Energy hogs are still keeping me awake! -

Energysavers,
If you thought I left my blog vacant because I had changed my mind- wrong! , if you thought I left my blog vacant because I became lazy- correct! and thus I fell into the same trap most people do with Energy management! start strong and let up because it isn't easy!

In fact consider anything good for you but not easy- we follow the same route- very inspired- start with enthusiasm and then let up the minute the need and urge weakens.

The only problem here is - the need is getting stronger than ever before!

In the last few months, the heat is back and now the swing on energy usage has gone from how to keep people warm, on how to keep people, things and perishables cold!

Now I have not done any fact finding yet- but in my recent travels that has encompassed several cities and made me use several hotel chains- I noticed one thing- The energy hogging, loud HVAC systems- they keep me awake!!!!

Yes not just because they are loud- but more often than not- they are either over sized- and use a lot of energy and have poor - very poor ambient monitoring - or any intelligent control at all!

If all air conditioning units were always sized right, had good ambient controls and monitored presence of people- I am sure every hotel could cut their energy bill by half and pass some of that dividend as lower fares !

Lets do the math- If every government office hotel, shopping mall, wallmart , target, ad other chain had to follow energy norms to cut usage by 30% what percentage of electric use would we cut? Could we then power half our transport with this saved electricity and not need any new reactors???

Several other significant things happened-

The Midwest states signed a pact to create a train network- Now if only we will pull through with a world class network- that would make my heart jump with joy for the heartland!

The cash for clunkers or cars was successful - taking a 1/4 million guzzlers off the road- although- I really wish , the qualification of the car that can be financed was tougher- and no SUVs qualified! The long term implications of SUVs must really be studied. The large SUVs make parking places bigger, parking garages taller- consume more tires and have more wear and tear parts- and so it is not just about MPGs!!!

The Leaf from Nissan- all electric vehicle was launched!

All steps in the right direction!

In my next article I would like to specifically write for my industry folks- I am readying a manuscript for a series of talks in fall for various industries such as dairy products, gas production, petrochemical and energy production. Cathc you soon- Have a great week!

Energy management gains prominence

When my coworker Stefan Woehrle and I gave the first Energy measurement seminar in PCIC Europe in 2005 , the interest in managing and measuring energy on process plants was at best in the nascent stage! My last seminar was attended by over 80 people. 90% of the companies represented had an Energy in-charge or a team looking into the Energy needs. This represents a real fast forward in the adoption of energy management at process plants. In part it is a positive effect of the economic downturn and in part due to the scare from last years skyrocketing prices of Crude!
The good news is, technology is already available to save us real dollars, the better news is, in the long run it will make companies in the west more competitive and ease the voracious energy appetite.
what I would like to see though is the US gov and large corporations to take the joint lead and form an energy reduction team to look into every federal, state and corporate facility of their business, the prime objective will be to save energy through installation and adoption of systems and processes that enhance efficiency.

A holistic approach to energy management starts with using flow computers, flow meter, RTD temperature measurements on the steam, air, chilling water and gasses. The next steps are to cut and minimize leaks and wastes. But the real achievement is when we analyze every process for energy efficiency and question how much could we save should we adopt modern digital technology and or change the way we do business. For example, if we adopt online digital reporting for agency compliance, do not ever send printed copies of tenders and contracts, improve building standards for energy consumption, check the efficiency of every process and transaction and the number of visits it requires, streamline parking systems, create better interlinked campuses that don't need private transport- basically rethink everything to be leaner in energy consumption. The answers are all available or within reach, we don't need a revolution, just an accelerated evolution, are we ready to Re-think?

Read my paper at http://www.controlglobal.com/whitepapers/2009/029.html