In considering the more serious energy audits, the practitioner should be armed with a set of tools.  I’ve not seen a good practical list for this task so I thought it might be of value to begin a list, here.  Many of these tools are suggested in the many energy articles which have become prevalent in the trade journals.

My background is heavily oriented toward the water and wastewater markets – where I have spent the better portion of 35 years since college.  So, if you have a better list – based on your background – please add to this list with a comment below.

Here is a start:

• Amp probe or clamp on amp coils which fit around motor lead wires or lead wires leading to consumers of power.
• Watt meters – this is the logical next step up from amp meters and can be considered less popular due to costs and logistics of getting to a portable form of such watt meters.
• Flow meter – air and water flow meters are available from multiple rental sources.  GE rentals (a division of GE Company) have a number of models available for nominal rental fees.
• Pressure gages with snubbers (and diaphragm protectors) with ranges appropriate.  Such gages are now available in digital form and allow extensive recording/time tracking opportunities.
• Heat sensing imaging equipment (Fluke and others) which offer infrared images which can be timed to interface with other instruments in this family of devices.
• Digital cameras and video recorders – which record and date the data input/shown from the above family of devices
• Access to power company data for meters which are providing and recording power consumption at the sites being investigated.  Power companies have very detailed history for power being used at major meter locations – such as for a major pumping station and – for sure – at water and wastewater sites.

Of course, the next step is to actually compile the required data in a method which allows complete evaluation of efficiencies at a later date in another location (typically at an office the day or two after the data is compiled).  There are wonderful software tools to enable compiling and presenting the meaningful data which can – then – be made meaningful for those in control of making the necessary changes/investments to implement energy savings.

There are a few, select, engineers out there who can be of invaluable assistance in determining “what to measure” and “what to do with the data”. One of these would be the “Pump Guy”, Larry Bachus, who writes a regular column in Flow Control Magazine.

I’ll take this opportunity to put in a plug for the first Pump Guy Seminar, which will be held May 27-29, 2009 at the Astor Crowne Plaza hotel in New Orleans. You can learn more about it and register for the event on the Flow Control Network website.

Cheers,
Don

Yes, it’s been a cold and snowy winter in the northern tier states in the USA.  And, this tends to ameliorate and satisfy those of us hoping that “global warming” is just a politicians tool for exaggeration.  The reality, of course, is that global warming is very much a real and insidious fact.  No “cold winter days” are going to change the march of reality.  One need only look at the matter from afar…we are a troubled planet.  Recession of glaciers (see photos above) is only one of many symptoms.

As the first line of environmentalists, water and wastewater professionals (operators, engineers, and bureaucrats alike) are responsible and accountable for these matters.  We need to lead – not simply react.

This brings me to the reality of where our profession “is” at this point in this evolution.  The reality is present in our technical journals. Pick up the latest issue of whatever journal happens to be on your desk and tell me if you don’t see what I’m seeing….there is a huge disparity in going from one article to the next. You can find and read a very convincing article on energy conservation and techniques to reduce power consumption and – in the adjoining articles – there will be huge treatment plant designs showing the latest design by some consulting firm with thousands of horsepower installed and not one whisper of the “e” word. Energy – if we are true to our profession – should be an integral part of every technical presentation.  It should be as much a part of a water and wastewater article as the flow rate is, now.

For those of you who are reading technical journals, take a moment and reply to the journal or the authors of articles and ask for the missing “energy” equations or energy consumption for the plants or processes described. That is the most powerful message…a comment from a reader.

Keep your mind focused on the goal; hopefully, energy benchmarking is part of this goal.
Don Voigt, P.E.

Today’s quote from Draper Kaufman:

Nothing Grows Forever

The exponential growth curves produced by positive feedback keep on growing only in mathematics. In the real world, growth always stops sooner or later. The faster the growth, the sooner it will stop. The question is, how soon and in what way?

Thomas Friedman’s latest book – Hot, Flat, and Crowded – is another best seller. Similar to his previous book – The World is Flat – he shares a worldwide perspective on changes which are occurring in a very dramatic shift in world demographics and related political evolutions.

From his perspective the world is warming at an alarming rate caused by overuse of fossil fuel. He points out that Europeans have been energy conscious for decades and properly treat fuel as a limited resource.

Whether it is his book or other sources that stimulate us to look at our energy usage, it is clear that there is a trend in communities to become energy conscious and sustainable.

Energy conservation, whether to save costs or to save the planet, is a concept every community embraces and encourages. It will not be long before the success of water and wastewater facilities are measured by the energy efficiencies. As the world becomes hotter, flat and crowded, what can water and wastewater designers and staff do to maximize the energy efficiency of their facilities?

For the new plant designer:

• Select motor starters for energy conservation and peak power demand reduction
• Select the very highest motor efficiencies
• Select Variable Speed Drives (VSD’s) based on total system efficiencies
• Place watt meters on “screen savers” on SCADA systems
• Design facilities which provide for “benchmarked” minimized carbon footprints – from beneficial utilization of biogas to use of energy mass balance equation

For existing plant staff:

• Assign a key staff person as “energy Czar” and provide her/him with a budget and decision making powers
• Monitor Power trends, plot it, and report on it…for every possible meter site you have. This may be only one meter (main facility meter) but monitor it and report it to all members of the staff – on a prominent bulletin board and – of course, if you have it – on SCADA screens
• Require your engineer to integrate energy conservation and efficiency in your next design or upgrade
• Request an evaluation of power consumption at your facility and compare it to world standards for equivalent treatment (often available at no charge by people such as “Focus on Energy” or your power provider)
• Implement one or two key energy reduction initiatives at your facility and bring these to the attention of your management or city mayor or village president – and, the local newspaper
• Ask your regulatory agencies (such as EPA or DNR or your power company) what they can do to help you make an incremental improvement in power reduction
• Engage your local schools/teachers in projects where they can help you monitor changes/improvements. Children are very “green” these days…we all can learn a lot from them and they want to help.

Together, all things are possible. And, we are on this small planet, together. So lead, follow, or get the “h” out of the way! But do something about it…water and wastewater utilities are consuming () 5 to 7% of your community’s power!

Don

(This post was originally published in November 2008)