Due credit often misses good energy managers, but not the smart ones
Proper analysis brings energy heroes front and center. Can this be you? The graph shows results of statistical analysis of electricity consumption at a frozen food warehouse performed in accordance with recommendation of International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). Blue dotted line represents a cumulative sum of differences between actual and predicted consumption. Difference between green and red tangents [...]
Procurement cannot buy electricity, natural gas and water
Procurement department can buy materials, machines and office supplies, but cannot buy electricity, natural gas and water. Just can't. Does not have sufficient decision-making authority. Neither does CFO. Nor even President. Utilities are bought by a person who flips the switch or turns the valve, not by procurement or CFO or President. Procurement contract for parts, materials and services [...]
How much will energy audit save us?
During a recent meeting with prospect's CFO this exact question has come up: How much energy will energy audit save our bakery? A fair question coming from CFO: his job is to ensure that all investments generate value for the company. A direct question deserves a direct answer: Energy Audit will save you nothing. Zero. Nada. ... Unless you [...]
6 Steps to effective Energy Management in manufacturing
In Energy Management the key word is management, not energy. So, all rules of management apply. Rule #1: it all starts from the top. This rules determines everything. 1. Effective Energy Management must have a C-level champion Practically speaking, if none of the top guns cares about energy management or at least energy efficiency, nothing significant will come out of [...]
Even LED lighting may waste energy and hurt sales
A perfectly energy efficient LED lighting may waste energy and hurt sales when not designed with energy management in mind. Is Energy Efficiency the same as Energy Management? Energy Efficiency (EE) is about technological solutions that use less energy to produce the same result. In this case, LED lighting is more efficient than fluorescent since it produces same amount of [...]
Accurate analysis can lead to higher incentives
An industrial bakery has installed new efficient compressor with VFD. The announcement reported that new compressor saved an estimated 147,600 kWh per year and brought $18,600 in incentives. Calculation of incentive used prescriptive approach. Should the company has taken a custom track in incentive application the incentive could have been way higher. Our analysis based on utility bills and production data shows [...]
“Hungry fridge ate more than me”
My friend Andrew once learned that he was paying twice as much for electricity than his neighbour across the street. Similar house, similar family, similar lifestyle, same utility ... but neighbour paid $200 a month, while Andrew paid $400. So Andrew decided to tackle the issue. He invited a utility rep to do a walk through audit of his house. [...]