Common Energy Management Conservation Opportunities

Sources of building energy savings Ensure that the main ventilation plant and toilet
There are a number of low cost / no cost options to extractor fans are switched off outside occupancy
save energy in buildings by helping occupants hours and are not kept running and that kitchen
becone more aware of how they are using energy fans are switched off when no cookign is taking
and providing information and guidance on what to place.
do in situations. The list below has some of the
most common suggestions.* Check that windows are not being opened to avoid
overheating during winter.
Instructions and signage
Put up signs wherever there is manual control of Air-conditioning
an energy using device. For example, place a sign Review temperature controls, consider variable
at the entrance to a room, near the switches and speed drives, free cooling coils (using external air
on the inside of the door that tells the last user of as a source of cooling)
the room to turn the lights off.
Lighting
For equipment that is harder to use without Install occupancy sensors, install daylight sensors,
instruction, like room air conditioning, create a review and improve the maintenance plan (more
simple guide placed near the wall controls or taped regular maintenance), replace inefficient incandes-
to the remote explaining exactly what to do. cent bulbs with high efficiency LED lighting or
energy saving fluorescent lighting (e.g. T5 light-
Controls ing).
Ensure all controls are labelled to indicate their
function and, if appropriate, their new lower set- Ensure that someone is responsible for switching
tings. Establish responsibilities for control setting, off lights in each room or area when not in use.
review and adjustment.
Make the best use of daylight by keeping window
Heating and roof lights clean and bu using working areas
Turn heating down, replace inefficient boilers, near windows where possible. Encourage staff to
install de-stratification fans (fans used in commer- turn off lights when daylight is good.
cial/industrial buildings with high ceilings), shorten
hours of operation. Install ’task’ lighting where this means that back-
ground artificial lighting levels or hours of use can
Where possible, heat only areas that are occupied be reduced.
and that heating is off or reduced in non-working
hours. Avoid excessive lighting levels and hours of use in
corridors. Remove lamps or replace with efficient
Ventilation fittings to appropriate lighting levels.
Specify higher efficiency motors, consider variable
speed fans, review time settings and turn off when
not in use. Building fabric
Install cavity wall and roof insulation, install high
*Adapted from BEIS good practice guidance efficiency windows and glazing, draught proofing.

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 COMMON ENERGY MANAGEMENT CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES

Building control Turn off equipment

Install a computer-based building management Turn off all exhaust fans, ovens, motors, computers
system, ensure control systems are set correctly and other equipment when not needed.
for different weather conditions and occupancy lev-
els, install variable-speed drives Move air compressor intake to cooler locations
Air intakes should be moved from hot rooms with
Sources of process energy savings equipment to cooler locations, often outside. This
*Process energy savings in industrial facilities can can result in large efficiencies and attractive pay-
be intricate and complex, depending on the kind of backs.
operations being carried out. A number of energy
conservation opportunities tend to appear time Air and steam leaks
after time. The list below summarises the most Eliminate leaks in steam and compressed air sys-
common opportunities that arise and include tems. Steam and compressed air leaks are expen-
process modifications, lighting and space condi- sive and should be fixed as soon as possible.
tioning strategies. Repairs can sometimes be done without shut-
downs. Night audits, when the background noise is
The entire process system must be understood less, often turns up large numbers of leaks.
before changes are made, and the selection of a
given strategy will depend on how it ranks in fre- Control excess air
quency, savings and investment metrics. This list Carefully controlling the air used in combustion
acts as a starting point to investigate low and no- can result in savings.
cost energy savings options.
Optimise plant power factor
Energy efficient lighting Reducing reactive losses through power factor cor-
Lighting is the most visible form of energy usage in rection or more efficient equipment can result in
many organisations, although often not the highest both energy reductions and cost savings depend-
consumer of energy. The options for energy reduc- ing on how supply contracts are structured.
tion include:
• Delamping: removing lamps while maintaining Process insulation
illumination levels Insulate bare tanks, vessels, lines and process
• Switch to energy efficient lamps: Move to T8 or equipment. Insulation of process lines and tanks
T5 fluorescent lamps or install LED panels. LEDs can result in good savings. Condensate return
now come in tube fashion as well. lines and tanks are often not insulated.

Use night setback-setup Air infiltration

Review all controls to check that lights and temper- Install storm windows, doors and weather strip-
atures are set back at night when demand is ping. It is difficult to justify replacing old windows
reduced. Temperatures may be turned up or down on an energy savings basis unless they are miss-
depending on the kind of equipment in operation ing glass or severely leaking. Cheaper options
such as ovens that must be kept running, large such as storm windows can reduce air flow while
refrigeration units and space conditioning. doors and weather stripping to seal air leaks can
retain heat energy longer.

*Adapted from Capehart, W.B, Turner, C.W and Kennedy, W.J.

Use energy efficient motors
“Guide to Energy Management (International Version). Fifth
Edition. 2008. When motors need to be replaced consider

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 COMMON ENERGY MANAGEMENT CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES

energy-efficient motors instead of standard as they water and water conditioning costs and return
can usually be justified. lines should be insulated.

Preheat combustion air Product design

Recuperators save large amounts of energy and Change product design to reduce energy require-
can be highly cost effective. ments. Product redesign can often reduce the
amount of process energy required for heat treat-
Pressure reductions ment, cleaning, coating, painting and so on.
Reduce the pressure of compressed air and
steam. If pressures have been overdesigned Heat recovery
reductions will not harm the process and large Consider waste heat recovery for space exhaust
savings are possible. systems. Exhaust air from buildings that are
heated or air conditioned may offer the potential
Insulate walls, ceilings, roofs and doors for heat recovery.
Industrial plants are frequently poorly insulated.
Install insulation in dropped ceilings, on roofs or Heat transfer
walls and doors. Install devices to improve heat transfer in boilers.
Turbulators and other devices that optimise com-
Recover heat from air compressor bustion processes can reduce the amount of
Large air compressors reject large amounts of energy required per unit of product.
heat through air or water cooling. This can be used
for space conditioning during cold weather and Optimise operations
exhausted during warm weather and can have Reschedule operations to reduce peak demand.
attractive paybacks. This may not reduce consumption, but depending
on the supply contract in place savings can be
Insulate dock doors made by optimising operational work patterns.
Plastic strips, dock bumpers, vestibules and air
screens can help block airflow and heat losses Cover open heated tanks
through large dock doors. If spaces are heated Open tanks should be covered using rubber flaps,
and/or air-conditioned paybacks can be attractive. cantilevered tops and other mechanisms to keep
heat in the tanks.
Install economizers on air conditioners
Using outside air optimally can reduce how often Spot-ventilate or use air filters
air conditioning is required and can be an attrac- In processes such as welding spot ventilation can
tive source of savings. reduce the amount needed while electrostatic or
other such air filters can allow the air to be reused.
Use radiant heat Large heated or air-conditioned spaces see the
Infrared heaters can be used to provide targeted largest benefits.
heating rather than heating large areas. Infrared
heating works like the sun, warming people and Refrigeration
objects but not space and can have attractive pay- Reduce the heat loads on systems through
backs. reduced air infiltration, free cooling, raise process
temperatures, improve control of auxiliary equip-
Return steam condensate to boilers ment (pumps/fans), install better temperature con-
Returning hot condensate can reduce energy, trol, keep doors closed, donât overfill units, ensure

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 COMMON ENERGY MANAGEMENT CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES

lights are off inside units when not in use, regular

cleaning of the condenser.

Motors and drives

Install high efficiency motors, install variable speed
drives, implement automatic switch off controls/
procedures, install time switches, interlocks or sen-
sors, monitor motor output to identify energy
wastage

Transport

Fuel consumption
Monitor fuel consumption, monitor driver fuel per-
formance, under taking fuel efficiency driver train-
ing, invest in telematics systems that can identify
areas for improvement.

Driver fuel performance

Can be enhanced by: switching off the engine
when safe to do so, minimising idling, shifting to
higher gears earlier, accelerating and braking gen-
tly and smoothly, avoiding excessive speeds, use
of cruise controls and, closing windows at higher
speeds. This could be supported by linking to
driver incentives.

Routing and scheduling

Review logistics routes, reduce empty running,
maximise loads

Maintenance and vehicle improvements

Tyre management, implement fleet renewal pro-
gramme, aerodynamic improvements, improved
maintenance schedules

Employees

Awareness campaigns
Employee engagement, communications on
energy efficiency, targeted incentives

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