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Industrial facilities use a lot of energy and much of that’s wasted. That’s why the U.S. Department of Energy developed the Superior Energy Performance (SEP) program, which certifies industrial facilities for implementing an energy management system and achieving improved energy performance.

The program is growing because it’s producing results. On average, certified facilities have reduced energy costs by 12% within 15 months of implementation.

If you’re already certified to ISO 50001, you’re well on your way to achieving SEP, which prescribes performance improvement criteria and third-party verification similar to the ISO standard. In addition to energy savings, the benefits of SEP certification include:

• Paybacks in less than 18 months (with more than $2 million in annual energy costs)
• A method for measuring carbon footprint and achieving carbon neutrality
• A more accurate measuring system to monitor performance and track progress
• Independent verification of energy savings, which helps justify future investments

SEP requires a company-wide commitment to energy management. Such a commitment increases the level of energy awareness throughout the organization. Energy management software helps you prepare for audits and simplifies the certification process.

Best practices

To optimize your energy performance using the SEP process, follow these nine best practices from certified facilities:

1. Designate energy expenses as fixed costs allocating a portion of funds to pay future utility bills and redirecting to projects that reduce the size of those bills. Maintain a separate capital fund.
2. Consider all program implementation costs including staff time spent on development and audits; technical assistance and third-party audits; and monitoring metering equipment.
3. Choose team members with expertise in both management and energy systems, which simplifies the implementation process.
4. Select a baseline period representing ‘business as usual’ production and energy consumption.
5. Identify the most significant energy uses by performing a mass energy balance analysis across the facility. Use submetering to identify energy reduction strategies for each unit.
6. Adjust baseline production variables to account for added capacity. In one case, two years of metered data was used to develop an energy/production ratio to estimate the additional electricity needed for a new facility.
7. Use a point source (specific weather station) for weather data rather than a regional average.
8. Provide adequate training for staff, which increases employee engagement and participation.
9. Communicate progress by posting monthly energy data for each department. Use software to highlight real-time, system-specific energy consumption data.

The DOE’s Energy Performance Indicator tool helps you establish a baseline of energy performance and track the progress of performance improvements and energy savings.

SEP really works

A $248,000 investment in SEP is paying off for one manufacturer of diesel engines and components. The plant is saving $716,000 annually with more than a third coming from low-cost operational measures. These savings alone paid back the investment in just 11 months. Based on this success, the company is certifying internal auditors to assist with other facilities pursuing SEP.

A small manufacturer of plastic injection-molded parts implemented SEP and achieved annual energy cost savings of $52,000 with a payback in a little more than two years. SEP helped the plant implement more accurate methods to measure performance.

See Superior Energy Performance for more information on how you can achieve certification and start reaping the benefits.

Let’s talk about lighting maintenance. Lighting makes up about 20% of total energy use in the average commercial building, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. At the same time, lighting is critical to a safe and comfortable indoor environment.

Given the importance of good lighting and the need to reduce operating costs, a detailed plan to optimize lighting performance and efficiency should be a high priority. Often, however, lighting maintenance doesn’t extend beyond replacing burned-out bulbs. An effective maintenance policy that includes written procedures, training and inventory control can improve light output and save you money.

Focus on the basics

Maintenance is the most overlooked, yet cost-effective way, to reduce the overall cost of lighting. Light levels decrease over time because of aging light fixtures and the dust that collects on lamps. Together, these factors can reduce total illumination by 50% or more while light fixtures continue to draw full power. Often, facilities compensate for this light loss by adding more fixtures, which increases energy costs.

The following maintenance strategies can help improve lighting system performance:

• Clean fixtures, lamps and lenses every six months.
• Replace lenses if they appear yellow.
• Clean or repaint indoor walls regularly; dirt collects on surfaces, reducing the amount of light they reflect.
• Use group lamp replacement, which saves labor and optimizes light levels.

Consistency is the best policy

A lighting maintenance policy serves as a guideline for consistently applying best practices for reducing costs and optimizing system performance. The following are some basic elements that should be included in an effective policy:

• Specifications for all lighting equipment, as well as vendor and service provider contact information
• Procedures for replacing and cleaning fixtures, including a schedule with a service tracking log
• Schedule for adjusting controls
• Procedures for lamp and ballast disposal

To maximize energy savings, coordinate the lighting policy with your overall energy management strategy. Review your policy when considering a lighting upgrade.

Shed some light

Training is critical to carrying out an effective lighting maintenance policy. Educate appropriate staff members on procedures, such as cleaning, lamp and fixture replacement, and fixture inspection. Include a detailed overview of the written maintenance policy and each employee’s role. Provide regular updates to account for new technologies, policy changes or staff turnover.

Think group replacement

Spot replacement (replacing lamps as they burn out) is the most commonly used technique in traditional maintenance programs. While group replacement can increase initial lamp costs, it offers several advantages:

• Optimized light levels. In most lamps, light output depreciates over time, reducing overall light levels before they fail.
• Energy savings. Group replacement integrates easily with efficiency upgrades, potentially reducing energy costs.
• Lower maintenance costs. Group relamping can be performed by outside contractors, potentially reducing the size of an in-house maintenance staff.

Lamp and fixture compatibility is another factor to consider. Matching replacement lamps to existing fixtures and ballasts can be tricky, especially with older fixtures. Installing new fixtures made for new lamps produces superior energy savings, reliability and longevity when compared with spot relamping.

Chillers provide critical cooling for air conditioning and refrigeration, but they use a substantial amount of energy. If your energy budget is feeling the heat, take steps to improve chiller systems performance and save money.

A number of chiller system design changes and operational strategies will help to improve overall system efficiency and reduce energy costs. Two of the most effective involve fans and economizers.

Fan speed

In cooling towers, two-speed fan motors in combination with fan cycling provides improved control and efficiency over fan cycling alone. Variable frequency drives (VFDs) provide the most efficient method of control. Fan speed control is most effective in facilities with small cooling loads, and in moderate or dry climates.

Economizers

Chiller bypass systems can be retrofitted into central plants, enabling waterside economizers to cool spaces with chillers offline. In these systems, the cooling tower alone provides chilled water directly with filtering or indirectly with a heat exchanger. These systems are best suited to applications with significant chilled water requirements and in climates where the outdoor temperature is below 55°F for at least 3,000 hours a year.

More ways to save

Additional ways to improve chiller efficiency include:

• Reduce the temperature set point of condenser water. Check with the manufacturer to make sure the chiller will operate properly at a lower temperature.
• Replace oversized water impellers pumps and motors with smaller, energy-efficient units.
• Trim the pump impeller rather than using a balancing valve to reduce flow and pump power.
• Install VFDs on water pump motors, compressors and fan motors.
• Convert single-loop chilled water and water flow configurations of the condenser to primary/secondary loop configurations.
• Replace three-way valves with two-way valves on cooling coils and implement VFDs on the chilled water secondary loop pumps to regulate flow.
• Consider thermal storage (chilled-water storage tanks above 500,000 gallons) and check with your utility about rebate programs.
• Increase wall insulation by adding an exterior insulation and finish system. Include a drainage layer to accommodate for small leaks occurring over time; avoid barrier-type systems.

Savings achieved by downsizing the chiller can help pay for these energy improvements.