Example Recommendations

For this facility, it was recommended that an economizer be added to the boiler systems to recapture the heat from the flume exhaust and use it for pre-heating the boiler feed water. It could potentially save almost $50,000 every year in gas consumption.

For this facility, it was recommended the louvers on the exhaust fans remain closed when necessary to prevent air leakage, thus reducing the load on the HVAC system and reducing the energy cost. Keeping the air conditioned space close is comparatively one of the cheapest recommendations to put into use with a possibility of immediate paybacks.

Air leaks or gas leaks can lead to reduced pressure which in turn demands for greater energy consumption to maintain the required pressure. Thus eliminating leaks in pressure lines can save a pretty good amount of electricity cost annually. For this plant it was recommended to seal the 4 identified air leaks in compressed air lines. It could save the plant almost $4,700 every year in electricity cost.

Using excess pressure than required leads to over consumption of electricity. For this plant it was recommended that the operating pressure of the compressed air unit be reduced to the minimum required which could save more than $6,000 per year for them.

This plant uses compressed air tools which are powered by 2 air compressors which leads to overconsumption of electricity. It was recommended that the use of compressed air be completely and permanently eliminated. Electric powered tools should be used as a replacement which would potentially save the facility almost $30,000 a year.

Keeping electric appliances like lights off when not required can save electric cost. The best way to implement it is, as it was recommended to this facility, by installing occupancy sensors in rooms and areas that are not used constantly to prevent nonessential lighting in unoccupied rooms. It could save them a little more than 1,300$ every year in electric cost.

Unnecessary conditioning of space can lead to additional electric consumption which could be saved by installing thermostats/timers to optimize space conditioning. For this facility it was recommended to adjust programmable thermostats throughout the plant to avoid overconditioning the space when unoccupied which could save them more than $18,000 every year.

Any equipments that require heating or cooling should be insulated from the atmosphere to reduce the loss of energy. We recommended this facility to insulate the asphalt mixing drum with the standards recommended by the ASTEC which could save them more than $5,000 every year.

Any air conditioned space must be kept closed to prevent leakage of conditioned air thus reducing load on the air conditioning system and thus saving electricity. For this plant it was recommended to keep all the dock doors closed when not in use so there is less load on the building heating systems, thus reducing energy consumption which would save them almost $4,000 every year without any implementation cost.

It was recommended that the plant minimizes the water used on site for the purposes of dust suppression. This can be done with the use of a hose water time to limit the amount of time water is being used. It is also recommended that the sprinkler heads be moved lower to the ground, so they are not spraying water on the raw material before it is processed.

Paying your utility bills; electric, water or natural gas on time (before the due date) to prevent late fees (penalty & amp; admin) costs that are added to next month utility bill. These are additional costs and can be easily prevented by implementing timely payments of bills. In this case the facility could save more than $4,000 every year without any implementation cost.

Using electricity during peak utility period implies an increase in the cost of electricity. By optimizing the electric usage to recharge batteries of equipments during non-peak utility period could save around 50% in the electric utility costs. For this facility it was recommended to charge forklifts (batteries) during off-peak utility rate period which could save them a total of more than $4,000 every year with $0 in implementation cost and instant payback.

Recycling waste water can save a huge amount of money in water consumption cost for facilities that utilize water for industrial processes regularly. For this facility it was recommended to use the existing (not used yet) water-recycling infrastructure within the plant facility to convert the wastewater into water that can be reused for other purposes and decrease the water demand which would potentially save them more than $31,000 every year in water consumption costs.

For this facility it was recommended to upgrade all lights to LED and reduce the number of bulbs in fixtures to the minimum necessary levels in areas where the lighting is too intense for the space. It was also recommended to install occupancy sensors and motion sensors in all office areas, restrooms, hallways, and break rooms. Implementing the following recommendations could potentially save the facility almost $12,000 every year.

Optimized space conditioning can save a pretty good amount of energy over a year. For this facility it was recommended to adjust programmable thermostats to 73°F during operating hours and 81°F at night throughout the plant to avoid over-conditioning the space when unoccupied. Implementing this strategy could save more the facility 203,500 kWh of electric consumption every year which is equivalent to saving $13,000 every year in electrcity bill.

Steam leaks directly indicate loss of power which can be easily avoided by repairing the active steam leaks. For this facility, repairing the active steam leaks would potentially save more than $2,000 every year.

Electric boilers are more efficient than natural gas boilers because they do not suffer from flu gas loss through chimney. Hence for this facility it was recommended that the natural gas boiler is replaced with one of the electric boiler units (available at plant) to achieve efficiency improvement and energy consumption savings which could potentially save them almost $1,500 every year.

High resistance ducts, pipes and fitings create an excess load on the pumps leading to excess consumption of electricity. For this facility it was recommended that the plant use only one oxic recirculation pump instead of two to recirculate sludge from the oxic tank to the anoxic tank. To reduce the number of pumps being used, the plant needs to replace a broken check valve. This would have an implementation cost of $5,500 but on the other hand it would also have a potential to save almost $16,000 every year.

Efficiency of equipment plays a vital role in saving energy for facilities that rely on those equipment for most of their processes. Replacing inefficient boilers is an expensive step, instead replacing the inefficient burners with more efficient ones can provide a significant improvement by reducing the use of boiler fuel and energy. This facility could potentially save more than $66,000 every year by replacing obsolete and inefficient burners which would cost the facility $22,000.

Limiting or reducing municipal water usage can be a potentially significant cost saving recommendation. We recommended this facility to capture rainwater from the roof and use it for non-potable purposes after treatment which could save them almost $26,000 every year with an implementation cost of only $4,700.

By avoiding peak demand utility rates, facilities can save a few thousand dollars depending on the electric energy consumption without any implementation cost. This facility was recommended to subscribe to an alternative rate structure offered by the utility company and change the operational hours during the non-summer period from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM to 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM to avoid the higher on-peak demand rate and this could save the facility almost $15,000 every year.

The simplest way to save energy and energy cost is by turning off equipment which is not being used. Although being the simplest task, several facilities fail to turn off equipments even when they're not being used. This facility was recommended to power off the hoists when they are not in use which saved them $400 every year without having to take any substantial step or any implementation cost.

Optimization of the tools and/or equipments' capacity can play an imporatant role in energy saving. It guarantees that only the required amount of energy is used for a certain process and prevents wastage of energy. To this facility it was recommended to change the existing 150 hp single speed modulation mode air compressor to a 50 hp variable frequency driven air compressor (VFD). VFDs have a lower energy requirement for the same amount of work done resulting in more than $14,000 being saved every year.

Using an inefficienct method of waste disposal can lead to unnecessary and huge increase in cost to the facility. It is recommendeded to move to bulk hazardous waste disposal. For this facility ,the amount of hazardous waste produced annually requires a move from 55-gal drum waste containment to bulk disposal to cut costs and increase efficiency which could save them more than $140,000 every year with an implementation cost of only $600.

Full load capacity compressors, pumps and motors run inefficiently at part load which leads to unnecessary energy consumption. It is recommended to update the existing compressors and pumps running on part load with variable frequency drives (VFD). VFDs have a lower energy requirement for the same amount of work done. Implementing this recommendation would save the facility almost $23,000 every year.

When possible, it is recommended to use equipments that do not consume or consume comparatively lesser amount of electricity. A cooling tower can provide sufficient cooling water to this facility for most parts of the year which could reduce electricity requirement by a significant amount which could potentially save the facility more than $34,000 every year.

When water goes through the meter in the line, there are air bubbles caused by turbulence and turns in the pipe system that get included in the meter readings for volumetric flow rate. A ZennValve Flow Management Device removes air from the water line, making it so the water meter only measures the water flowing through the pipe. After installing this device to the main water line, which would cost just a little over $3,000, it could save the facility almost $16,000 every year.

Oversized and unnecessary equipments add to unwanted production costs due to needless use of energy. We recommended this facility to downsize or remove some of the oversized or unnecessary immersion heaters used for temperature increase in different solution tanks throughout the plant as a aresult of which the facility could save more than $40,000 every year.

An important step in saving energy is to stay up to date with the different processes and techniques and utilizing the most efficient technique or process. For this facility we recommended replacing mechanical mixers used for aeration with more energy efficient technology like fine bubble aerators. This replacement would save the facility more than $160,000 every year.

Proper insulation of space can help in saving energy by preventing loss of hot or cold air. We recommended thid facility to insulate the preprinting office sheet metal wall that separates the office from the warehouse. A good insulation option is Polyisocyanurate (foil-faced) foam board which has one of the highest R values of rigid insulation, which would save them more than $800 every year in electric consumption costs.

The facility produces excess biogas during the sludge treatment process which can be utilized to generate electricity by installing a microturbine. The energy generated by this microturbine could save the facility more than $90,000 every year.

Automation of equipments to be operational only when required is a great way to save energy. For this facility, we recommended to automate the use of mechanical mixer motors based on the dissolved oxygen (DO) level of wastewater to make certain that motors are not using any amount of energy when the DO level is above limit which could save the facility more than $4,000 every year.

Improved mechanisms can provide greater efficiency for the same amount of work, resulting is energy saving. At this facility we observed that all the V-belts on material handling fans and conveyers be replaced with cog-belts to decrease power consumption and increase efficiency since V belt flexes and slips around the pulleys causing a loss of energy in the form of heat. By replacing it with cog belts, the facility could save almost $15,000 every year with an implementation cost of only $3,300.

It is recommended all non-LED bulbs be replaced with LED bulbs. As a rule, the number of lamps per fixture can be cut in half if using LEDs. If there are three lamps per fixture, the recommendation is typically to install two LEDs, as opposed to one. This may vary depending on lighting conditions in a specific space; in some cases, only one lamp will be needed. In addition, occupancy sensors should be installed in areas in there is a high amount of traffic, areas with people going in and out often, or areas that don’t see a lot of traffic but that may have lights left on for extended periods. These include locker rooms, the grit separation facility, office rooms, the EQ fan room, and other similar areas.