Ouch! That about sums up the impact of rising energy costs on building owners. If you’re about to build or planning to, it pays—really, really pays—to do due diligence on energy options in advance. Think strategically. Think long term.

“Focusing only on ‘first cost’ is pretty short-sighted these days,” says Dan Kerr, director of design-build services for the McClure Company in Harrisburg. “We’re seeing more and more customers willing to evaluate the time value of money when it comes to electricity and energy systems for buildings.”

Everything is going up—oil, natural gas—in some cases by more than 50 percent from just eight years ago. The rate caps on electricity in Pennsylvania are soon to come off. The cost of electricity is expected to rise 30 to 35 percent, maybe more.

We’d all like to think this is just a bump in the road, but don’t count on it. Tom Bathgate, president of PWI Engineering in Philadelphia, did his first energy analysis in 1972 and has since consulted in nearly 30 countries. He says flatly, “Costs of all energy sources are going to continue to grow.”

If you don’t plan carefully and thoughtfully before you build, “you could wind up living in a new ‘home’ you can’t afford,” says Austin Williams, facilities manager for Bosch Security Systems Inc.’s 213,000-square-foot manufacturing campus in Lancaster, Pa.

All three—Kerr, Bathgate, and Williams—agree it’s critical to focus on energy efficiency.

“Everything will become more volatile, so people should use less energy,” Kerr advises.

Look at the construction cost of each system option you’re considering and model the energy usage down to the square foot, he says. Come up with a pro forma for cash flow taking energy, operating, maintenance, and replacement costs into account. “It’s that sort of financial analysis that most customers seem to be interested in right now,” he says.

Williams recommends investigating rate schedules with your electric utility. “Consult with your service provider early on,” he says. “Obtain the most efficient rate structure and build around that.” Choose Energy Star-rated efficient equipment, he adds.

Even if you’re facing cost constraints, it’s still worth “putting the building blocks in place for the future,” he notes. That might mean putting in high-capacity cabling for down-the-road power distribution needs or making allowance for control systems for future work configurations. “Up-front planning is the key.”

Bathgate urges thinking in terms of fuel flexibility. “Whatever system I choose, I want it to be multi-fueled,” he says. For example, Kerr says, you might consider a heating system that can run on natural gas, No. 2 heating oil, or a biofuel such as switch grass, corn stalks, or wood chips.

Along with flexibility, both say, think renewable energy. This encompasses photovoltaic panels, solar heating systems, and wind turbines along with biofuel.

Biofuel is still expensive relative to results; you need grant money or tax breaks to offset the costs. “The people putting it in now are early adopters,” says Kerr. But he’s high on solar, which he thinks is inevitable, and he’s also high on geothermal, especially for large facilities. “Geothermal has gone from cutting edge to mainstream,” he says.

Being resourceful about energy may mean generating some or all of your own electricity. A large facility like a hospital may find it feasible to operate a combined power plant and heating system, Kerr says. The heat byproduct from generating power goes to heating the building and providing hot water.

Green design features can help you save energy even if you don’t intend to seek formal LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

Bathgate believes there is a custom solution to every energy need: “Study what the resources for fuel are around you. Landfill? Can you help develop that and recover methane? Compost from the mushroom industry, or manure from chicken farms? Burn it. Is there a reliable stream that can generate electricity? Every site in the country has wind data. It’s worth taking a look.”