Marc Karell of C C E S sends us these: Simple Energy Saving Tips
Monday, 14 June 2010 10:35
Simple Energy Saving Tips
Occasionally people ask me some variation of the following: “I can’t get my company to develop a
‘green’ program. People are either too busy or they worry that it will cost too much or can’t grasp the
benefits. Can you suggest some simple, cheap ‘green’ ideas that we can implement easily that will
result in some tangible benefits? Maybe then there’ll be interest in a fuller program”. Excellent
question and certainly understandable given the pressure managers are under in this economy. Here
are some simple tips that will reduce both your energy costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Here’s one a little out of the ordinary, but research shows can be very effective in reducing utility bills:
paint your building roofs white. U.S. Energy Secretary and Nobel Prize Winner Steven Chu has
promoted this simple act as both beneficial to your company and the earth. By changing the color of
flat roofs to white, sunlight will reflect back through the atmosphere reducing the “heat island” effect
and also reducing the demand for air conditioning, resulting in significant electricity cost savings,
particularly peak usage rates at their highest. Lowering roof temperature rises also reduces long-term
maintenance costs, paying back the cost to paint the roof white. You can put a logo on the roof to
advertise one’s company or school. The roof does not even have to be white; there are other “cool”
roof colors that would reflect away much of the radiation. While such an effort may be less effective in
extreme northern latitudes, cost savings potential from this single act abound.
The next simple suggestion has a major caveat. When you replace office equipment and appliances,
purchase Energy Star-rated products. Energy Star is a program jointly run by the USEPA and
USDOE to evaluate and reward products that meet their particular energy efficiency standards and
uses less energy than similar ones. A wide variety of products for your office or facility can earn the
Energy Star label, such as appliances, office equipment (computers, printers, copiers), windows,
doors, air conditioners, light fixtures, etc. A recent McKinsey studied demonstrated that equipment
upgrade is the most cost-effective way to reduce GHG emissions, and can earn you back the extra
capital cost in reduced electricity bills in a relatively short time. So work with your Purchasing
Department to procure Energy Star equipment and with your landlord to provide you with Energy Star
products, too. Now comes the caveat. Recent news that an audit conducted by the Government Accountability Office found that the Energy Star program improperly awarded labels for non-existent products. See the New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/science/earth/26star.html?scp=1&sq=energy%20star&st=cse.
It may be necessary to perform further checking to confirm that items you plan to purchase really are energy efficient and will reduce your utility bills. Keep site of the real benefits.
Here’s a 3rd idea to help reduce your transportation fuel bill: convert a vehicle to combust a biofuel.
Transportation is unique in that all fuels derive from petroleum (a car fueled by a solar cell has not yet
been invented!). But renewable biofuels from the agricultural sector can substitute in many vehicles
with just minor engine adjustments. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 established incentives raising production of biofuel from corn and cellulosic, non-food (i.e., wood, grasses) sources from the current 10 billion gallons/year rate to 36 billion gallons/year by 2022. Just be careful that you have access to affordable biofuels. For example, the Northeast is currently without a major biofuel production plant. Getting biofuels to the Northeast market may be complicated and expensive. But the technology is there to operate trucks on biofuels, and can be simple as used vegetable oil.
The next idea is very practical: improve your lighting. You already know to convert your
incandescent bulbs to CFLs or LEDs. Improving your lighting also means asking the questions: do
you really need that light fixture and is it giving you the light you need for the task? The phraseology
these days is “task lighting” and trying to meet “ideal” task lighting. What is the right amount of light
needed to perform the necessary task? Metrics exist. Facilities using this approach gain the greatest
benefits. There is growing research on effective lighting levels for different needs. This may result in
adding light fixtures, but may also result in either removal of light fixtures or usage of bulbs with lower
wattage because too much light had been used based on needs. Besides the likely saving of
electricity costs and GHG emissions, this effort could also improve worker efficiency.
The next idea is an extension of this, and that is control your lighting. Buy and install sensors as a
lot of energy and costs are wasted in lighting unused areas. In fact, sensors can be bought fairly
cheaply (careful: you get what you pay for!). Enjoy the savings when all lights go off at the end of the
day and stay off all night and go off when the sun shines brightly into a room. But there is new
technology that goes further. LED bulbs contain six sensors which can be programmed through
network cables. Therefore, they can be programmed through your main computer (and in the future
through one’s iPhone and Blackberry!) to each individual light on when each should be on or off or
brighter or dimmer. For example, in a warehouse or large work area, light can be focused on the
areas where people are working and walking and not on others. Is this science fiction? No, “smart”
lighting is now reality. While these systems are not yet available in the open market, this will probably
become available through electrical contractors. Several utilities are working with contractors to install
and test this and determine electrical and cost savings. Contact your local utility to see if they offer
the prototype and may allow you to be an early user of this “smart” energy saving system.
We hope this has given you some good ideas of simple projects you can implement at your facilities
to show how “green” strategies have many financial and other benefits. Now is always a good time to implement some of these suggestions.
Get more useful information in our blog: www.CCESworld.com/blog
