Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Meetings with staff for critically evaluating consumption trends and checking
the efficiency and development of company policies;
Controller's reports providing an up-to-date picture of the energy situation and
comments on observed anomalies. These reports can be diversified to suit the
company functions they are intended for.
Energy accounting ensures a continuously high level of energy awareness and
allows operating anomalies to be detected very quickly.
The depth and detail of accounting procedures depend on the size and complex-
ity of the company's energy use and on the main motive determining the collection
of data (basically, to break down only the energy cost by different categories of
production or to achieve the greatest efficiency in energy use).
Data collection can be implemented off-line or on-line depending on the avail-
ability of centralized control for process and facilities plants. The achievement of
better operation and maintenance is the main reason for having a centralized control
equipment; in addition, it can conveniently be used for accounting procedures.
17.5
Feasibility Studies and Financing
Proposals for plant investments should start from a feasibility study with a technical
and economical evaluation of the proposed solutions, also with a view to the
company's present and future needs.
For project execution then it is necessary to choose the best financing channels
and go through all the bureaucratic steps, taking into account energy and environ-
mental regulations.
In many factories and buildings, a classic energy saving action focuses on heat
recovery from water or hot gas streams or from cooling plant condensation.
Investments in centralized plant control (see Sect.
17.8
), particularly in facilities,
require a preliminary study of specific energy parameters, measurement methods
and control algorithms. For this purpose, the energy flows of the whole site as well
as of single process lines must be known, and hence the need for combined
strategies like those described in the previous paragraphs.
Non-energy additional costs and savings must be included in feasibility
studies, particularly for the replacement of process and facility plants
and for computer control systems. Very often, only the contribution of
these savings can justify the investment.
An economic evaluation must always be made. The principal methods are
reviewed in Chap.
19
.
