Page 39 - Boiler plant and distribution system optimization manual

24 Boiler Plant and Distribution System Optimization Manual

plants and distribution systems to be concerned age energy in a plant to find out what was hap-
about this very real problem. pening.
Too often plants don’t have instrumentation Once you have complete and accurate data,
to measure what is happening with their data, the it’s easy to see what is happening in any plant or
assumption is made that boiler and steam distri- distribution system. Establishing a system to get
bution system losses are negligible. data, interpret it and then controlling unneces-
sary losses is the real challenge.

ACCOUNTABILITY
AN EFFECTIVE
If you want to be successful in an energy ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM
conservation program, accountability must play
a key role, there must be someone who is account- The essential elements of an effective energy
able for energy. This is just not someone who conservation program are:
checks the utility bills. It may take a professional
who can spot problems and knows how to correct 1. Management commitment
them. 2. Boiler and system testing
Surveys of many plants have shown very 3. Economic evaluation of energy conservation
conclusively that there is usually a lot more atten- projects
tion on “operating” than on “managing” in most 4. Assignment of project priorities
plants. 5. Final plan
This is clearly evident from examining plant 6. Plan implementation
instrumentation, most of it is for plant operations. 7. Loss control management program
There usually aren’t any instruments or means to 8. Monitoring results
measure stack losses, blowdown losses, conden-
sate system losses or to measure over-all system 1. Management Commitment
efficiency. Existing instrumentation is used for One of the most important aspects of an
estimating these values, however typical instru- energy conservation program, often missing, is
mentation errors can produce large errors com- management support. If nobody seems to be in-
pounding the problem. terested in the efficiency or productivity, things
can get very bad.
It was just a few years ago when a vice
MEASURE TO MANAGE president of a major U.S. corporation addressed
a group of energy engineers at a national con-
The 2M system “Measure to Manage” has ference after receiving an award for being “The
been a very successful approach to reducing plant Energy Manager of the Year.” He stated that the
energy costs. It is too easy to waste energy with- most important contributing fact to his very suc-
out it. cessful energy conservation program was the full
There is usually no accountability system ex- backing of the president of his company. He said,
cept in the some office where the utility bills get “If the boss shows an interest, something is going
checked and paid. Here, the math of the bills is re- to get done.”
viewed and perhaps comparisons of last years bills
to this years are made. Plant personnel are often 2. Boiler and System Testing
left out of the loop and this doesn’t create any in- In the first place, the plant or system may
centive to manage efficiently or to save energy. not have been designed for optimum efficiency.
Savings more than 20% have been achieved Design omissions, deviations from plans by con-
just by installing a system to measure and man- tractors, modifications over the years, changes in