Industrial Relations
Testimonals
“Your team did an outstanding/professional assessment at PHD, at which we have implemented a number of the recommendations and achieved significant savings.”
David French, Vice President of Operations, PHD Inc.
“Thank you for the comprehensive energy audit you and your students performed at Jeco Plastic Products. I was very impressed with the research, the professional presentation, and the thoughtful recommendations. 1. Research. The accumulation of energy data and the energy characteristics of the equipment was complete and accurate. Often, such basic research is incomplete, which in turn results in false conclusions. 2. Presentation. Your students handled themselves in a professional manner, asked relevant questions, and prepared an excellent report. The conclusions included relevant data and computations that supported the recommendations. The format was excellent. 3. Recommendations. The recommendations were sound, and the payback calculations allow us to prioritize the alternatives. Even those recommendations that you qualified as impractical (such as the air curtains) were imaginative and have merit. This is an excellent example of the kind of support the university system in Indiana provides manufacturers, and it represents the partnership of business and academia that few other states can duplicate. Thank you for your assistance in this vital area of energy efficiency.”
Craig Carson, CEO, Jeco Plastic Products
“We were thrilled with not only the speed, efficiency and professionalism that was exhibited by this department, but the in depth report we received at the end. We have made recommendations to other businesses and will continue to do so. We are working on all the suggestions now.”
Mary Gordon, Plant Manager, Electro-Spec
Benefits
- Reduced energy costs
- Increased profits
- Pathway for continuous improvement
- Carbon savings
- Compare their energy intensity to other companies
- Enhanced community relations
Simple Case Study
This paper discusses an energy efficient compressed air system at an industrial automation components manufacturing facility. The authors performed and energy assessment as part of the DOE’s Industrial Assessment Center program and followed up with additional investigations on the compressed air system.
The compressed air system utilizes an outlet pressure transducer to a microcontroller to adjust system capacity by changing motor speed and modulating an electric proportional inlet valve. This control system allows reduced modulation of operating pressure and a lower operating set point, when compared to either system alone, and avoids thermal overloads when the VFD attempts to operate at low frequencies. The control system will be examined and discussed with respect to operation, energy savings, installation costs, and payback.
