak efficiency. With a focus on direct-expansion rooftop units and split systems, this program provides a low-cost, high-return opportunity while helping your facility:
- Save 5% to 20% on energy bills
- Provide comfort, safety, and equipment reliability
For more information, view the Benefits of an HVAC Tune-Up brochure.
Please review the Terms and Conditions for online applications.
Start your Unitary HVAC Tune-Up application.
Small Building Tune-Up
Designed to provide a streamlined approach to building tune-ups, this service focuses on common improvements to operating efficiency that result in a quick return on investment. If your commercial facility is less than 75,000 square feet and has industrial process systems, such as a compressed air system, you may be eligible for SMECO’s Small Building Tune-up Services.
For projects participating in the Small Building Tune-up Program, up to $5,000 (per project) is available for additional equipment-level metering installed to baseline the equipment before and after the tune-up to help verify savings. Project pre-approval is required.
Please review the Terms and Conditions for online applications.
Services
SMECO’s Small Building Tune-up Services typically include:
- Walk-through assessment and development of an action plan
- Calibration of building systems and controls
- Replacement of equipment filters
- Cleaning of evaporator and condenser coils
- Sealing of compressed air leaks
- Rebalancing of air handling systems
Start your Small Building Tune-Up application.
Large Building Tune-Up
If your facility is greater than 75,000 square feet with complex heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, controlled by an energy management system with comprehensive direct digital control, you may be eligible for SMECO’s Large Building Tune-up Services.
SMECO’s Large Building Tune-up Services are designed for large industrial and commercial electric customers, and program incentives cover up to 75% of the cost of Large Building Tune-up Services with a cap of $50,000 per project. Customers must be willing to match the incentive received, up to $50,000, for Large Building Tune-up Services measures identified with an estimated simple payback of fewer than 1.5 years.
Additionally, up to $5,000 (per project) is available for projects participating in the Large Building Tune-up Program for additional equipment-level metering installed to baseline the equipment before and after the tune-up to verify savings. Project pre-approval is required.
Please review the Terms and Conditions for online applications.
Services
SMECO’s Large Building Tune-up Services typically include:
- Engineering studies to identify energy savings available through building tune-up services
- HVAC calibrations
- Diagnostic and function tests of major systems and equipment
- Air and water systems balancing
- Calibration of energy management systems and controls
- Building tune-ups and education
To Complete a Large Building Tune-up or Not?
Large Building Tune-up Services may be a good option if a facility has:
- Unexplained high energy use
- Persistent equipment operation problems or failures
- Excessive occupant complaints about comfort
Large Building Tune-up is not appropriate when:
- Most of the equipment and systems are either outdated or at the end of their service lives.
- Significant system design problems exist.
- Major equipment malfunctions are extensive enough that equipment replacement is the best remedy.
Questions? Contact us at (866) 235-6044 or email SMECO Business Solutions.
Start your Large Building Tune-Up application.
Find an Approved Contractor
To participate in the Building Tune-Up program, you must use SMECO’s approved program contractors.
No Additional Cost HVAC Tune-Up
| County | Contractor | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| All counties | Chesapeake Energy | Phone: (800) 712-4650 Email: E-mail Chesapeake Energy |
Upgrade Your Existing Lighting
| County | Contractor | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Charles, Prince George’s | C&J Contractors, LLC | Phone: (301) 549-3535 Email: E-mail C&J Contractors, LLC |
| Calvert, St. Mary’s | Energy Select, LLC | Phone: (301) 475-6727 E-mail Energy Select, LLC |
Get Smart Thermostats Installed
| County | Contractor | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| All counties | Chesapeake Energy | Phone: (800) 712-4650 Email: E-mail Chesapeake Energy |
Upgrade Refrigeration or Other Cooling-Related Needs
| County | Contractor | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| All Counties | NRM | Phone: (855) 686-3455 Email: E-mail NRM |
Small Business Solutions
Whether you own a convenience store, place of worship, small family business, or diner, you can reduce your energy costs while enhancing workplace comfort. The Small Business Solutions Program offers small business customers the opportunity to retrofit existing equipment with more energy efficient technologies.
Visit our Small Business page for more information.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
SMECO’s Business Solutions Program is seeking projects to qualify for its CHP Program, which provides incentives up to $2.5 million to industrial and commercial customers who install an onsite CHP system.
Why Take on a CHP Project?
You can:
- Operate your facility with efficient and clean energy
- Reduce energy costs
- Receive incentives up to $2.5 million per project
About CHP
CHP is a clean and efficient approach to generating power and thermal energy from a single fuel source. Typical CHP systems are located in close proximity to your building, campus, or industrial processes. CHP systems:
- Provide at least a portion of a facility’s electrical load
- Capture thermal energy from hot exhaust gases for use in space heating, cooling, water heating, dehumidification, and/or process heating
- Improve a facility’s operational efficiency, cut energy costs, and reduce emissions
Eligibility
This program is open to all SMECO non-residential, industrial, commercial, government, institutional, and nonprofit electric service members (rate schedules GSND, GSD, or LP), regardless of your gas or electricity supplier. To determine your rate schedule, look on the back of your SMECO bill under “Current Charges & Adjustments.”
- Eligible CHP projects may be driven by either a reciprocating engine or a gas turbine and must operate at a minimum of 65% efficiency (Higher Heating Value) on an annual basis
- Qualifying systems must not export electricity to the grid
- Projects must be pre-approved by December 31, 2023
Project Incentives
Qualifying projects are eligible to receive the following:
- Incentive Amount: Less than or equal to 50kW – $2,000 per kW; Between 51kW and 200kW – $1,600 per kW; Between 201kW and 1MW – $1,200 per kW; Greater than 1MW – $800 per kW
- Design Incentive: 10% of total incentive at project approval, subsequent to signed commitment letter and acceptance of minimum requirements document
- Commissioning Incentive: 30% of total incentive after installation is complete, subsequent to commissioning of the CHP system and SMECO inspection
- Production Incentive: 60% of total incentive payable after receiving 12 continuous months of actual kilowatt-hours (kWh) generation within 24 months of project installation, and following review of metering data – Payment will be based on actual kWh generation and will be capped at 60% of total incentive
- Project Caps: The maximum incentive any one CHP project could receive is $2.5 million – A limit of one project per member/site every three years applies
Beginning April 1, 2018, all incentive payments for Business Solutions program participants will be made electronically or via bill credit.
Ready to Get Started?
Contact SMECO to discuss your CHP project; please call (866) 235-6044.
Program Documents
Prescriptive Business Solutions
The Prescriptive Program offers incentives on specific, proven energy-efficient equipment that you can install without the need for a detailed engineering analysis. Financial incentives can cover up to 50% of the total cost for retrofit projects or up to 75% of the incremental cost for replacing old equipment. All prescriptive projects require pre-approval from SMECO.
SMECO’s Prescriptive Program is designed to help commercial and industrial customers maximize energy savings and manage energy costs through an extensive list of proven energy conservation measures.
With cost-saving financial incentives and expert technical assistance, SMECO’s Prescriptive Program identifies the right energy efficiency measures for your business.
Ready to Get Started?
To access the application center, choose an incentive below.
- Lighting and Controls
- HVAC
- High-Efficiency Equipment (refrigeration, kitchen equipment, appliances, plug load)
Please review the Terms and Conditions for online applications.
For questions or more information about SMECO’s Business Solutions, please call (866) 235-6044 or email SMECO Business Solutions.
Custom Business Solutions
SMECO recognizes that one size doesn’t always fit all; that’s why we offer customized incentives to meet your specific needs. For more complex systems and energy efficiency projects not included in the prescriptive program, SMECO offers a custom approach. Financial incentives can cover up to 50% of the total cost for retrofit projects or up to 75% of the incremental cost for replacing old equipment. To be eligible for incentives, custom projects must produce energy savings.
Some Custom projects can include, but are not limited to:
- Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems
- Floating Head/Suction Pressure on Refrigeration Rack Systems
- Compressed Air Systems
Ready to Get Started?
Before beginning the application process, talk with a SMECO Business Solutions Representative to determine the eligibility of the proposed project and to establish requirements for detailed savings projections and cost estimates. This information will be submitted to SMECO for review and evaluation of potential incentives. Please contact us at (866) 235‐6044 or email SMECO Business Solutions.
Please review the Terms and Conditions (PDF) for online applications.
Building Operator Education
SMECO offers financial incentives to help cover the cost for approved building operation and maintenance education courses. The incentives cover a percentage of training course(s) enrollment fees or tuition and are distributed upon course completion.
Visit our Education & Training page for more information.
EmPOWER Maryland programs are funded by a charge on your energy bill. EmPOWER programs can help you reduce your energy consumption and save you money. Learn more about EmPOWER and how you can participate.