Energy costs have been creeping up for us, and I want to take a more structured approach to energy management. For a small manufacturer without a dedicated energy manager, what are the best first steps to identify savings opportunities and set priorities?
A walk-through audit focusing on your largest loads; often compressed air, motors, lighting, and HVAC would help determine energy efficiency measures with short paybacks. There are various entities which offers this services at no-cost to end user, would you like us to connect you with them?
Yes, I’d be interested in connecting with those no-cost service providers. Do they typically just give a report, or do they also help with implementing the recommendations? We are located in Des Moines, IA.
ITAC’s provides a no cost energy assessment services. Once they have conducted their analysis, they will provide you with a detailed report outlining savings opportunities, estimated costs, and payback periods. Unfortunately, they don’t typically install equipment themselves, but they could help point our other resources that can help you with that. In Iowa, the couple of ITAC such as The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Industrial Assessment Center (NL-ITAC) and The University of Illinois, Chicago Industrial Assessment Center (IC-ITAC) can provide you with no cost energy assessment. If you’d like, I can arrange an introduction so you can get on their assessment schedule.