Significant energy savings for all

The Coalition Government has now set out its strategy to support further development and implementation of Energy Saving technology. It clearly states that there are significant savings to be made today and in the future. Whats more – businesses have the opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and make financial savings by adopting improved energy efficiency solutions.

The UK now has a huge opportunity to optimise the energy use of both domestic and business customers, reducing bills, whilst at the same time delivering a more sustainable society. By taking action businesses can reduce their long term operating costs.

Get more from the energy you use

Energy efficiency is a measure of energy used for delivering a given service. Improving energy efficiency means getting more from the energy that we use.

For example, two ways to improve energy efficiency:

  • “Innovation” can lead to the equal or greater output with less energy.
  • “Cutting out wasted energy” reduces energy needed while maintaining output.

Through greater energy efficiency we can use less primary fuel or power to enjoy the same level of output. For example, by improving manufacturing equipment it is possible to produce the same or more with lower overheads.

See an immediate impact

There are good reasons to set the direction on improving energy efficiency in the UK:

  • Finding ways to do more (or the same) with less makes economic sense;
  • It can help households and businesses reduce their energy bills at a time of increasing energy prices;

Longer term investment in energy efficiency technology can also lead to a virtuous circle as innovation leads to cost reductions which can make it cheaper and easier to invest in energy efficiency in the future. Developing our innovative capacity in technology, materials or business models for energy efficiency opens up the potential for increasingly significant export opportunities for the UK as the global effort to combat climate change ramps up.

Dr Stephen Chu, the US Secretary of Energy has said that “Energy efficiency is not just the low-hanging fruit; it is fruit that is lying on the ground”. There are currently many existing technologies easily available to businesses which could help them dramatically reduce energy consumption.

“The kWh price of compressed air is ten times greater than the price of electricity so it makes sense to identify areas where compressed air could be replaced with a less energy intensive alternative.”
Carbon Trust

Air Knife Systems – Smart Energy, Available Now

Blower driven air knife systems for drying, blow-off and cleaning operations are one of those current technologies available today to help manufacturing companies collect “the fruit that is lying on the ground”. It is typical to see facilities using compressed air for open-blowing applications such as those mentioned above. Used in this way compressed air is a very costly and extremely inefficient energy source. It is chosen as an easy quick fix method from a readily available service network which exists on almost all manufacturing sites. A cheap system to install and connect to the mains supply but with little consideration for the amount of energy consumed and the ongoing costs to operate. It is easy to see why site engineers elect to use compressed air when faced with an immediate process issue that needs a blown air solution.

Investing in more efficient blower systems is one of the leading areas for energy savings and one that all manufacturing sites should consider, particularly those operating more than one work shift per day.