Companies save an average of $50,000 per year on energy

In over ten years of operation, one University of Missouri program has saved Missouri industries nearly $65 million or on the average of about $50,000 per year in energy costs.

The Midwest Industrial Assessment Center (IAC), located in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Missouri, provides a free opportunity for an energy assessment or audit of companies.

The center provides assessments for energy savings, productivity and waste management for small- and medium-sized industrial facilities in Missouri.

“Our center promotes best practices in energy efficiency and management, sustainable practices and waste reduction through the education and training of IAC interns, research, and partnerships with utilities and interested private/public organizations,” said Dr. Sanjeev Khanna, a University of Missouri professor and director of the center.

The service is provided at no cost to the facility because of a $1.5 million award from the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

What to expect

Generally, a team of four to five engineering interns and Professor Khanna will visit the plant for about four to six hours (depending on the plant size) and discuss energy issues with plant personnel as needed and make needed measurements.

The assessment would involve reviewing the electric and fuel and water consumption, major energy consuming systems (such as a compressor, motors, furnaces, lighting, waste, etc.).

A report is then submitted back to the company in about 60 days that details the energy saving measures, the cost of implementation and savings, and payback time. The report also has many other data such as a reduction in carbon footprint.

“All reporting and information gathered is kept strictly confidential, and even the DOE only registers the data against a SIC code and not against any name of the company. There is no obligation on your part to implement any of our energy saving recommendations, though we would love to see their implementation and we have historically seen an implementation rate of over 60 percent,” said Khanna.

Impact of audits

In the last two years, the IAC has conducted energy assessments at 36 manufacturing plants. Based on the implementation data received from 24 plants, the economic impact of the energy savings on these companies will be about $6.8 million (according to DOE estimates over the next seven years), which is more than $280,000 per plant.

Regarding energy savings, these 24 plants will cumulatively save 37.5 billion BTUs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 100 million pounds while spending $800,000 in implementing energy-saving measures.

For every dollar spent by the plants, the economic gain is about $8.

The Industrial Assessment Centers are located at accredited engineering schools at 28 universities across the country and are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing office (DOE-AMO).

Student engagement and learning

The heart of the center is the unique training and experiential learning provided to the selected student interns. In the last two years, 36 student interns have been associated with the IAC, of which 12 have graduated or are expected to graduate in Fall 2018 with the DOE-AMO Certificate of Achievement in Energy Efficiency, which is a true stackable credential.

The students are trained in energy efficiency through a semester-long class on Industrial Energy Analysis and short-term training workshops, such as ISO50001 Energy Management Standard, water and wastewater management and energy conservation, high-performance and energy-efficient buildings, introduction to cybersecurity, energy efficiency in smart manufacturing, and energy generation and management through the MU Power Plant.

“This unique, hands-on and practical exposure to manufacturing and associated energy usage sets them apart from their peers and considerably improves their employment potential. These students can walk into any manufacturing plant and by the end of the day could potentially save them tens of thousands of dollars each year in energy costs,” said Khanna.

Eligibility

Eligible manufacturing plants must have a minimum of $100,000 per year in energy costs and a maximum of up to $2.5 million. Facilities must also have less than 500 employees and no full-time designated energy engineer or similar employee.

To determine eligibility, telephone Professor Sanjeev Khanna at 573-884-9109 or email him at khannas@missour.edu. Include in in the email your company name, plant location, contact name, email, telephone number, zip code, SIX/NAICS Codes, and your yearly energy costs.