The Forgotten Schedules Bleeding Your Energy Budget

Back in 2021, I had just moved to Philadelphia. COVID was ramping up, and most buildings were ghost towns.

I remember walking into a massive, brand-new facility, easily over a million square feet. Everything was humming along perfectly. Air handlers running. Lights blazing. Pumps circulating. The BAS showed flawless operation.

There was just one problem: no one was there.

When I asked who was in the building, the answer was simple:

“Just the janitors and the facilities team.”

That’s it. A million square feet of conditioned air, powered lights, circulating pumps, all for fewer than a dozen people scattered across isolated pockets of space.

So, I started digging. I mapped out where those staff members were actually working. Then I made the call: we shut down 90% of the building’s systems through schedule auditing.

The result? Untold energy savings. Comfort where it mattered. And one of the cleanest “wins” of my entire career.

But here’s the kicker: this isn’t just a pandemic story.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve walked into buildings with schedules set to 24/7 years ago and simply never revisited. A tenant moved out, an event ended, or a “temporary” exception was made, and the system just kept running.

That kind of neglect doesn’t just waste energy. It wrecks budgets, accelerates equipment wear, and creates the illusion of “high load buildings” that are actually just poorly scheduled.

Why Schedule Auditing Matters

Let’s step back. Why does this problem keep popping up? And why should you care?

1. Immediate Impact

   Every minute a system runs unnecessarily is wasted money. If an AHU uses 15 kW and runs an extra 12 hours per day, that’s 180 kWh/day, over 65,000 kWh/year for one unit. Multiply by dozens of units, and the numbers are staggering.

   
   

2. Low Risk, High Reward

   Unlike capital projects or deep retrofits, auditing schedules costs next to nothing. No new equipment. No design fees. Just programming discipline.

   
   

3. Habitual Neglect

   Schedules are often changed for short-term needs, weekend events, tenant demands, commissioning, or service calls, and then forgotten. The “temporary” becomes permanent.

   
   

4. Invisible Waste

   Most facilities don’t notice because things still “work.” Lights come on. Air flows. Comfort is stable. But that’s exactly the problem: invisible energy drain.

   
   

5. The Golden Rule of Energy

   The most energy-efficient equipment in the world is the equipment that’s turned off when it’s not needed.

Common Scheduling Mistakes

If you’ve been around enough BAS systems, you start to see the same patterns over and over:

• 24/7 defaults left in place after startup

• Holiday schedules never programmed (Christmas looks like any other Tuesday)

• Global schedules applied where local zoning was needed

• Lighting tied to HVAC schedules instead of occupancy

• Overrides that “stick” for months or years

• New tenants moved in, but the old tenant’s schedule never updated

These mistakes don’t just waste energy, they confuse operators. A building that never seems to “line up” with actual usage trains staff to stop trusting the BAS.

How to Audit a Building Schedule in Under an Hour

One of the best parts of schedule auditing is that it doesn’t require an engineering degree. Any motivated technician or facility leader can start making an impact right away. Here’s a process I’ve used dozens of times:

1. Start with the BAS

   Pull up weekly schedules for HVAC, lighting, and major loads. Most BAS platforms (Niagara, ALC, Siemens, Johnson, Delta, even older Staefa systems) have a “schedule object” or graphic.

   • Look at each schedule in detail. Ask: Does this make sense for how the building is used today?

     
     

2. Hunt for the “Always On” Suspects

   Systems running 24/7 without justification are your prime targets. Pay attention to:

   • Air handling units

   • Exhaust fans

   • Lighting zones

   • Pumps and towers

   • Kitchen hoods or specialty equipment

     
     

3. Cross-Check with Occupancy

   Schedules should follow people, not assumptions. Compare with:

   • Access control logs

   • Security camera data

   • Cleaning staff schedules

   • Tenant operating hours

     
     

4. Talk to Facilities Staff

   Sometimes the fastest insight comes from asking: “When is this area actually used?”

   Frontline custodians, security guards, and maintenance teams often know the real occupancy better than the BAS does.

   
   

5. Make Targeted Adjustments

   Don’t rewrite everything at once. Start with zones you know are empty. Add exceptions for cleaning staff. Zone schedules by floor or tenant.

   
   

6. Revisit Quarterly

   This is where most teams fail. You fix it once and never check again. People move. Tenants shift. Temporary schedules creep back in. A quarterly schedule audit should be as routine as filter changes.

The ROI of Schedule Auditing

Why does this matter financially? Let’s run a simple model.

• One AHU: 15 kW draw

• Extra runtime: 12 hours/day

• Cost of electricity: $0.12/kWh

  
  

Annual waste = 15 kW × 12 h/day × 365 × $0.12 = $7,884

For one unit.

Now multiply by 10 air handlers, pumps, lights, and fans. Suddenly, you’re looking at six-figure waste annually in a mid-size facility, all from schedules nobody touched.

Going Beyond HVAC

Schedule auditing isn’t just for air handlers. Other systems bleed energy too:

• Lighting:

  • Many buildings leave entire wings lit all night. Motion sensors help, but scheduled setbacks are still needed.

• Plug loads:

  • Office printers, monitors, and breakroom equipment can be grouped with scheduled shutoff.

• Exhaust systems:

  • Restroom and garage exhaust fans often run nonstop, even when demand-based controls are available.

• Chillers and Boilers:

  • Shoulder season waste is rampant when schedules are ignored.

The BAS Tricks That Keep Schedules Honest

1. Tie schedules to occupancy sensors

   Layer real-time occupancy data on top of static schedules. This creates resilience when schedules drift.

   
   

2. Use exception calendars

   Every BAS supports holiday or event calendars. If your Christmas Day looks like a regular workday, you are burning money.

   
   

3. Global plus local logic

   Create a building-wide default but allow local overrides for zones. This avoids one tenant forcing 24/7 operation on everyone.

   
   

4. Color-coded graphics

   Make schedules visible on the operator graphics. A green “scheduled off” zone is harder to ignore than a hidden schedule object.

   
   

5. Trend your schedules

   Most people never trend schedule objects. Do it. You’ll see when overrides hold or when schedules were last changed.

Lessons Learned from the Field

I’ve walked into more than one building where the “fix” for morning comfort complaints was simply starting the AHUs at midnight. Problem solved, right? Comfort achieved, at a cost of tens of thousands in extra runtime.

I’ve seen holiday schedules that were entered once, in 2016, and never touched again. Entire floors heated and cooled on Christmas for half a decade.

And I’ve seen new tenants move in while the BAS still followed the previous tenant’s 24/7 call center schedule. Nobody questioned it because “that’s how it’s always been.”

The truth: BAS schedules are living things. If you treat them as one-and-done, they will betray you.

The Future: Smart Scheduling

Emerging BAS and FDD platforms are starting to automate this work. By layering occupancy analytics, Wi-Fi tracking, and machine learning, they can self-adjust schedules.

But here’s the reality: technology won’t save you if you ignore the basics. Even the smartest BAS can run dumb schedules if nobody audits them.

Start with quarterly manual audits. Then add smarter tools when budgets allow.

Final Word

Auditing schedules isn’t sexy. You won’t see glossy brochures about it. But it is one of the fastest, cheapest, most effective ways to slash wasted energy in any building.

If you remember one thing, remember this:

The most energy-efficient equipment in the world is the equipment that’s off when it should be.

Start with one building. Pull one week of schedules. Find the obvious waste. Fix it.

Then repeat.

You’ll save money, extend equipment life, and prove to your team that small, consistent wins matter just as much as big capital projects.