ENERGY AUDITING

Presented by

V.M.BARATHRAJ & V.SUBASH

II-YEAR ICE [INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL ENGINEERING]
VLB JANAKIAMMAL POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE

INTRODUCTION TO ENERGY AUDITING

An energy audit is a preliminary activity towards instituting energy efficiency programs in an establishment. It consists of activities that seek to identify conservation opportunities preliminary to the development of an energy savings program. An energy audit seeks to document things that are sometimes ignored in the plant, such as the energy being used on site per year, which processes use the energy, and the opportunities for savings. In so doing, it assesses the effectiveness of management structure for controlling energy use and implementing changes. The energy audit report establishes the needs for plant metering and monitoring, enabling the plant manager to institutionalize the practice and hence, save money for the years to come. The energy audit action plan lists the steps and sets the preliminary budget for the energy management program.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO ENERGY AUDITING THE ROLE OF AN ENERGY AUDIT TYPES OF ENERGY AUDIT STEPS IN ENERGY AUDITING GENERAL AUDITS POLLUTION AUDITS EFFICIENT ENERGY USE ANALYSIS OF ENERGY USE

CONCLUSION

THE ROLE OF AN ENERGY AUDIT

To institute the correct energy efficiency programs, you have to know first which areas in your establishment unnecessarily consume too much energy, e.g. which is the most costeffective to improve. An energy audit identifies where energy is being consumed and assesses energy saving opportunities - so you get to save money where it counts the most. In the factory, doing an energy audit increases awareness of energy issues among plant personnel, making them more knowledgeable about proper practices that will make them more productive. An energy audit in effect gauges the energy efficiency of your plant against best practices. When used as a baseline for tracking yearly progress against targets, an energy audit becomes the best first step towards saving money in the production plant.

TYPES OF ENERGY AUDIT

The term energy audit is commonly used to describe a broad spectrum of energy studies ranging from a quick walk-through of a facility to identify major problem areas to a comprehensive analysis of the implications of alternative energy efficiency measures sufficient to satisfy the financial criteria of sophisticated investors. Numerous audit procedures have been developed for non-residential (tertiary) buildings (ASHRAE; IEA-ECBCS Annex 11; Krarti, 2000). Audit is required to identify the most efficient and cost-effective Energy Conservation Opportunities (ECOs) or Measures (ECMs). Energy conservation opportunities (or measures) can consist in more efficient use or of partial or global replacement of the existing installation. When looking to the existing audit methodologies developed in IEA-ECBCS Annex 11 , by ASHRAE and by Krarti (2000), it appears that the main issues of an audit process are: The analysis of building and utility data, including study of the installed equipment and analysis of energy bills; The survey of the real operating conditions; The selection and the evaluation of energy conservation measures; The estimation of energy saving potential;

STEPS IN ENERGY AUDITING

GENERAL AUDIT
The general audit (alternatively called a mini-audit, site energy audit or detailed energy audit or complete site energy audit) expands on the preliminary audit described above by collecting more detailed information about facility operation and by performing a more detailed evaluation of energy conservation measures. Utility bills are collected for a 12 to 36 month period to allow the auditor to evaluate the facility's energy demand rate structures and energy usage profiles. If interval meter data is available, the detailed energy profiles that such data makes possible will typically be analyzed for signs of energy waste . Additional metering of specific energy-consuming systems is often performed to supplement utility data. In-depth interviews with facility operating personnel are conducted to provide a better understanding of major energy consuming systems and to gain insight into short and longer term energy consumption patterns. This type of audit will be able to identify all energy-conservation measures appropriate for the facility, given its operating parameters. A detailed financial analysis is performed for each measure based on detailed implementation cost estimates, site-specific operating cost savings, and the customer's investment criteria. Sufficient detail is provided to justify project implementation.

POLLUTION AUDITS
With increases in carbon dioxide emissions or other greenhouse gases, pollution audits are now a prominent factor in most energy audits. Implementing energy efficient technologies help prevent utility generated pollution. Online pollution and emission calculators help approximate the emissions of other prominent air pollutants in addition to carbon dioxide. Pollution audits generally take electricity and heating fuel consumption numbers over a two year period and provide approximations for carbon dioxide, VOCs, nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, cadmium, lead, mercury compounds, cadmium compounds and lead compounds.

EFFICIENT ENERGY USE

Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature. Installing fluorescent lights or natural skylights reduces the amount of energy required to attain the same level of illumination compared to using traditional incandescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescent lights use two-thirds less energy and may last 6 to 10 times longer than incandescent lights. Improvements in energy efficiency are most often achieved by adopting a more efficient technology or production process. There are various motivations to improve energy efficiency. Reducing energy use reduces energy costs and may result in a financial cost saving to consumers if the energy savings offset any additional costs of implementing an energy efficient technology. Reducing energy use is also seen as a key solution to the problem of reducing emissions. According to the International Energy Agency, improved energy efficiency in buildings, industrial processes

and transportation could reduce the world's energy needs in 2050 by one third, and help control global emissions of greenhouse gases.

ANALYSIS OF ENERGY USE

Identifying where energy is used is useful because it identifies which areas the audit should focus on and raises awareness of energy use and cost. The results of the analysis can be used in the review of management structures and procedures for controlling energy use. Analysis of energy use can be done by installing submeters in different plant locations to pinpoint actual energy usage per area. This is a good source data for allocating energy use. The plant manager can also list all equipment used and the corresponding operating hours. With this information, he can create spreadsheet information and generate charts useful for analysis. Important Points to Consider When Collecting Site Load Data a. Operating hours - This can be gathered from plant personnel. It is important to ensure the accuracy of this data because much of the potential for energy savings lies on correct estimation of the equipments operating hours. b. Duty cycle - Machines such as large electric motors have varying loads and hence, different power requirements.

CONCLUSION