A conventional wisdom suggests that only action creates results. I tend to agree, except that is must be a correct action. How do you what energy project is the right one? How to choose between projects when each vendor claims attractive savings? I do not have a crystal ball either, but I [...]
My esteemed UK colleague Vilnis Vesma has written a series of smart articles that explains the often hidden value of measuring, monitoring and targeting of energy consumption. For the fun of it he arranged the series in alphabetic order. These short posts are written in plain English and contain tons of common sense based [...]
An industrial client asked me what meters to buy. My honest professional advice: do not buy any, because whatever meters you buy you will be disappointed later. Here is why. I am a strong proponent of measuring energy use. No sensible energy project can be implemented without measuring. Simplifying William Thomson – “to measure [...]
Smart meters can do much more than provide a stream of measurements. But here is a catch: operators must know how they work. Here is a story to illustrate. Client installed a smart gas meter for a commercial kitchen. One year later gas supply is blocked. Meter blocked gas supply, it must be at [...]
I have recently come across a brief report on possible energy cost reduction projects in industrial baking prepared in the UK by Carbon Trust. Key points of this article: Tried and true solutions for efficiency In order to estimate costs for improvements and energy savings, the starting point is to ensure that you have [...]
Did you hear that sustainability drives profitability when product is sold to younger generation? This idea may help you secure support to energy projects from marketing and sales dept. Millennials name sustainability a shopping priority and are willing to pay more for it. In fact, Nielson study of 2015 has concluded that: “66% of [...]
Nowadays everybody agrees that Energy Management is important, even many C-levels agree. Still too often it is not done. Why is that? This 2003 article - Overcoming Barriers to Effective Energy Management in Industrial Settings - names several barriers which I list below with my comments: Lack of Organizational Commitment If senior management is [...]
Our South African colleague Craig van Wyk from VWG Consulting expressed a consideration very much worth republishing: if savings per unit are achieved and sustained in high-volume manufacturing, they keep mounting every hour of every day. Here is Craig's message: During my years in management in the high-volume manufacturing environment, prior to becoming a [...]
At a recent compressed air audit at plastic molding plant we found that bad design of compressed air system caused a 500t molding machine to produce scrap, unpredictably, from time to time. Client has just acquired this machine for $1.2mln to meet high throughput demand of their automotive client. With this scrap level they [...]
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 [...]
