A key partner for energy savings?

Belgium is in dialogue with Europe on how to reduce CO2 emissions by 15% by 2020 and increase renewable energy by 13%. In Wallonia, the reduction in greenhouse gases will be 14.7%, compared to 8.8% for Brussels and 15.7% for Flanders. The presence of renewable energies is estimated at 11.5% in Wallonia, 10% in Flanders and 3.5% in Brussels (figures compared to 2005). Less publicised is the EU's 2050 energy roadmap, in which the EU seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% below 1990 levels by 2050. One promise of the policy is to do everything possible to encourage us to reduce our emissions and improve our consumption.

The technical department at work

A technical department cannot afford to be a bystander to these changes. In addition to the technical reliability of the equipment, the energy performance of the equipment will be the second important factor to work on. The question is "how? To start with, we need to take a closer look at basic maintenance. Specifically, lubrication and alignment accuracy. Lubrication problems, misalignments or imbalances are the cause of many breakdowns and unnecessary energy losses. Applying best practice in this area not only saves time and money, it also saves energy.

In addition, I would be willing to bet on leak detection as in compressed air and steam lines. We are often approached by managers who complain that they are not able to invest sufficiently in this hunt for losses & leaks. We often suggest the purchase of a multifunctional ultrasonic leak detection device.  This kind of investment guarantees a very quick return on investment and can be used for many years.

Thirdly, when replacing components, you can opt for energy-saving alternatives. A classic is now LED lighting for example, but there are also electric motors with better energy efficiency. However, there is an important caveat: many motors operate at a partial load of 50% to 25%, and this in combination with a slower drive frequency. Motors with higher energy efficiency are often subject to such a configuration, and consume more energy at lower part-load speeds than a "traditional" motor. Indiscriminate replacement of motors with the lower energy variant can therefore potentially result in higher energy consumption. Stay tuned!

Cultural issue

Many companies and organisations have already implemented a range of technical energy saving measures. There is usually still considerable potential, but this approach is technically more drastic and costly. Fortunately, there are also other under-exploited potential savings: the behaviour of employees. Pioneering companies are not only trying to implement purely technical energy savings, but are also working on employee awareness and commitment in order to achieve a real "energy culture", by analogy with the "safety culture". The objective is a constant target for all possible improvements to the energy performance of processes.

The reason why there is still potential is the observation that there are large variations in the energy required to achieve a given production volume. With a better understanding of the impact of production on energy consumption, through gradual and continuous adaptation, better (or even more) energy savings are on the way.

Conclusion

Energy saving is becoming more and more predominant in today's world and will certainly become so in the future. As a technical service, it is essential to take part in the debate, in an active and participatory way. It is therefore time, if you have not already done so, to open the "energy hunt". 

EMAB vignette

Maintenance managers and asset or infrastructure managers regularly wear the hat of energy manager. Thanks to their technical background, their role is to rationalise energy consumption within their companies. This is why BEMAS, with the support of IFMA, has joined the EMAB. The Energy Managers Association of Belgium is a platform for the exchange and sharing of experiences for industries, the tertiary sector and the authorities. More information in Wallonia via François Mareschal or on http://www.bemas.org/fr/EMAB.

Wim Vancauwenberghe