· 1 inch of rainfall on a 5,000 sq. ft. roof generates 3000 gallons of water a year that can be reused.
· That same roof in a region receiving 30 inches of annual rainfall generates 90,000 gallons of reusable water.
· A plant with 50,000sq ft – could generate 900,000 gallons = roughly 4000 USD savings in the water bill per year taking PA (one of the highest) prices and 2000 taking the average
· It is soft water
· It is easily purified
· It is free!
· The initial investment is low – piping and tanks and a pump- ROI of say 8-12 months !
· If nothing else- you can use it for landscaping and floor washing applications!
· Does not include the cost of sewage – which you reduce by 900,000 Gallons as well!
The total savings including treatment could easily be between 4 to 6000 dollars depednding on your location.
Think about it!
State Rainfall
(in./yr.)*
Alabama 56.90
Alaska 53.15
Arizona 7.11
Arkansas 49.20
California 17.28
Colorado 15.31
Connecticut 44.39
Delaware 41.38
Florida 49.91
Georgia 48.61
Hawaii 23.47
Idaho 11.71
Illinois 33.34
Indiana 39.12
Iowa 34.71
Kansas 28.61
Kentucky 43.56
Louisiana 59.74
Maine 43.52
Maryland 41.84
Massachusetts 43.84
Michigan 32.23
Minnesota 26.36
Mississippi 52.82
Missouri 33.91
Montana 11.37
Nebraska 30.34
Nevada 7.87
New Hampshire 36.53
New Jersey 41.93
New Mexico 8.91
New York 39.28
North Carolina 42.46
North Dakota 15.36
Ohio 37.77
Oklahoma 30.89
Oregon 37.39
Pennsylvania 40.26
Rhode Island 41.91
South Carolina 51.59
South Dakota 17.47
Tennessee 48.49
Texas 34.70
Utah 15.31
Vermont 33.69
Virginia 45.22
Washington 27.66
West Virginia 40.74
Wisconsin 30.89
Wyoming 13.31
Showing posts with label water conservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water conservation. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Energy Management has finally taken off!
Ladies and Gentlemen , presenting the new management buzzwords- Energy Management, Waste Reduction! You might say that is pretty lackluster Duke. But behold, Energy efficiency and waste reduction are going to drive us to higher levels of productivity this year because the market recovery to 2006 levels is still far away! The positive, we will live cleaner, leaner and greener!
In my this weeks tour of new customers, nothing got the excitement going like how the holistic approach to energy management will reduce costs, increase market competitiveness, improve cash flow and reduce wastes, thereby being the only way to go! There were none of the old "we would love to , but we are so busy with expansion projects that we do not know when we can look into this aspect of our business" like excuses- no , every where we went , we were greeted by a smile, a follow up meeting with the management and an honest thank you for sharing our ideas!
We also saw some innovative in-house measures. One that stood out was by Michael Finch, a very intelligent and fun person I met at a small soap products factory- actually built a pneumatic timer for the steam washers in his repair shop, just to ensure the workers don't leave the steam on after use! You see something similar at a regular gas station for air, where the compressor shuts off after 3 minutes, Brilliant adaptation Mike!
Energy management means a complete overhaul- step by step! Starting from measuring and getting data, analyzing and establishing the bench mark and good energy practices manual and continuously improving process control and logistics to contribute. You have to rethink your usage of everything- electricity, steam, chilling water, gasses and even raw material. You have to question the design of everything- lighting system, production equipment, waste systems and utilities. You have to analyze and go lean on everything in your company and finally even rethink your waste disposal!
Yes every area of your home, work and leisure establishment is a potential to save dollars and emissions and in turn boost our economy through new green purchases! For those who believe in global warming- this is great news, for those who don't but by now know that we need a new economic booster, this is good news too!
Most companies we visited were already on the right track, others needed help, some were making the case to dive in but all of them were looking into this aspect of business. The exception so far has been machine and equipment OEM's, who continue to look at capital cost only. My sincere advice to them is to start thinking about energy and waste and build it into your competitive advantages before you are too late and a GM / Chrysler happens to you in your line of work!
Talking cars, It was good to see a small snapshot in the news yesterday, that the government is going to buy fuel efficient vehicles, but ofcourse it was politically headlined- Obama to buy US vehicles. I wish the government would go ahead and set a target for reduction of fuel consumption for all it's departments and make the progress public on a website !http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5385XG20090409?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
In fact why stop at the government, may be it is time to mandate that every product must carry a label- how much energy was used to produce the product and how much waste , including the packaging is anticipated from it's use! Making it visible will increase consumer awareness and make it a market competitive issue and as always the American industry will comply to the wishes of the consumers! - There are many such examples already- such as asbestos in buildings, trans fats and MSG in foods where consumer awareness has made corporations change course!
In the end, my message to all the stakeholders of the industry and government is that the automobile industry is the visible indicator of our times- so you either start listening to the new consumer, who wants energy efficiency and waste reduction, or you prepare for a rough future!
In my this weeks tour of new customers, nothing got the excitement going like how the holistic approach to energy management will reduce costs, increase market competitiveness, improve cash flow and reduce wastes, thereby being the only way to go! There were none of the old "we would love to , but we are so busy with expansion projects that we do not know when we can look into this aspect of our business" like excuses- no , every where we went , we were greeted by a smile, a follow up meeting with the management and an honest thank you for sharing our ideas!
We also saw some innovative in-house measures. One that stood out was by Michael Finch, a very intelligent and fun person I met at a small soap products factory- actually built a pneumatic timer for the steam washers in his repair shop, just to ensure the workers don't leave the steam on after use! You see something similar at a regular gas station for air, where the compressor shuts off after 3 minutes, Brilliant adaptation Mike!
Energy management means a complete overhaul- step by step! Starting from measuring and getting data, analyzing and establishing the bench mark and good energy practices manual and continuously improving process control and logistics to contribute. You have to rethink your usage of everything- electricity, steam, chilling water, gasses and even raw material. You have to question the design of everything- lighting system, production equipment, waste systems and utilities. You have to analyze and go lean on everything in your company and finally even rethink your waste disposal!
Yes every area of your home, work and leisure establishment is a potential to save dollars and emissions and in turn boost our economy through new green purchases! For those who believe in global warming- this is great news, for those who don't but by now know that we need a new economic booster, this is good news too!
Most companies we visited were already on the right track, others needed help, some were making the case to dive in but all of them were looking into this aspect of business. The exception so far has been machine and equipment OEM's, who continue to look at capital cost only. My sincere advice to them is to start thinking about energy and waste and build it into your competitive advantages before you are too late and a GM / Chrysler happens to you in your line of work!
Talking cars, It was good to see a small snapshot in the news yesterday, that the government is going to buy fuel efficient vehicles, but ofcourse it was politically headlined- Obama to buy US vehicles. I wish the government would go ahead and set a target for reduction of fuel consumption for all it's departments and make the progress public on a website !http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5385XG20090409?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
In fact why stop at the government, may be it is time to mandate that every product must carry a label- how much energy was used to produce the product and how much waste , including the packaging is anticipated from it's use! Making it visible will increase consumer awareness and make it a market competitive issue and as always the American industry will comply to the wishes of the consumers! - There are many such examples already- such as asbestos in buildings, trans fats and MSG in foods where consumer awareness has made corporations change course!
In the end, my message to all the stakeholders of the industry and government is that the automobile industry is the visible indicator of our times- so you either start listening to the new consumer, who wants energy efficiency and waste reduction, or you prepare for a rough future!
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