Tag Archives: Energy Audit

Industrial Energy Management – Contolling Demand & Energy Usage

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Demand-control technology supports multiple approaches for taming energy costs without sacrificing production efficiency.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>Navigant Research argues that efficient energy management will soon be as important as product quality in determining manufacturers’ competitive position within their respective industries. That importance, according to Navigant, is reflected in the compound annual growth rate for industrial energy management software and services.

At its current growth rate, the global market for industrial energy management solutions will nearly double over the next 7 years, going from $11.3 billion in 2013 to $22.4 billion in 2020… <

See on www.plantengineering.com

UK Shopping Centre goes zero Waste to landfill in a year

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As a new member of the National Recycling Star scheme, Clifton Down Shopping Centre received the Gold award for its recycling and waste management efforts and in recognition of its success in diverting all of its waste from landfill.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>The transformation in the centre’s waste management began with a full site audit to identify areas of poor practise within both its waste management and energy efficiency operations.  […]

As the shopping centre began to look at improving its waste management plan, it asked its tenants to start flat packing their waste cardboard, so it can be sent to the centre’s onsite compactor. Pre-flat packing waste cardboard has allowed the centre to double the amount of cardboard that can be collected by its waste contractor Smiths, while saving space in the services yard. This has cut the number of collections required, helping to save fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. All general waste produced by the shopping centre is sent to New Earth Solution’s mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility at Avonmouth.

Clifton Down Shopping Centre has also been working to reduce its environmental impact by tackling its energy efficiency. New LED light fittings have been installed throughout the shopping centre, significantly reducing energy consumption and cost. The centre previously used old halogen lighting which consumed 14,994kW per annum, compared with the replacement LED lighting which consumes 2,998kW – an 80 per cent reduction. […]

The centre has also installed seasonal sensitive automatic doors at both entrances. These are programmed to close more quickly during winter months to minimise heat lose. This is switched during summer with doors remaining open for longer, allowing for cooler air to circulate the building. New electricity, water and gas monitors have been installed throughout the centre to measure consumption and identify areas of potential savings.<

See on www.e2bpulse.com

UK Energy Efficiency Requirements and Business

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Proposals for an Energy Savings Opportunity Schemes have been published by the UK Government that will make it compulsory for large companies to undertake energy audits.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>An ESOS assessment would undertake a review of the total energy use and energy efficiency of the organisation, including the measurement of an energy intensity ratio (e.g. energy use per employee or per unit of output) and, as appropriate, considering the variation in energy use over time within key buildings, key industrial operations, and key transport activities (exempting de minimis energy use).

The review would need to be proportionate and sufficiently representative “to permit the drawing of a reliable picture of overall energy performance” of the organisation and present clear information on potential savings, which identify and quantify cost-effective energy savings opportunities.

These should be, wherever practical, based on life cycle assessments (LCA) instead of simple payback periods (SPP), as the former are more realistic.

All procedures for doing this are outlined under the international standard for energy management, ISO 50001, with which all energy and facility managers are encouraged to become competent.

The Government has come under sustained criticism recently for failing to do enough to promote energy efficiency.<

See on theenergycollective.com

European Food and Drink Industry Heads Towards Zero Fossil CO2 Emissions – Food Processing Technology

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Campden BRI and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne are co-operating with organisations from Austria, Germany, Poland and Spain in an EU project to help the European food and beverage industry improve energy efficiency and reduce fossil carbon…

See on www.foodprocessing-technology.com

Green Building Taking Off in Hospitality, Retail Industries

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Green building is taking off in the hospitality and retail industries, […]  This year, retail owners that are building green for over half of their projects rose to 38%, up from just 18% in 2011. That’s expected to rise to 52% by 2015.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>”Green building has taken such hold in the industry that even sectors with unique challenges, such as retail and hospitality, are making stronger investments,” says Harvey Bernstein, vice president at McGraw Hill Construction. “Clearly the benefits that owners are reporting are key reasons for their green building investments, and as they find better ways to measure those impacts and quantify the value to their sales velocity and to the well-being of their staff, customers and guests, we expect even more rapid engagement in green.”

While lower operating costs are the most frequently reported reason for going green (66% of retailers, 73% of hotels), other factors are also considered very important in their decision-making process:

Utility rebates – Protecting/enhancing brand – just as important as costs for hotels

Improving ROI  […]Energy efficiency is still a key goal, recycling and waste management are also critically important. A strong majority say they require green practices from suppliers, especially on waste handling (75%). <

See on www.sustainablebusiness.com

TD Bank Announces Energy-Saving Monitoring Data For Net-Zero Store

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TD reports that the first net-zero bank built in the United States is exceeding expectations according to first-year monitoring data.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

TD Bank’s net-zero energy store opened on May 13, 2011. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory defines a net-zero energy building (NZEB) as a residential or commercial building that produces and exports in a year at least as much renewable power as the total energy it uses.

[…] A NZEB has two key energy features: The building is constructed with energy-efficient technologies that significantly reduce its energy demand, and renewable energy sources supply at least as much energy as the building uses over the course of a year.

See on www.stockhouse.com

Power Analytics: The model based approach to availability, energy and resource management

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As the reliance on the data center infrastructure continues to grow, organizations will need to use model-based analytics to help make better IT decisions.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Download this white paper to see how the use of model-based metrics is directly analogous to business analytics. With the complexity of today’s modern systems – without these metrics – management and financial decisions would be nearly impossible. As the reliance on the data center infrastructure continues to grow, organizations will need to use model-based analytics to help make better IT decisions. By utilizing model-based management, organizations will be able to see the powerful link to the overall value chain of designing, building and operating a data center.

See on www.datacenterknowledge.com

Commercial, institutional and federal buildings | Office of Energy Efficiency

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ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is being adapted for the Canadian buildings sector.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Portfolio Manager is a free, interactive energy management tool that allows you to track and assess energy and water consumption across your entire portfolio of buildings in a secure online environment.

See on oee.nrcan.gc.ca

EPB Deploys America’s Fastest Fiber-optic Smart Grid – Lee Baker, Smart Grid Consultant – Electric Energy Online

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EPB Deploys America’s Fastest Fiber-optic Smart Grid – Lee Baker, Smart Grid Consultant – While many utilities struggle with the question of whether or not to build a Smart Grid, for the Electric Power Board (EPB) in …

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Chattanooga: The Smarter City

EPB [Electric Power Board] is one of the first community-owned utilities to install a 100% fiber-optic network, which uses the fiber optic network for Smart Grid applications, in addition to the triple-play media services (i.e., high speed Internet, video and telephone) EPB already provides.

“Chattanooga is light years ahead when it comes to providing ultra fast broadband,” said Tom Edd Wilson, President and CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. “By offering the fastest available speeds to a whole community comprising a diverse population living in both urban and rural areas, Chattanooga has become the living laboratory for today’s innovations and tomorrow’s companies.”

EPB has built fiber optics throughout their entire customer service area and communications services are now available to all homes and businesses. By the end of 2012, all 170,000 homes and businesses will be equipped with a Tantalus smart meter.

[…] EPB already has 22 large industries signed up for a time-of-use (TOU) rate program, and its projected that together they will save $2.3 million a year. Those kinds of savings help businesses run more efficiently and bring jobs to the community.

“What makes Chattanooga stand out is that it is leveraging the network both for a full range of Smart Grid applications and communications connectivity,” Wade added.

“We looked at how the communication system and the electric system interact for many years and realized how closely tied together they are. As costs have stabilized and technology matured, we felt that the time was right to proceed with the project.”

“We’re building this network not just for today but for the future. The system we’re building will provide rapid, two-way communications with every meter, home and device, making it possible and practical for our customers to interact with their energy use as never before.”

See on www.electricenergyonline.com

Energy Managers Also Manage People

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It takes three specifically-trained professionals to run a successful energy-management program at a large facility, according to a column in Chemical Processing

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

While the energy manager assumes responsibility for the company’s energy program, he or she can can get help from energy consultants & energy auditors.

See on www.energymanagertoday.com