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Insulation plant participates in DOE energy assessment program
A manufacturer of an energy-saving product recently learned some "Easy Ways to Save Energy," courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy. The CertainTeed Corporation's Kansas City, Kan., fiberglass insulation manufacturing plant was one of 200 industrial facilities DOE chose for an Energy Savings Assessment. The world's largest insulation production plant welcomed the chance to boost its operation's efficiency. "The plant uses a ton of energy—both electricity and natural gas," said Ron Rodvelt, CertainTeed plant engineering manager. "Even small percentage energy savings have a big impact on our energy costs." John Bozek, process improvement manager for CertainTeed's Insulation Group, learned about the assessments from the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council. "GMIC urged all of its members to apply for an ESA because ours is such an energy-intensive business," he said. Bozek filled out DOE's online application to cover all of CertainTeed insulation's facilities. When the company was selected for an assessment, the Kansas City facility was the automatic choice. "That's our biggest plant," said Bozek. "If we see a benefit to the program, we have the option of having assessments on our other insulation facilities." Software justifies equipment upgrades CertainTeed had already implemented its own efficiency program, so Rodvelt and Bozek had a good idea of which systems were using the most energy. "Natural gas combustion equipment was the No. 1 suspect," said Rodvelt. The contractor used DOE's Process Heating Assessment and Survey Tool to evaluate the heat processing equipment's performance and identify savings opportunities. "The software has been around for awhile, and companies can download it from the DOE Web site," said Bozek. "The assessment didn't turn up anything we hadn't looked at before," Bozek added. "The data was more detailed and quantified than I expected, though." CertainTeed engineers learned how to use PHAST software to refine and quantify estimated energy losses. "The information will help us justify capital investments to improve the plant's efficiency," said Rodvelt. "The assessment showed that the equipment would have a two-year payback." Improvements may include an automated air-to-fuel ratio control system as well as some electric blowers and fans. Other efficiency measures in place Kansas City Board of Public Utilities is CertainTeed's electric utility, and Kansas Gas Service provides natural gas. CertainTeed meets with its energy providers periodically as part of an in-house efficiency program that cut the company's electricity use by 6 to 7 percent over the last 12 months. "Most of the savings come from monitoring compressed air equipment," said Rodvelt. Large air compressors are big energy users, he observed. "There's always a leak developing somewhere." The company has trained line workers to identify and prevent leaks. "Things like shutting off equipment when it's not being used," Rodvelt said. "A lot of it is just common sense." The program also cut CertainTeed's natural gas use by 10 percent. "Once you start monitoring energy use, everything runs more smoothly," the engineering manager said. An energy-efficient operation also improves the product's energy use-to-savings ratio. Fiber glass insulation reduces energy use by making building envelopes tighter, but the manufacturing process is energy-intensive, Rodvelt acknowledged. His product is still a winning equation, he insisted, even before the DOE assessment. CertainTeed consumes a very large amount of kilowatts to produce insulation each day. Over the insulation's 45-year lifespan, however, it saves 600 times the energy used in making it. Rodvelt said, "But it helps get us out of bed in the morning." Case studies from DOE Energy Savings Assessments are available online.
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