Our UK colleague Vilnis Vesma produced a funny article on how to waste energy. I republish it with his permission. Please note invitation to training at the end. This article is based on something Vilnis Vesma produced for a group of energy champions that he had been training. It was intended as a [...]
Energy is invisible. And so is energy waste. But it still costs. Often a lot. How to make energy waste visible in the boardroom? Here is a fast, simple and no-cost tool to assess how much energy your plant wastes Fast – takes 15 minutes, Simple – no research needed, plain English, no calculations [...]
I have recently come across a recommendation to shift production load of a big injection moulding machine to reduce demand during forecasted provincial peaks. If machine is loaded during day and not loaded during night and electricity is cheaper during night, then it seems like a no-brainer. I am not convinced in validity of [...]
Ever wondered what should you realistically expect from a particular efficiency project? I found an answer in a well-written white paper from EATON. The paper explains what results can be expected from different efficiency measures and what claims are just myths. Most of what is stated for commercial facilities is true for an industrial [...]
Does your CFO say that energy savings are too small to bother? Here is a simple way to show how savings on energy translate into profit and production volume. Energy cost reduction increases profit. How much product should be shipped to generate the same profit? To find this out, divide energy cost reduction by [...]
When you have a situation to resolve at you plant - you can find a quick reference or advice at Plant Services . Site holds an extensive collection of short articles on various topics around plant management. Materials are free, though some advertisement comes along. While searching for somewhat scarce resources about industrial energy [...]
If you aim to get the most value from energy management, lots of materials are available to help. Through years of search and study I have come across several sources that I can honestly recommend. A practical book, written in simple language and containing lots of energy wisdom - "The Industrial Energy Harvest: Managing [...]
1. In metering we trust :) Data is only reliable if it has been collected through routine automatic metering, which has been validated. All claims like 'we always keep this operational schedule', 'compressor/boiler/light is off on weekend' or 'current never exceeds X Amp', all of them have exactly zero value to energy [...]
Situation Doing nothing is an investment decision too. Investment with a guaranteed return of nothing. Here is a common conversation at a manufacturing plant: Me: … Implementation will cost you $5K and save $15K within 12 months. Maintenance manager: So we save $10K? Not much for our plant. Besides, I do not make investment [...]
A prospect informed about a possible massive cost of compressed air leaks responded: “What leaks? I do not hear hissing noise from compressed air leaks on the floor.” Plant manufactures gravel. Production noise is deafening. To hear compressed air leak would be a disaster, not only for energy bill, but likely for the whole [...]
