Palo Alto program teaches C&I customers
value of facility maintenance
 |
As part of its Operations, Maintenance
and Recommissioning
Program, Palo Alto Utilities performed infrared audits on
city facilities. One audit uncovered this malfunctioning
condenser motor that caused a cooling tower to overflow
because the pump was not operating correctly.
(photo courtesy of City of Palo Alto Utilities) |
When granny warned that a stitch in time saves
nine, she probably wasn't referring to operating, maintaining
and recommissioning building systems, but the City
of Palo Alto Utilities' pilot program for commercial and
industrial customers may prove that her advice applies to more
than socks.
The municipal utility launched its Operations,
Maintenance and Recommissioning Demonstration Program in October
2003 at a meeting attended by 45 commercial and industrial customers.
The OM&R program grew out of CPAU's
APPA-award-winning plan that incorporates sustainable practices
into all aspects of municipal operations.
From carrying out the sustainability plan, CPAU
concluded that it is more cost effective—both in terms
of money and energy—to take care of a system than to replace
it. "In theory, it sounds so simple, it seems almost unnecessary
to state it," said Utility Marketing Services Manager
Tom Auzenne.
"But that is almost exactly the opposite of what happens
in practice."
Automated meter reading provides data
to improve budget decisions
Marketing services' research revealed that
during difficult financial times, businesses routinely reduce
their OM&R budgets. That cost-cutting measure, however,
ultimately leads to greater expense to replace equipment or
systems that have either failed or are running so inefficiently
that increased resource consumption adds tremendously to operating
costs. The program defines recommissioning as adjusting systems
or processes to return them to their original operating specifications.
The reasoning behind this strategy, Auzenne
explained, is that it is hard to quantify the increased costs,
particularly for energy and water, caused by delaying or terminating
maintenance schedules. "The goal of the OM&R Demonstration
Program is to provide C&I customers with solid data on system
modifications and retrofits that will help them make investment-grade
decisions in their capital budgets," he said.
The Advanced Metering Demonstration Program,
an offshoot of the municipal plan CPAU incorporated into the
OM&R program, will collect the data. Participating customers
agreed to install automated
meter reading technology at their own expense. A consultant
is currently verifying meter multipliers, fixing phone lines
and debugging anomalies between AMDP data and maintenance shop
and CIS data on a test group of customers via phone lines to
their electric meters.
When the AMD program begins operating,
participants will have access to online customer-specific Web
pages, historical data for comparison, aggregates of data across
any time frame, data in 15-minute intervals and consultation
with utility personnel and project consultants when warranted.
"In the city's experience, better electric data
is an invaluable tool for gauging the success of OM&R efforts
and developing capital improvement projects," Auzenne
observed.
Western helps CPAU turn customers into energy
leak detectives
Other components of the OM&R program include
workshops on building lifecycle cost requirements into requests
for proposals and a unique "Energy Visualization Project."
The latter seeks to "put a face" on energy efficiency
efforts for people who are not ordinarily involved in maintenance.
Using infrared scanning technology, CPAU trainers
locate energy leaks and then translate them into telltale signs
that nontechnical employees can identify. "Heat leaks
leave signatures, like a switchgear cabinet that is warm to
the touch or a slight but increasing vibration in a motor that
is generating heat," said Auzenne. "With training,
every employee from the janitor to the CEO can learn to recognize
the clues and help the company save energy."
Western's
Equipment Loan Program and expert training and advice from
the regional Energy Services representatives have been extremely
helpful in developing the Energy Visualization Project, Auzenne
added. "Most utilities either have their own infrared
scanners or can easily borrow one from Western, so there is
no good reason not to make the technology available to larger
C&I customers," he said. "Finding a hot switchgear
in a customer's facility pays enormous dividends. Infrared scanning
is a great relationship-building tool."
The fractal light images infrared cameras produce
are also a good tool for illustrating energy consumption to
the general public and to companies that are not in the OM&R
program. CPAU is working with the Public Art Commission to create
an exhibit of building photos from infrared inspections to display
at its headquarters, and at Palo Alto schools and community
groups. "Hopefully, those color images of heat radiation
will make people—especially big energy users—wonder
what infrared scans of their facilities would look like,"
said Auzenne.
And that might lead them to think about ways
CPAU's OM&R program could save their businesses money.
Or as granny might say, one picture of an energy-efficient building
envelope is worth a thousand words.
