Boosting Your Bottom Line: Plug Into Energy Savings

In this economy, cutting back is common. But have you thought about cutting back on your operation’s energy bill? Cutting back on electricity consumption by boosting efficiency can lead to dramatic savings, reduced exposure to rising energy prices and improved process efficiency and control. Even better, there’s a large (and growing) number of energy-efficiency programs around the United States and Canada with financial and technical resources to help you identify and implement opportunities throughout your facility. In fact, the efficiency program industry [1] directed over $9 billion in 2011, according to the Annual Industry Report, published by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE). In the U.S., 39% of the total was dedicated to the commercial and industrial sectors—billions of dollars, some of which are ready to support qualifying energy-efficiency improvements in facilities like yours.

Where to start 
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), motor-driven equipment consumes 64% of the total electricity used in the U.S. industrial sector.[2] As the largest single source running up an industrial plant’s electricity bill, zeroing in on your motors and motor-driven system such as pumps, fans and air compressors is a great first step toward cutting costs and increasing efficiency in your facility.  

Where get help
In addition to publishing the Annual Industry Report, CEE maintains a searchable spreadsheet of 94 efficiency programs that provide incentives for qualifying projects that improve motor system efficiency. This resource, Motors & Motor Systems Program Summary, includes the following types of program offerings:

Motors… Programs that provide incentives, typically rebates, to vendors, distributors, or directly to customers for motors that meet energy-efficiency specifications. 

Motor Management… Programs that work with customers and vendors to identify motors for replacement with energy-efficient models either upon failure or through early retirement programs. Other programs support best motor repair practices that maintain motor nameplate efficiency.

Motor Systems… Programs that provide incentives for efficiency improvements in specific motor-driven systems such as pumps, fans and air compressors, and for installing adjustable speed drives. 

To learn more about how you can cut costs and save energy with your motor-driven systems, visit the Motor Decisions Matter^SM (MDM) Campaign, www.motorsmatter.org, which provides free tools and resources that can help get your operations plugged into savings. These resources can also lead to partnerships with your local sales and service center, vendor, electric utility or other energy-efficiency representatives that are well positioned to offer added support. Plug into these programs and start saving today. MT

1. The efficiency program industry is comprised of electric and gas utilities, state energy agencies and other non-utility program administrators, municipal power providers and co-ops. 

2. USDOE, 2008. (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices/pdfs/motor.pdf)