- Comprehensive EMIS manual and tool now available
- Compressor and lighting retrofits could save Tyco Thermal Controls more than $40,000 annually
- IPEX and BC Hydro partner for 1.4 million kilowatt hours in annual savings
- Hiram Walker and Sons energy team identifies $1,100-a-day savings
- Dollars to $ense energy management workshops – Schedule for February, March and April 2011
- Upcoming events
- Call for story ideas
Articles
Comprehensive EMIS manual and tool now available
Planning for an energy management information system (EMIS) audit and subsequent implementation has just become easier with Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan’s) Office of Energy Efficiency’s (OEE’s) Energy Management Information Systems Planning Manual and Tool.
Originally developed by Efficiency New Brunswick in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, the manual details the scope, outcomes and benefits of an EMIS and gives specific advice on conducting an EMIS audit and developing an EMIS implementation plan, enabling organizations to acquire financial value through the management and control of energy.
The manual provides the methodology to be used by in-house or outside engineers and consultants to do a thorough EMIS audit, and the tools and activities for each stage of EMIS implementation planning.
Its appendices include templates, guides and spreadsheets that will help users develop an EMIS audit, gather data and score their company and prepare a conceptual and detailed design, as well as a business and financial plan for implementation.
Another publication called Energy Management Information Systems – Achieving Improved Energy Efficiency: A handbook for managers, engineers and operational staff is a useful reference for those who want to understand the basics of an EMIS before conducting an EMIS audit or preparing a business case and implementation plan.
Implementing an EMIS may lead to savings in various ways: by reducing operational variability and embedding operational best practices, investigating the causes of poor performance and identifying energy conservation measures and by benchmarking similar processes across the organization. At a strategic level, implementing EMIS and energy management may also help an organization reduce the business risk resulting from volatility in energy prices.
By reducing the amount of operational variability and encouraging investment in energy conservation measures, energy performance becomes more predictable. And with predictable energy consumption, an organization is better able to negotiate energy supply agreements and manage energy costs.
“The EMIS Manual and Tool provides a comprehensive approach to help any industry to understand and effectively manage energy use,” notes Michael Burke, Director of OEE’s Industrial Programs Division. “It’s aligned with the CIPEC credo 'you can’t manage what you don’t measure.'”
A copy of Energy Management Information Systems Planning Manual and Tool is available upon request from general enquiries at info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.
Compressor and lighting retrofits could save Tyco Thermal Controls more than $40,000 annually
“Our preliminary analysis shows that we’re ahead of our projected savings,” says Brian Pennell, Technical Services Supervisor at Tyco Thermal Controls (Canada) Ltd., in discussing the compressor upgrade that was completed in April 2010 at the company’s facility in Trenton, Ontario.
Tyco Thermal Controls (Canada) Ltd., a CIPEC Leader in the Electric and Electronics Sector, manufactures mineral-insulated cables for heat tracing, fire and performance wiring and sensing solutions. The company employs 140 people at its 9300-square-metre (m2) facility, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week year-round. Pre-project total annual energy consumption was about 18 000 gigajoules (GJ) of electricity and just under 28 000 GJ of natural gas.
After a compressed air analysis, conducted in 2008, Pennell discovered that the facility’s 75-horsepower (hp) rotary screw compressor was not meeting production demand and was operating constantly, even during extended periods of low compressed air requirement, using up to 40 kilowatts (kW) of power most days.
A 100-hp variable frequency drive compressor with a built-in dryer replaced the underperforming compressor, which now serves as a backup. The new unit has projected annual savings of about 500 GJ – or around $14,000 –, with a simple payback period of less than four years made possible by an incentive from NRCan.
The new compressor is less noisy and has lower maintenance costs. “We can now accommodate new equipment, and the compressor has eliminated pressure drops,” says Pennell. “Prior to this upgrade, we were losing 20 pounds of pressure at full operation.”
In the summer of 2010, Tyco Thermal Controls also replaced 140 40-watt (W) metal halide lamps with the same number of six-bulb T-8 fixtures. This lighting retrofit is expected to save $30,000 annually in electrical costs, and with an incentive from Hydro One, it has a payback period of less than one year. Office and work-station lighting will also be upgraded in the coming year.
Pennell notes that a number of smaller energy efficiency measures have also added to the facility’s energy savings, which amount to $40,000 annually. These measures include the automatic shutdown – by a programmable logic controller – of machinery that is not in use or is idling.
“With all of these measures, we have reduced our electrical costs by eight percent in the 2009/2010 fiscal year,” notes Pennell, adding that this year, the company is committed to reducing water, gas and electricity use and landfill waste by five percent.
IPEX and BC Hydro partner for 1.4 million kilowatt hours in annual savings
Derek Sephton, Maintenance Manager at IPEX Inc. in Langley, B.C., has a long list of energy efficiency projects – some already implemented and others in the planning stages – thanks to the company’s partnership with BC Hydro.
Sephton explains that IPEX has been a member of the Power Smart Partner Program since 2002. Power Smart Partners work with BC Hydro staff to assess, identify and implement energy efficiency measures. “We have access to their engineers and program resources,” says Sephton, adding that these resources are key in making projects happen.
IPEX Inc., a CIPEC Leader in the Plastics Sector, is a designer and manufacturer of integrated plastic piping systems for municipal, industrial and plumbing applications. The company’s 7000-m2 facility employs 55 staff in production, maintenance, shipping and management.
One of the first energy efficiency measures – the installation of a cooling tower – was implemented in 2004. Sephton describes the project as “a no-brainer,” explaining that the facility used to operate a mechanical cooling system with three 60-tonne chillers running 24 hours-a-day year-round to supply the required 13°C water for the production process.
The installation of a cooling tower means that during the eight cooler months of the year, heated return water from the plant is cooled more efficiently. The return water is pumped to the top of the cooling tower, then dropped through a series of baffles and cooled by a fan driven by a 25-hp variable frequency drive (VFD) motor. During the hot summer months, the chiller system is more efficient, because it is linked to controls that test ambient temperature and adjust the system as required.
The system saves more than 1 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy annually. Sephton notes that the new system also reduces maintenance costs by at least half. BC Hydro incentives covered about 60 percent of project costs.
BC Hydro also funded half the costs of an additional chiller – a 142-ton York model – needed to supply extra cooling during the summer months as a result of an increase in the plant’s production capacity.
In 2008, IPEX replaced 157 400-W metal halide lamps with 157 high-efficiency T-5s. The $91,000 project, which qualified for a $50,000 incentive from BC Hydro and funding from NRCan, is saving the company 140 000 kWh annually. Sephton adds that the new lamps’ light quality is remarkable. “The colours of our products are much more vibrant. As well, maintenance costs have been reduced, and workplace safety has increased because the new lights turn on immediately after power outages.”
Just recently, BC Hydro conducted an industrial baseline study at IPEX to get an overall view of the total amount of energy used on a daily, monthly and annual basis for certain production lines. “Now, every time I have a project idea, we can refer to this study to determine its feasibility,” says Sephton, noting that the baseline study also provides information to benchmark other industries in the same sector.
Sephton is evaluating several projects, including replacing the auxiliary pumps for the spray tanks used to cool extruded pipes, representing a total of 90 hp. A turbine system that feeds directly into the spray tanks would dramatically reduce the horsepower required.
“A modification to the dust collection system to pick up shavings from the shop floor is also under study,” says Sephton. The system, driven by a 30-hp motor fan, would be upgraded with a new VFD-controlled fan that would be piped to all the facility’s saws to suck the shavings away. This would allow the removal of several portable dust collectors, which total 28 hp. The planned system would be more energy-efficient and provide a safer and cleaner workplace.
Sephton also wants to reduce the number of compressors used in the facility. “We can put smart controllers on the dust collection system to fire a pulse of compressed air only when required.” The installation of a large compressed air receiver for the blending process would avoid a drop in pressure and a drain on the system.
A significant payback could also be gained from installing insulating blankets over the barrels and heads of the plastic extruders, which would reduce the cycling of the 3000- to 4000-W heaters used. Finally, over the next year, lighting in the office and sales areas will be replaced by T-8 lamps.
After eight years as a Power Smart Partner, IPEX has completed three energy efficiency projects that are saving the plant 1.4 million kWh a year. Sephton says that the partnership with BC Hydro is a win-win-win situation for IPEX, the utility and the energy goals of the province.
Source: www.bchydro.com/powersmart/success_stories/industrial_process
_facilities/IPEX_success_story.html
Cooling tower system
Hiram Walker and Sons energy team identifies $1,100-a-day savings
Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. created an energy team that has achieved energy costs savings amounting to $1,100 a day in less than two years and is motivating employees to conserve energy. Mark Lambert, the company’s Utilities Manager, Chief Engineer and Energy Manager, says that the energy management program, developed by the team, requires involvement at all levels – from corporate managers and the finance department to front-line workers.
Hiram Walker and Sons, a CIPEC Leader in the Food and Beverage Sector, employs about 300 people in the production of liqueurs. The Windsor, Ontario, facility comprises 15 buildings that house the company’s bottling, distribution, packaging and distiller operations.
In early 2009, an energy team with managers from each department – powerhouse, maintenance, production and bottling – was created to advance facility-wide energy efficiency. According to Lambert, members of the team communicate energy efficiency initiatives to front-line workers and solicit their ideas for energy improvements.
In the same year, the company conducted a facility-wide benchmark study of natural gas, water and electricity costs. “We determined the price breakdown of producing steam and compressed air, among other energy uses,” notes Lambert. Because the company generates more than 50 percent of its electricity from its steam turbines, Lambert also calculated boiler and steam turbine efficiencies. With this benchmark information, he identified target areas for energy efficiency improvements. “We determined that natural gas, compressed air and condensate, as well as building energy losses, would provide us with the best payback periods,” he adds.
With an incentive from Union Gas Limited, more than 100 defective steam traps were replaced with new ones at a cost of $40,000, generating annual natural gas savings of more than $300,000.
A compressed air survey identified numerous air losses from control valves. “With procedural changes – isolating equipment and production lines when not in operation – we managed to reduce our compressed air use by 20 percent throughout the plant, resulting in savings of about $40,000 annually and a payback period of about three months,” notes Lambert.
An energy audit revealed a number of opportunities in the plant’s heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. Lambert explains that equipment previously not maintained was added to the maintenance database, and preventive maintenance was scheduled, based on the original equipment manufacturer’s recommendations. Equipment that historically operated 24/7 was retrofitted with controls that allow an operating schedule based on occupancy. Although secondary metering was not in place at the time to capture the savings, Lambert assumes that by reducing the operating schedule by 35 percent, equipment operating costs have decreased accordingly.
Secondary metering for the departments with the highest energy consumption (e.g. distillery and bottling operations) is being installed and should be in operation by the end of February 2011, with the remainder of the facility to follow by February 2012. “Power quality, steam and HVAC Btu [British thermal unit] meters will detail daily and hourly energy use, as well as peak demand; these data, along with KPIs [key performance indicators], will allow us to identify energy losses instead of trying to find them,” notes Lambert.
Several projects were also carried out in the powerhouse. For example, combustion testing and oxygen trimming led to a two percent increase in boiler efficiency. With an incentive from Union Gas, the project had a payback of a few months and is saving Hiram Walker and Sons more than $150,000 annually. In addition, maximizing the use of the steam turbine means that on-site electricity production has increased by 11 percent.
In another project, a plate exchanger was installed to provide indirect cooling to the chilled water loop, reducing sporadic operation of the chillers for an estimated 50 days of the year and resulting in a payback of about one year.
Lambert notes that a steam turbine overhaul is underway, as is the second phase of the HVAC study and an energy audit in the distillery buildings. The feasibility of installing VFDs on the facility’s large, 500-hp centrifugal pumps and equipment is also being studied.
“Tracking energy use trends by monitoring equipment, setting KPIs and performing regular maintenance will make energy efficiency projects sustainable in the long term,” says Lambert. As well, he emphasizes the importance of his company’s energy team getting buy-in from front-line workers and at all other levels of the company in order to make energy conservation a priority at Hiram Walker and Sons.
Dollars to $ense Energy Management workshops– Schedule for February, March and April 2011.
Legend
EEF: Energy Efficiency Financing
EM: Energy Monitoring
EMP: Energy Management Planning
SPOT: Spot the Energy Savings Opportunities
(F) = French
Victoria, B.C.
SPOT – February 15
EM – February 16
Vancouver, B.C.
SPOT – April 12
EM – April 13
Kelowna, B.C.
EMP – March 9
EEF – March 10
Calgary, Alta.
SPOT – March 15
EM – March 16
Edmonton, Alta.
EMP – April 27
EEF – April 28
Thunder Bay, Ont.
SPOT – February 23
EM – February 24
Toronto, Ont.
SPOT – April 6
London, Ont.
SPOT – April 12
EM – April 13
Kingston, Ont.
EMP – March 8
EEF – March 9
Québec, Que.
SPOT – April 19 (F)
EM – April 20 (F)
Sherbrooke, Que.
SPOT – April 5 (F)
EM – April 6 (F)
Halifax, N.S.
EMP – April 27
EEF – April 28
Register online at oeeforms.nrcan.gc.ca/index-eng.cfm?event=dollars-sense-registration.
Workshop schedule – fall 2010 to spring 2011
Upcoming events
An energy efficiency session, geared towards companies in Ontario’s General Manufacturing sector, will be held in Toronto on February 17
The Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) together with Lincoln Electric Canada are holding an evening information session designed to help Ontario manufacturers identify new opportunities to save money and better manage energy use. The session will take place at Lincoln Electric Canada, 163 Wicksteed Avenue, Toronto, starting at 4:00 p.m.
The information session is an excellent opportunity for companies to learn about reducing operating costs by controlling energy use, hear about low-cost energy saving opportunities and find-out about financial assistance programs available to help implement cost saving solutions.
Tentative agenda:
- Industrial Program Update and Introduction to ISO 50001 – Matthew Rankin, Natural Resources Canada, Industrial Programs Division
- Update of ISO 50001 Pilot Projects with Ontario Manufacturing Plants – Robert Storey, Hatch Management Consulting
- UGL Energy Awareness and Savings Opportunities – Albert Fiacco, CIPEC General Manufacturing Task Force Chair, Ontario Region
- Hydro Energy (Electrical) Incentives Program (Ontario) – Maria Konidis, Hydro One
- Enbridge (Natural Gas) Incentives – Fei Chen, Enbridge
- Plant Tour and Light Dinner compliments of Lincoln Electric
- Available Energy Efficiency Technologies
- Trane (Chillers) – Jeff Weir/Greg Asada
- HTS (Mech. Room Eng. Design) – Barbara Elliot
- PowerKure (Power Conditioning) – Milan Ferletic
The meeting is free of charge and open to all who wish to participate. Space is limited! Please note that, due to proprietary concerns, Lincoln Electric Canada has closed invitation to any potential competitors. Thank you for your understanding.
For more information and to register, contact Matthew Rankin by e-mail at mrankin@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca or phone at 613-944-6739.
For a complete list of industrial program events, visit www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/industrial/opportunities/calendar/index.cfm.
Upcoming RETScreen® International workshops in Canada
February 21 – Québec, Que. – offered in French
Econoler – Certifié à l’utilisation de RETScreen-EE (CURee)
June 20 to 22 – Niagara Falls, Ont.
RETScreen Annual Conference & Training Institute
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.
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If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.