Assessing Plant

Performance for Energy

Savings
Today’s discussion

• Critical foundation for plant

assessments
– a strategic energy management program

• Background on assessments

• Resources for assessments

Energy management

• Can be:
– Informal
– Decentralized, i.e., not centrally coordinated or managed
– Project-oriented, not program-oriented
– Cyclical (support a company gives can wane)

• Thus, many companies:

– Miss important savings opportunities because they lack
a means for addressing energy use across the
corporation
Effective energy management
Organizations achieving the greatest results have:
• A top-down commitment to energy management
• A commitment to continuous improvement
• Embraced an approach that integrates energy management
across all aspects of the business
• Management systems in place
• A system to regularly assess and track energy performance
• Measurable performance goals
• An effective reward system for energy performance
• An empowered energy staff
Guidelines For Energy
Management
ENERGY STAR Guidelines for
Practical Energy Management

approach based
on the success of
major U.S.
corporations

www.energystar.
gov
Guidelines For Energy
Management
ENERGY STAR Guidelines for
Energy Management
Plant assessment
• An evaluation of the actual performance of a
plant’s systems and equipment against the
designed performance level or best available
technology/practice. The difference is the potential
for energy savings.
• A critical part of an energy management program
– Looks for opportunities to improve the bottom line of a
company
– Without assessments, an energy management program
would have difficulty identifying energy savings and
would fail to show improvement.
Examples of assessments

1. Low-hanging fruit walkthrough

– Limited in duration, cost to company, & focus
– Often a cross company team
– Can be done anytime
– Findings
» basic (e.g. idle equipment)
» impact may be immediate since often adjustments
can be made on-site
– May be limited by expertise of team
– Example: Toyota’s treasure hunts
Examples of assessments
2. Support system review
– Systems that support process are evaluated
» E.g. compressed air, motors, steam, etc.
– May be a corporate team supplemented by expertise for major support
systems
– Slightly higher cost for expertise
– Limited time, although longer duration than a walkthrough
– Good specific findings for utility systems
– Good design to extend to multiple plants in a company
» lessons learned & best practices shared
– Value of potential savings greater than a walkthrough, no capital required
at times for certain findings
– May be limited by those systems not covered
– Example: study of compressed air system in CalPortland cement plant
Examples of assessments

3. Process/yield studies
– Detailed, full site review often precipitated by company
desire to increase plant yield
» energy a part of the review
» modeling critical to study
» often a rare chance to impact energy in this way
– Can extend to months in duration
– Usually external expertise on team
– More costly but likely greater savings potential here
– Can address all major and supporting systems and
touch on process
– Example: ExxonMobil refinery study
Observations of outcomes

• Each approach can identify energy

savings.
– Nature of the outcome will differ depending
upon:
• time invested
• expertise of team
• extent of areas examined
• resources available to conduct the assessment
and to make changes
Challenge: implementing the
findings of an assessment
– For assessment results that require investment in
capital
– secure support from senior management
– incorporate within the business plan or as part of the operating
budget
– For low cost/no capital-required projects:
– ensure steps identified in assessment are incorporated into the
energy management action plan (with goals, timeline, and
accountabilities)
– For projects that require labor to manage the
improvement project:
– short-term contractor, ESCO
– students
Your internal resources

• Internal
– employees
• in-house expertise with process and plant
operation
• presents buy-in opportunity for plant engineers
and plant managers
External supports
• Private consultants
• Utilities
• Department of Energy
• Industrial Assessment Centers
• http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/tech_assis
tance/iacs.html

• ENERGY STAR’s Focus Industries

• Energy Guides identify opportunities in industrial plants
• Plant energy performance indicators (EPIs) score plant
energy performance
ENERGY STAR Focuses
– By specific industrial sector
• auto assembly, cement, corn refining,
petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and more!
– Focuses produce:
• Energy performance indicators (EPIs) help a
company identify plants that need work
• Energy guides - report opportunities for improving
energy efficiency in the industry’s plants now - good
for use in assessments
• For more information: www.energystar.gov/industry
For more information and resources, visit
www.energystar.gov/industry