Get Better Energy Performance Improvement Projects using a Multi-Disciplinary Team

Abstract

Energy cost reduction efforts often focus on two important areas; performance of energy conversion equipment (boilers, turbines, etc.) and process heat recovery. While good projects are often found in these areas, additional low-cost and no-cost projects can be found by expanding the scope of the focus areas and employing a multi-disciplinary team that includes process, energy, reliability and operations specialists. A thorough understanding of the underlying process operating parameters and their impact on energy and yield performance is critical, and the ability to model integrated process and energy systems is very valuable in identifying and evaluating projects. Improving reliability on its own can improve energy performance just as introducing 'unreliability' can erase project savings. Finally, the key to realizing any savings is proper implementation and operations and the correct understanding of the impact on site energy systems.