September 1, 2009 Vol. XIII, No. 16
- Automated control reduces energy consumption and increases production capacity at Miralis
- Energy management information system identifies energy solutions at Amcor
- New Brunswick’s top energy users see value in energy management information systems
- Green team plots future conservation projects at Gay Lea Foods
- Call for story ideas
Articles
Automated control reduces energy consumption and increases production capacity at Miralis
“As the biggest energy consumer, the dust collection system at Miralis was the obvious target for an energy reduction project,” says Donald Brisson, the company’s Director of Operations. According to Brisson, a new on-demand control, installed in fall 2008, has saved the company about $50,000 in annual electricity costs.
Miralis, a manufacturer of mid- and high-end custom kitchen cabinets, operates out of an 11 600 square metre (m2) facility in Saint-Anaclet, Quebec, near Rimouski. The company, a CIPEC Leader in the General Manufacturing Sector, employs 220 full-time people working at about 125 workstations with different equipment.
The dust collection system comprises large air conveyors that evacuate wood dust away from working environments. Brisson explains that equipment at some workstations does not operate continuously, yet conventional dust collection systems operate 100 percent of the time to avoid dust accumulation. Drills and band saws, for instance, are generally used only about 25 percent during the day, compared with panel saws and wide belt sanders, which are used up to 80 percent of the time.
To address this unequal need for ventilation and, thus, energy demand, Miralis hired SyENERGY Integrated Energy Solutions inc. to study the system and implement a solution. Tom Ryan, an engineer at SyENERGY, notes that the Ecogate® technology offered the best solution, because it addresses ventilation needs for individual equipment while maintaining the required airflow in the ventilation ducts.
“We isolated each individual workstation and considered the workstation network as a whole,” says Ryan. The Ecogate automation program was adapted to the workstations’ operating schedules. Ecogate’s central control can reduce ventilation for equipment that operates only 20 to 30 percent of the day and can increase ventilation speed to sweep the entire collection system regularly.
The technology is relatively new to Canada, with only Miralis and a Manitoba-based company using it to date. Ryan, however, sees huge potential for the technology to reap energy savings in the wood and printing industries as well as in welding operations.
With the Ecogate technology – at a capital cost of $200,000 prior to incentives – Miralis saved 650 000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of its 1.32-million kWh consumed by the dust collector motors. The technology also allowed the company to increase its capacity by 20 percent. Brisson adds that the increased air velocity in some equipment improved the dust collection system.
Energy management information system identifies energy solutions at Amcor
“Our energy management information system (EMIS) has allowed us to identify areas for improvements in energy efficiency, and most importantly, it has helped us understand how our production decisions affect our energy bill at the end of the month,” says Arnold Anderson, Plant Manager, Amcor PET Packaging Atlantic Inc., Moncton, New Brunswick.
Amcor PET Packaging Atlantic Inc., a division of an Australian-based, multinational company, manufactures polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET) containers. The company, a CIPEC Leader in the Plastics Sector, employs 44 full-time staff in its injection and blow-moulding departments. The facility occupies 3700 m2 divided equally between production and warehouse.
“We are always looking for ways to reduce our operating costs,” notes Anderson, as he describes the plant’s initiatives. With the help of a Moncton engineering company (Maricor Ltd.) and incentives from Efficiency NB, Business New Brunswick and Natural Resources Canada, Amcor Moncton had already realised significant savings by installing efficient air compressors and compressed air storage vessels, reducing system losses, monitoring air use with built-in process flow regulators and reducing system losses.
“More recently, Amcor’s head office forced us to concentrate on energy consumption by implementing a zero increase in our plant’s utility budget,” says Anderson. EMIS offered a solution, and in October 2008, the Moncton plant utilized IZ Systems to help manage energy costs. The IZ system monitors air pressure and energy consumption on a real-time basis. Anderson explains that “it records historical production of compressed air requirements and tracks individual equipment needs and changes. This gave us a tremendous understanding of energy use and, in particular, minute-by-minute energy demand.”
The IZ system is used to analyse the plant’s energy use and compressed air consumption. “In order to maintain required equipment pressure, our compressors were running almost 20 percent more often than they theoretically needed to be,” notes Anderson. High-pressure condensate blow-off, for example, was identified as one significant area of loss in the compressed air system.
To address this, approximately 15 zero-loss drains, which are activated below a certain condensate level, were installed. Air lines were also restructured by removing any unnecessary regulators, elbows and valves.
“Our eureka moment occurred once we installed high-pressure air reservoirs (14-000 litre capacity) at the front end of our equipment,” says Anderson. These combined efforts resulted in a 50 percent reduction in compressor running time, which also allowed the Moncton plant to reduce its original capital investment by 50 percent.
As a result of these modifications to the compressed air system, the Moncton plant now runs on approximately 7 percent less energy than in 2007. Additional savings in the plant’s monthly electricity bill are being realized because the demand charge is better managed. Anderson also hopes to replace some 29-year-old water chillers with high-efficiency Smardt Turboco chiller units. Anderson expects the savings to go into the double digits with this retrofit.
He indicates that a key to their plant’s success has been their staff. “Unless employees understand energy consumption, you cannot get the full benefit from energy efficiency measures.” Amcor PET Packaging Atlantic Inc. has a Power Team that evaluates simple ideas to reduce energy consumption. Information bulletins on power consumption, demand and billing data are posted on a central board. “The company’s gain-share system also means that employees, who share in any savings, are much more interested and aware of energy costs,” explains Anderson.
The efforts of the Moncton facility have paid off with recent internal company awards related to energy efficiency, including a Green Light Energy award as one of the best energy-managed sites for a small plant within Amcor North America.
New Brunswick’s top energy users see value in energy management information systems
“We have seen an overwhelming response from industry to our program,” says Mike Bujold, Director, Commercial and Industrial Sectors, for Efficiency NB. To date, 24 of New Brunswick’s 37 top energy users – which account for 90 percent of its industrial sector energy use from the pulp and paper, food processing, plastics and forestry sectors – have signed agreements that commit them to participating in Efficiency NB’s Large Industrial Program.
This means that the program, now in its second year, has already exceeded participation targets and is well on its way to achieving its energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets of 1000 terajoules and 200 kilotonnes, respectively.
The program has three primary streams: (1) project pipelines, which focus on opportunity identification and pre-feasibility studies, and subsequent detailed feasibility studies to help industries de-risk their investments. A project pipeline also includes a complementary incentive to encourage measurement and verification as part of the project; (2) energy management information systems (EMIS); and (3) capacity building, which centres on customized technological support and training to achieve energy efficiency objectives set out in the two preceding streams.
“More than 80 percent of the program’s participants have moved into the EMIS stream,” notes Bujold, who sees this as a positive development. “It signals a cultural change in industry.”
The objective of an EMIS is to provide industry with a “dashboard view” of a company’s energy patterns and define a process to take action. It is a comprehensive approach involving technology, human resources and management processes. EMIS streamlines energy data in a structured manner and uses statistical tools to predict performance, allowing operating staff to respond in a timely fashion. Preliminary results indicate that from 1 to 8 percent of overall energy reduction is achievable. “Industry is now starting to connect the dots between information technology and energy efficiency to gain meaningful information in order to make informed decisions,” says Bujold.
Two EMIS projects are under implementation, with a third one expected to be executed within the year. Other participants are just starting their EMIS audits. Efficiency NB supports companies with up to $15,000 to offset audit costs, up to $35,000 to develop an EMIS implementation plan and up to $100,000 for implementation.
“One of the challenges with EMIS implementation is that the return on investment is more difficult to demonstrate in comparison with traditional energy efficiency projects,” says Bujold. Efficiency NB’s program is designed to help companies develop an EMIS business case by following a structured path, identifying energy drivers and applying statistical analysis to historical energy data to predict variability in their processes.
“While the response to the EMIS stream is encouraging, we have to ensure and build local service sector capacity to respond to the demand,” notes Bujold. Efficiency NB is addressing this issue by offering customized EMIS workshops for the service sector. Committed to building capacity in EMIS and energy efficiency in general, Efficiency NB, in collaboration with the Canadian Institute for Energy Training and the Association of Energy Engineers, will host a Certified Energy Manager course for 30 New Brunswick-based industry members and service providers in September 2009.
Beyond the interest in EMIS, some specific energy efficiency projects have also been undertaken by participating companies, including boiler optimization and heat recovery.
As part of the program, Efficiency NB is also carrying out three targeted sector days intended to stimulate industry to implement energy efficiency projects. A recent sawmill sector day, held in conjunction with FP Innovations, was well attended. A boiler sector day is in the planning stage, as is a pulp and paper sector day.
Efficiency NB’s large industrial program was recently extended to accept applications until March 31, 2010, with project completion within one year. Bujold adds that the agency also launched the Small and Medium Industrial Program in June 2009 for industries with an average monthly peak electricity demand of less than 2 megawatts over the last 12 months.
Green team plots future conservation projects at Gay Lea Foods
With the recent creation of a “green team,” Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Ltd. is committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving energy and water efficiency, notes Henry Grbac, Director of Occupational Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability. The green team will build on past projects and identify new opportunities in the company’s Ontario facilities, which produce a variety of dairy products.
Gay Lea Foods, a co-operative owned by over 1200 farmers in Ontario, is headquartered in Mississauga, with five production plants in Toronto, Guelph and Teeswater. The green team consists of volunteer representatives from all of its head office departments. “One of the team’s key goals is to integrate environmental values into the culture of Gay Lea Foods’ executive management and of its employees,” says Grbac. To do so, the green team will start with an employee awareness program across all facilities in the fall of 2009.
A major motivator for the launch of the green team was an energy audit conducted at all Gay Lea Foods’ facilities by the Guelph Food Technology Centre, Sustainability Services. The audit resulted in a shopping list of projects that Grbac is reviewing. “Projects, such as improvements to refrigeration and boiler systems, that could significantly improve energy and water efficiency within an acceptable payback period are likely candidates in all facilities,” notes Grbac.
Gay Lea Foods is not new to energy efficiency projects, having implemented some energy and water conservation measures in the past five years. For example, at its Teeswater facility, which produces skim milk powder, non-contact cooling water from an on-site well is used to remove excess heat and to cool incoming milk in a system analogous to a heat exchanger. The cooling water is subsequently sent back to the ground water system with no changes to the ground water chemistry, because it is non-contact (i.e. contained in pipes).
Grbac notes that this natural cooling has resulted in a 35 percent decrease in energy consumption, which equates to a total savings of 2100 megawatts hours (MWh) per year, or $180,000 annually, with a reduction of over 500 tonnes in GHG emissions.
Currently in the design phase is a lighting retrofit for many of the company’s buildings in all locations – about 14 000 m2. Grbac hopes to have this project – which will save about 1500 MWh, or $145,000, annually and divert 350 tonnes of GHG emissions – implemented within a year.
Call for story ideas
Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to Jocelyne Rouleau by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@nrcan.gc.ca.
If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.
Dollars to $ense Energy Management Workshops
The Fall 2009 to Spring 2010 schedule is now online, visit oee.nrcan.gc.ca/industrial/training-awareness/schedule.cfm