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Achieve energy savings in your plant facility
By John M. Gross, from Plant Engineering and Maintenance (PEM) magazine, April 2008. www.pem-mag.com
Whether it's turning off lights, idling back process equipment and fixing compressed air leaks to energy audits and installing compressed-air management systems-reducing utility costs can take several forms. As with any project, the return on investment should guide you on the projects that you select.
Let's start with lighting and air leaks. While turning off lights and idling process equipment may generate a huge savings, it sends a message about conservation and preventing waste. The key is to not create any safety hazards and have a plan for start-up. Larger savings can be found with air leaks.
From my experience, air leaks happen over time and are often unnoticed or ignored. Air leaks can be detected the old fashioned way by listening for the leaks when the plant is shut down, or you can use an ultrasonic detector. The ultrasonic detector detects sound waves and can also be used for predictive maintenance.
