Establish a Plan, Unleash Your Team
Where to begin? What projects come first? Creating an energy-management plan that documents current energy-management practices, policies, team charters, resources, and all other pertinent information will help define tactics and clarify projects. Your plan is a living document that can be updated as conditions and aspirations evolve. It should be based on general consensus and identify energy-efficiency opportunities during a three-to-five year period, as well as:
- Identify an energy sponsor or upper-management resource, an energy champion/program project manager and the members of the energy team.
- Develop an energy policy that states your organization’s commitment to energy management.
- Establish goals, as well as performance and reporting metrics.
- List specific energy projects and objectives.
- Create an energy awareness and/or training program.
- Plan for procuring any necessary energy-related third-party services.
Take Action and Implement Your Plan
You’ve got your plan, now you need to execute, monitor results, reassess and repeat. Because CEI is a multi-year effort focused on continuous improvement, your results will grow over time.
Here’s a look at some of the types of projects you might implement:
Operations and maintenance (O&M): In many cases, the most cost-effective way to reduce energy consumption is to optimize the O&M of existing equipment and systems. Most O&M actions require little or no upfront cost and no lead time to installation as there is with many capital projects.
Capital improvement projects: Proper selection of capital equipment can have a major impact on energy efficiency. Assessing energy consumption and costs over time should be important criteria for replacing or retrofitting equipment and when considering an expansion or new build.
Energy purchase agreements: Energy rate structures can be complex, particularly in deregulated markets when multiple parties are involved. Understanding your current and future energy requirements and how these align with various energy pricing options is essential to managing your energy spend. Careful planning will ensure your business strikes the best deal when purchasing energy.
Onsite generation: This may include wind, solar, co-generation from waste, combined heat and power systems, and onsite back-up generators. Although onsite generation is typically not as cost effective as other energy-efficiency measures, it can be an effective part of your energy-management plan. Incentives are often available that reduce implementation costs. Onsite generation can help a company lessen the impact of energy-price increases. For example, Walmart installed solar panels on many of its stores to reduce its dependence on the grid. This helps keep Walmart profitable in spite of its slim margins and helps the business live up to its brand promise of being the low-price leader.
Every year your energy team will want to evaluate progress and review operations. If your energy team has developed process documentation around new procedures, make sure to update it annually to reflect current practices. Research new technologies that may have come on to the market recently or existing technology tools that have come down in cost sufficiently that they now offer an attractive return on investment. Last, but most certainly not least, recognize and celebrate your success.