Efficient industrial energy and industrial energy audits

What are the benchmarks for efficient industrial uses of energy? Where are you most likely to find energy savings in your plant? Which are worth pursuing? What is the realistic ROI? How can you effectively present your program to upper management?

You can answer those questions with an industrial energy audit conducted by professionals who understand manufacturing automation and controls. Energy is a component of your production inputs and variables. To have lasting impact, any energy improvement project must serve your production and business goals as well as integrate with your plant control and information systems.

An industrial energy audit enables your organization to:

• Discover energy loss areas
• Identify how your plant can save energy, from insulating pipes to improving controls to modifying production processes to adjusting, upgrading or replacing equipment
• Determine the cost, return on investment and payback period for projects
• Prioritize projects
• Recommend related improvements in safety, control, integration and operator comfort

Controls focus: many ways to benefit

The RoviSys power and energy group is staffed by manufacturing professionals who understand how energy efficiency works within your overall plant control and information systems. We provide clients with everything from flexible industrial energy control audits up to full plant audits, all at modest costs.

A RoviSys industrial energy audit identifies technically viable and cost effective projects for your plant with emphasis on automation system enhancements. Those preparing the audit will evaluate your energy-using equipment and identify ways to enhance operating efficiency with your plant control and information systems. Where more efficient burners and equipment appear to be in order, RoviSys will identify sourcing alternatives.

Boiler audits are typically focused on combustion controls and boiler efficiency issues with keen awareness of burner management and related safety issues. In the process, they can also consider ways to improve operator effectiveness, regulatory compliance, safety, comfort, maintenance costs and other matters you specify.

Benefits of an industrial energy audit include:

• Energy savings
• Avoiding power factor penalties and environmental compliance costs
• Quality improvements
• Productivity improvements
• Reduced maintenance
• Fewer breakdowns
• Better safety and protection
• A process for repeatable improvements

An industrial energy efficiency program works best when an organization commits to an ongoing process of measurement, improvement and re-evaluation. In many plants, power and energy consumption is measured only at the outside meters. A thoughtful and well-documented approach that addresses overall plant and business needs will earn points with decision makers.

The good news with energy reductions? They repeat themselves year after year. The cumulative annual savings can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. An audit will show you the potential gains from small percentage reductions across the plant as well as 5, 10, 30 percent or larger reduction of energy usage in individual areas.

You might be able to conduct your own using tools and information from state and federal agencies. You might qualify for a free or low-cost federal, state or province industrial energy assessment or reimbursement.

Other energy efficiency steps

Whether it’s implementing plant-wide energy monitoring and energy management systems, upgrading from jack-shaft to metered combustion controls, or including the boilers in an overall OEE driven initiative to get a handle on production costs, the RoviSys Power and Energy Group has the experience to audit your steam production and chilled water control systems and provide recommendations as to how to improve efficiency.

For more information on industrial energy audits, combustion control standards, designing a power monitoring system or maximizing your steam production while lowering your fuel costs, please contact Dave Smrdel at the RoviSys Power and Energy Group today.