Action on Energy Efficiency |
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Introduction
Energy is important because:
Ever-increasing energy demand impacts price and security
Renewables will not replace fossil fuels in time to prevent environmental disaster, including pollution and climate change.
These issues have tangible costs.
The energy dilemma requires us to meet a doubled demand for energy but with half of the greenhouse gas emissions.
72% of energy consumption comes from industry, residences and tertiary buildings.
Energy efficiency is the answer because.
Energy efficiency is the cleanest and quickest solution to the energy dilemma.
Cleanest because the greenest unit of energy is the energy you didn't need to use.
Quickest because with solutions that are available today, you can save up to 30%.
Energy efficiency is the act of reducing consumption while achieving the same results.
There are just four simple steps to an effective energy efficiency program, and the common and effective actions to improve energy efficiency in buildings, industry and residences.
There are nine major systems that consume energy in buildings and industry. They are:
Building envelope
HCVAC systems
Electrical supply systems
Lighting
Boiler and steam systems
Domestic hot water systems
Compressed air systems
Motors (including those used to drive elevators and lifts)
Special purpose process equipment
Most buildings, like residences, use energy for environmental conditioning - air conditioning, space heating and ventilation.
They also, unlike residences, have high consumption for lighting and plug loads, such as
computers, copiers, and other things you plug into the wall. If a building has a dining area, significant energy
may go into food preparation, refrigeration and dishwashing.
An athletic facility requires considerable energy to make hot water for showers.
In certain types of facilities the typical energy users are completely overshadowed by the energy required for process based activities.
Examples would be data processing centers and industrial plants.
Lighting, heating and cooling are by far the largest energy expense and therefore may be the first place to find savings.
However, the energy use profile will vary greatly depending on the facility.
In industry, over 60% of electricity is consumed by motors. 25% savings in this area would save 7% of the world’s electricity.
In data centers, computer servers consume large amounts of power and also have tremendous needs for cooling the equipment.
In buildings, heating, ventilation and air conditioning is a big energy consumer.
Products are available to improve the efficiency of these systems, and also building management systems that can control heating and air conditioning to keep the building comfortable, and at the same time minimize the energy used.
Lighting is another major area of cost where efficiency can make a difference.
At home, lighting, heating and cooling are responsible for most of the energy bill.
Here, too, products are available that can have an impact on these costs.
There are two distinct approaches to energy efficiency.
Both have their place in your program.
Passive energy efficiency
depends on devices and materials that intrinsically use less energy to perform their function.
Examples include replacing existing equipment with lower consumption devices, fixing leaks and adding insulation.
Oftentimes energy efficient lighting upgrades are among the first projects undertaken, largely because of their quick return on investment.
Also, adding insulation in major heat loss areas is one of the easiest and most effective areas for improvement.
These actions are called ―passive because once implemented, they silently save energy as they are used.
By itself, passive energy efficiency can generate savings of 10% and 15%, but there is more to do.
An energy efficient light bulb will still waste energy if it is left switched on when it is not needed.
Insulation will not save money if people open the windows and let heat out during the winter, or let cold air out during the summer.
Active energy efficiency is needed to maximize and sustain the gains from passive energy efficiency, and bring additional savings too.
Active energy efficiency
seeks to use energy more intelligently, to achieve the same results with less.
Through automation and regulation you can ensure that equipment only works as hard as it needs to and not more.
Many of these measures are relatively easy to implement and pay back in less than 2 years.
Lots of energy efficiency programs start by improving employee awareness and behaviour – such as shuttingdown production equipment and lighting when not in use to reduce energy.
That’s a good way to start at little or no cost, but it leaves you vulnerable to human errors.
Automation reduces that risk, turning off devices when not needed and regulating motors or heating at the optimized level.
A permanent monitoring and maintenance program locks in the savings.
Monitoring also gives you the information you need to find more savings.
Combining these approaches.
You could save 10 to 15% of your consumption with passive energy efficiency measures dealing with efficient devices and installation.
You could take that further with automation and regulation to optimize the usage of those devices – another 5 to15%.
Then, your monitoring program could bring another 2 – 8%, by noticing deviations and allowing you tocorrect them quickly.
Depending on your facility, you could readily save 30%.
However, you can lose these savings quickly if you don’t keep your monitoring and maintenance program inplace.
Automated systems can drift away from optimal performance as small adjustments are made over time.
People can slip back into energy-wasting behavior if deviations are undetected and expectations are not reinforced.
Power reliability is also an important contributor – efficiency gains can be lost quickly if thereare unplanned, unmanaged shutdowns of equipment and processes.
Without proper monitoring, each year 8% of savings can be lost.
Energy efficiency is not a one- time project; it’s a continuous cycle.
This means you can approach the problem gradually and phase our actions according to your available budget.
You need to start from a firm foundation.
Beginning with an energy audit allows you to prioritise your actions effectively.
At the beginning simple data from the utility bill and some expert observations can discover a lot.
If you have more detailed measurements available, that can increase confidence in the choices that you make.
Temporary measurements may be enough to kick-start your program.
Generally, your energy audit will identify some low-hanging fruit in the area of passive energy efficiency.
Fix the basics – like mending air leaks, or insulating steam pipes.
Passive energy efficiency would also include things such as high-efficiency motors, but those actions tend to require greater investments and cause more disruption when they are implemented.
This may be hard to justify if the equipment to be replaced is relatively new.
When the equipment approaches end-of-life, analysis of the total cost of ownership can help support replacement with high-efficiency equipment.
When you have fixed all the basics that make sense at the time, more low hanging fruit can be found in active energy efficiency.
Optimise through automation and regulation.
Lock in your savings by not relying on people.
Monitoring and maintenance are how you will save more.
As you learn about how and when energy is consumed in the plant, you will find new ways to adjust practices to save more.
This gives you the inputs for the next turn of the cycle.
Solutions that would be be included at each step
Taking a systematic approach maximizes savings and avoids unnecessary cost.
It ensures you create utility savings without compromising facility reliability, comfort or safety.
A facility audit will provide you with a comprehensive energy analysis.
Experts examine the energy usage patterns and demands of a facility and identify the best opportunities to improve energy efficiency.
Projects are then prioritised based on the initial cost and expected payback period, and those with the greatest potential savings and quickest payback should be among the first to be undertaken.
Without this, you may select the wrong project and make expensive mistakes.
A critical input to your energy program is energy data.
You may be able to get started with analysis from utility bills, but quickly you will find they lack the detail crucial to effective analysis and decision making.
Investment in meters now can prevent errors later.
Once the audit has identified the low-hanging fruit, the next step is to fix the basics.
Examples of this:
are employing energy efficient light bulbs and fixtures with lighting retrofits,
high-efficiency motors,
adding insulation, and
replacing windows.
It is also important to address power quality and power reliability issues.
Low power factor may be impacting your bill, and the effective utilization of the capacity of your electrical network.
Harmonics may put you at risk of unexpected shutdowns, and shorten the life of your equipment.
It’s good to have low consumption devices, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave them on all day!
Good resolutions to shut off HVAC systems and lights when you leave a room or office tend to fade away when distraction intervene - hence the need for automation.
Some examples of automation include:
Building Management Systems
Lighting Control Systems
Motor control systems
Home control systems
These systems can ensure that equipment is only on when it needs to be on.
And sometimes, you can save on cost by changing when you use energy.
These systems can schedule consumption at times of day when cost is lower.
If you never maintain your car, it will consume more and more fuel.
The same is true for your electrical installation, HVAC system, boilers, process heating equipment and automation systems.
Continuous commissioning practices, such as monitoring and improvement, ensure that the results achieved are here to stay and that your new installation is profitable and sustainable.
Energy management software or remote monitoring systems are critical – you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
Further investment in meteringwill reveal more detail to help you continue the improvement cycle.
An energy program cannot succeed without effective leadership.
Success starts with a commitment from executive management — and a powerful ind ication of that commitment is appointing a ―champion of energyefficiency.
This person will be the driving force behind the project, the person who will consistently monitorand maintain progress.
Executive management must formulate, communicate, and embrace an energy management policy.
The champion, then, is the person committed and responsible for achieving the results —
collecting,
analysing, and
reporting energy information.
Prioritizing projects,
securing approval and
driving implementation.
Ensuring that energy considerations are integrated into decision making for new facilities and purchases.
Obtaining ideas and feedback from building occupants or employees, and sharing celebration of the success.
Getting approval to undertake energy efficiency projects is not always an easy task.
Find out ahead of time what financial model is used to make investment decisions in your company, then present projects within that framework.
Be sure to include any rebates or incentives that you may be eligible for.
Also be sure to explain other advantages such as reduced maintenance costs, increased comfort, and indoor air quality.
It may be easy to get approval if there is an existing goal to reduce energy consumption. But if there isn’t,you might need to get a little more creative.
For example:
a company might have a mandate to reduce error rate by x percent.
If that company is considering a lighting retrofit, a potential side benefit is a reduced error rate due to a higher quality of light.
You should be sure to articulate that this proposed project will reduce energy consumption AND help meet production error rate goals.
You should also translate proposed savings into environmental goals such as potential greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions.
Don’t forget to show that energy efficiency is considered a safer investment with higher returns than mostfinancial options.
Documenting these side benefits increases your chances of getting approval for energy
efficiency projects and services.