Holiday Shutdown Preparations Guide for Facilities

Holiday shutdown preparations guide for facilities

Planning a holiday shutdown is one of the fastest ways to cut costs, trim emissions, and give building systems a healthy reset. During the 2024–2025 holiday season, UC Berkeley’s holiday curtailment across 60 buildings saved 717,065 kWh and about $215,000 while cutting 220 metric tons of CO₂e—proof that a focused, one‑week effort pays off.

In our recent webinar, Senior Manager of Energy and Utility Solutions Tom Diliberti shared a practical playbook that you can put to work this season to discover energy bill savings for your organization. Use our guide to help you with briefing facilities, IT, finance, and leadership team members. Then learn how tools like EnergyCAP® can help you uncover hidden fees and savings.

How a holiday shutdown saves energy

For many organizations, building occupancy drops significantly over the holiday season. Schedules get out of sync, ventilation continues to run in empty rooms, and plug loads remain on because no one is there to turn them off. A planned shutdown becomes an opportunity for energy conservation, to manage equipment differently, saving your organization money.

You define the window, reset to intentional setpoints, and verify recovery. The result is measurable impact—lower utility costs, fewer emissions, quieter restarts, and fewer surprise calls.

Holiday shutdown procedures help address familiar pains:

• Budget pressure: Reduce runtime during the most predictable low use period of the year.
• Comfort complaints: Set clear expectations, then plan recovery so the first day back feels normal. Find the balance between comfort and financial control.
• Operational drift: Clear overrides, correct schedules, and document exceptions in one pass.
• Safety and equipment risk: Verify damper and actuator performance and reduce unnecessary fan and exhaust operation.
• Carbon and ESG goals: Translate avoided runtime into emissions reductions you can report with accounting solutions like EnergyCAP Carbon Hub.
• Staffing constraints: Concentrate work into a defined window with a simple, shared playbook.

Assemble your team and prepare the playbook

Start by choosing an executive sponsor and a day-to-day lead. Then bring in representatives from facilities and operations, IT, and high-impact areas such as kitchens, athletics, and labs. Align goals, risks, and the buildings in scope, and capture the plan in a one‑page playbook that spells out who does what and when.

Don’t forget to include targets and contacts, note weather contingencies, and add a simple path for last‑minute exceptions so changes do not derail the schedule.

Run a quick spend‑by‑building view in EnergyCAP Utility Management and circle the top consumers. Those sites become your pilot and your most significant opportunity. Estimate the associated costs and emissions to set expectations early.

Target the largest energy loads first

Treat the shutdown like a series of dials you can adjust. If you cannot turn a system off, set it back—if you cannot set it back, tune it up so it does less work.

• HVAC: Widen temperature setbacks for unoccupied periods and document sensitive exceptions
• Ventilation: Reduce outside air during low occupancy and turn off exhaust where safe
• Lighting: Fix failed sensors and align interior and exterior schedules to actual occupancy
• Plug loads: Coordinate with IT to power down devices and unplug nonessential kitchen equipment

Powerviews in EnergyCAP Utility Management can highlight where runtime and load patterns do not match expectations. Use those visuals to pick a handful of buildings for an early dry run, and to build a simple before and after story you can share with stakeholders.

Test your strategy before the break

Choose a weekend or a short school or office holiday and run the plan on two or three buildings. Walk the sites and record baseline temperatures, humidity, and any obvious runtime symptoms, such as fans that never stop.

Confirm BAS schedules, setpoints, and alarms, then verify that they change field conditions as expected. Be sure to pay special attention to dampers and actuators, as they are common failure points that can cause freeze or humidity problems if left unchecked.

Execute the plan and monitor like a hawk

Success depends on communication and timing. Well before the break, publish the schedule and outline the changes. Inform building occupants about what to expect and why the changes are essential.

Train your technicians on the revised setpoints and the key watchouts you identified during testing. Before the shutdown, update BAS schedules, thermostats, and time clocks to reflect anticipated occupancy. Conduct a field audit to verify that lights are off, fans are off, and any exceptions are adequately documented.

Bring buildings back smoothly and document the win

Plan for generous recovery time and start systems early enough so that building comfort is restored by the time of opening. It can be helpful to station a technician to work through any surprises with a clear checklist in place. Once conditions are stable, capture what worked and what did not, and update your standard operating procedures so the next shutdown is easier.

Quantify energy savings by using cost avoidance in EnergyCAP Utility Management and interval analysis in EnergyCAP Smart Analytics to calculate savings. Finally, share a summary with simple charts that highlight the dollars and emissions avoided. Don’t forget to thank the teams that made it happen.

Practical energy pitfalls to avoid

Even a well-planned approach will encounter real-world challenges. Most issues come from late requests, unclear ownership, or weather that does not cooperate. Identify the risk, establish a straightforward guideline, and assign a responsible owner. The goal is not perfection; it is a calm response that maintains savings and keeps buildings safe.

Follow these tips to avoid common challenges:

• Late schedule changes: Use a simple form with an approval path for exceptions, and set a clear cutoff date
• Sensitive spaces: Tag them in the playbook, confirm local controls, and assign an owner to check conditions
• IT shutdown coordination: Publish the device list and the power down sequence, then test a sample with IT present
• Weather surprises: Prewrite temperature and humidity thresholds that trigger action from the facilities team
• Limited field time: Virtually or remotely audit the facilities using the BAS to confirm temperature and humidity conditions

See how you can save with EnergyCAP

Holiday shutdowns work because they bring intention back to building operations. We covered how to target the largest loads, execute with clear communication, recover smoothly, and measure the results. With a focused plan, you can cut costs, reduce emissions, and begin the new year with systems set up correctly.

EnergyCAP can make planning, monitoring, and proving impact faster—and sharing results easier. The UK Royal Mail saw 60% in energy savings and a £10,000 return on investment. See how EnergyCAP supports your every step. Request a demo and we will walk you through a plan tailored to your portfolio.