Energy Management

RGLSolutions provides Energy Management Services for energy conservation, energy efficiency and energy savings. We are knowledgeable in the areas of energy storage, renewable energy, distributed generation, energy intensity, and energy conversion systems.

Energy conservation, energy efficiency, and energy savings are integral to the ethos of twenty-first century industry and commerce. There is an expressed primary purpose that sets out to conserve resources, save energy, and promote efficiency.

The primary emphasis of energy conservation is a systematic reduction of money spent on energy and reduction in energy use. The concept of reducing energy costs is attractive in all industrial and commercial entities. Reduction in energy use is encouraged politically. Socially and environmentally, it is the responsible route. An energy conservation study, or site wide assessment, can be used to analyze and address savings that can be made in monthly utility bills. It can be used to analyze the performance of process equipment and the process as a whole, in order to recommend improvements to enhance energy efficiency and energy intensity.

Content of monthly utility bills
Local energy plans available
Time of use of electricity
Adoption of contracted interruptible rates
Recovery and use of waste heat
Cogeneration for the reduction of wasted energy
Optimized balance of fuel usage and resources
On site electric generation v purchased electricity
Optimized use of energy for improved energy intensity
Payback calculation for an optimized system

AC power can be used economically by storing it for later reuse. This is the principle of energy storage. Energy storage equipments such as flywheels, advanced capacitors, advanced batteries, and superconducting magnetic systems are now available. These devices are used in conjunction with stored energy in the form of compressed air, electrical charge, electrical energy stored chemically, electrical current, and hydrogen. The advent of power electronic converters and microelectronics provides a means of converting stored energy to line frequency power.

An illustration of the successful use of energy storage equipment concerns an Internet provider that needed to improve on the reliability obtained from UPS. A low speed flywheel was connected into the system. Repeated discharges of the battery were avoided as the flywheel absorbed these events. Unlike a battery, which has a limited number of discharge cycles before it has to be replaced, a flywheel can be discharged partially, fully, or even through a number of smaller discharges and its life is not affected.

A focus of energy management is improving energy intensity for industrial and commercial facilities; saving energy whilst producing the same quantity of product decreases energy intensity.

An example of improved energy intensity involved the installation of recommended Adjustable Speed Drives in one division of a plastics injection molding company. Power usage was reduced by 40% whilst the same number of parts was produced, thus maintaining manufacturing output. An additional advantage was that the machinery ran at cooler temperatures and so production output was increased. Ultimately the company increased in size.

A study of each of the energy conversion systems used at an industrial or commercial site can uncover ways to reduce costs, improve reliability, reduce maintenance, and achieve optimal energy use. Natural gas, coal, oil, electricity, and even waste material, when used as fuel, are each energy conversion systems that can be tooled for best performance. Adjusting how each power resource is used with respect to another can achieve optimal energy usage for optimal output. For example, a reduction in the use of steam turbines may be balanced by an equivalent increase in the use of electric motors.

The purpose of the analysis and subsequent recommendations is a reduction of the total energy consumed by industrial plant or commercial operations. To date these studies have been completed by paper, petroleum, and petrochemical production facilities with such beneficial results as fewer shutdowns, improved reliability of production, lower fuel costs, and better control.

RGLSolutions is experienced in energy management. We analyze utility bills, evaluate equipment efficiency, evaluate process and operational efficiency, and make recommendations for equipment and system improvements to optimize energy savings, energy efficiency, and improve energy intensity. Recommendations are typically inexpensive and cost effective when compared to the savings that can be achieved. In addition there are equally important but less tangible benefits that are not measured strictly in dollar terms.

Roger G. Lawrence Selected Publications:

600 Volt System Volt Optimization

Energy Storage for Industrial Processes

Pumps / Fans - Matching Motors to Drives to Application