simple easy low or no cost ways to save energy

8/3/2019 Simple Easy Low or No Cost Ways to Save Energy

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presented by

Jack Ames, P.E.

Problem Solving Engineer

www.SteamTraining.Comproviding

On-Site Customized Steam/HVAC

Maintenance Training So YourPersonnel Can Work [email protected]

410-337-3721 (o) 410-961-2008 (c)Identifying Problems, Implementing Solutions & Saving Energy For YOU!

Call Me!

Simple Easy Low Cost/No Cost

Ways to Save Energy
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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1. Walk, Listen, Observe.

2. Make sure that what should be offis really off.

3. Equipment you can probably turn off forever.

4. Use tight sealing automatic control dampers.

5. Use ultrasonic leak detectors to find leaks.6. Use self-contained temperature control valves

with integral sensors.

7. Use brush seals in raised floors of computerrooms.

8. Eliminate three-way valved bypasses on all steamtraps.

15 Low Cost/No Cost Ways to Save Energy


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9. Test steam traps often.10. Use electronic data loggers.11. Replace missing or failed piping insulation.12. Make your energy management system (EMS)

work harder for you.13. Take a hard look at large buildings with verysmall steam heating loads.

14. Use steam powered float actuated sump pumps

to automatically remove water from steammanholes.

15. Have ongoing training for your maintenancepersonnel so they can work smarter.

15 Low Cost/No Cost Ways to Save Energy


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1-A. Walk, Listen, Observe Once a week, before going to your office, walk through a different building. MBWA.

MBWA Degree: Management By Walking Areas.

Take pictures of possible ways to save energy with your digital camera.

Record sound bytes with each picture you take. Example: Why is cabinet unit heater in south vestibule of Lorton Hall running in July?

Send these pictures and notes to your staff persons who can investigate, report back to you,and make the necessary changes happen.

Visit your mechanical equipment rooms often. Are lights left on? Is anything running that does not have to be running?

Take pictures of anything that is out of the ordinary.

Example: Why is apparently defective 20 HP motor sitting on floor of MER 205 in Fox ChaseBuilding? Is this motor rally defective? How did it fail? Should it be rewound? Please have itremoved!

Once a month, visit your facility at night. Once a month visit your facility on a weekend.

Whats happening during off hours? When the cats away, the mice will play!

Keep good notes in a spiral bound notebook. Use a different notebook for each building for whichyou have responsibility.

Take an infra-red gun with you to easily find things that are hot or cold that should not be hot orcold.

Example: Failed or missing insulation on hot water or chilled water lines or cold

refrigerant lines.


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Use infra-red guns to find thingsout of the ordinary. Example: Whyis one 10 HP motor running 15oFhotter than another?

1-B. Walk, Listen, Observe


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2-A. Make Sure What ShouldBe Off Is Really Off

Is outside lighting on during daylight hours?

Is a condenser water pump on a water chiller or a cooling tower fan operating eventhough the water chiller is shut down?

Are lights left on (not night lights) in offices, classrooms, shops, manufacturing areas,warehouse areas, etc., even through its after hours and nobody is there?

Are man cooler fans in maintenance shops still running after hours?

Are domestic hot water recirculation pumps running after hours when there is little or noneed for domestic hot water at that time?

Is your outdoor water chiller running even though it is 55oF outside temperature on anearly spring or fall morning?

Example: Outdoor water chiller at my church in Baltimore was running in late

September at 8:30 AM when it was 55oF outside. Outdoor thermostats are cheap.

Is your heating system still running in a maintenance, warehouse or manufacturing areaeven though large overhead doors have been wide open over 10 minutes? Doorswitches and elapsed timers are cheap.

Is steam still flowing to an air handling unit in a maintenance shop which has its fanturned off and which only needs to run in the very coldest of weather?


7/40Paragon OffDelay Timer

Spring WoundTimer

2-B. Make Sure What ShouldBe Off Is Really Off


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2-C. Make Sure That ComputersAre Really Off When Not In Use.

Huge amounts of energy are wasted because employees do notturn off computers. Inexpensive or free software is available toturn off computers automatically at night and on weekends.

Computers running needlessly create significant airconditioning loads.


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3. Equipment You Can

Probably Turn Off Forever Unit heaters in mechanical rooms.

Unit heaters in electrical equipmentrooms.

Cabinet unit heaters in entry ways and

stairwells.


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The Problem

Conventional steel dampers can easily leak10% or more of rated air flow.

This causes:Artificial cooling loadsArtificial heating loads

Reduced effectiveness when using outside air

for free cooling

4-A. Use Tight Sealing

Automatic Control Dampers


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4-B. Use Tight SealingAutomatic Control Dampers

The Solution

Test dampers for tight closure. If light is passing through whendamper is closed,so is air!

Check damper linkage to make sure it is operating smoothly. The bestlinkage is no linkage!

Use quarter turn direct connected damper actuators to minimize the useof linkage.

Use a separate damper to satisfy minimum outside air requirements.Do not introduce minimum outside air through the 100% outside airdamper used for free cooling.


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4-C. Leaking HVAC Dampers

When closed, are dampers really closed? Use flashlight test.


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5-A. Use Ultrasonic Leak

Detectors to Find Leaks Air leaks in compressed air lines and fittings. True for both high pressure process shop air and

20 PSIG pneumatic automatic temperature

control air. Failed or failing gaskets on walk-in coolers or

walk-in freezers. Air leaks in flex connectors on discharge side of

air handling unit fans. Air leaks at joints in supply air ducts, return air

ducts, and outside air ducts. Air leaks at disconnected flexible ducts.

Air leaks at flimsy access doors.


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5-B. Examples of Items that Leak

Compressed air fittings

Leaking access doors in ductworkDisconnected duct workFlexible ductwork connector

Loading dock loadlevelers and dock seals.

Walk-in coolers andfreezers


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6-A. Use Self-contained Temperature ControlValves with Integral Sensors for Steam

and Hot Water Unit Heaters

The Problem

Steam and hot water vertical and horizontaldischarge unit heaters are often used to heatlarge open spaces such as maintenance shops,warehouses, and manufacturing areas.

Temperature control is usually achieved by wall orcolumn-mounted thermostats which simply cycleunit heater fans on and off.

When the fan is cycled off, steam or hot watercontinues to flow through the unit heater wastinghuge amounts of energy.


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6-B. Use Self-contained Temperature ControlValves With Integral Sensors for Steam and

Hot Water Unit Heaters

The Solution

Install self-contained temperature control valves with integral

temperature sensors.

These self-contained (no wiring required) valves will shut offsteam or hot water flow automatically when the temperatureset point is reached.

Use a strap-on aquastat on the condensate or hot waterreturn line to cycle off the fan when the control valve goesclosed to save even more energy.

Some condensate repiping may necessary on steam unit

heaters to ensure gravity condensate return.


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Ogontz TL Valve

6-C. Use Self-contained Temperature ControlValves With Integral Sensors for Steam and

Hot Water Unit Heaters


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Ogontz TL Valve

6-D. Close-Up of Self-contained TemperatureControl Valves With Integral Sensors for Steam

and Hot Water Unit Heaters

7 A Use Br sh Seals to Red ce Conditioned


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7-A. Use Brush Seals to Reduce Conditioned

Air Leakage in Computer Rooms

The Problem Most computer rooms and data centers have raised floors. Those raised floors provide a plenum to distribute conditioned air through

perforated tiles or supply registers in the raised floor.

This plenum also provides a place to run power and communication cablesto computer room equipment in a neat out of the way manner.

Large openings, typically 6 x 9 are field-cut in floor tiles to accommodatethese large, multiple, odd-shaped flexible cables.

Lots of conditioned air leaks out through these hard to seal cable openings,causing a loss of static pressure in the raised floor plenum. This makes it

more difficult to maintain the .7 1.0 inch static pressure recommended todistribute the conditioned air to where the heat producing equipment islocated.

To overcome this problem, many users install additional computer room airconditioning units to discharge more air into the raised floors. The realproblem is improper air distribution, not insufficient air

conditioning capacity.


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7-B. Use Brush Seals to Reduce ConditionedAir Leakage in Computer Rooms

The Solution

Use high quality brush seals to seal offthese numerous raised floor cableopenings.

Use similar brush seals to prevent air

leakage at the gaps where raised floorsabut computer room walls and wherecables penetrate computer room wallsbeneath the raised floor.


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8-A. Three-way Valved Bypasseson Steam Traps

The Problem

Human nature is flawed!

If something can be bypassed, it will be bypassed!

Bypassed traps typically stay bypassed. They look identical totraps that are operating properly.

A bypassed steam trap will waste 10 to 20 times as muchsteam as a wastefully blowing steam trap!

Sometimes the bypass valve will not reseat tightly when andif it is reclosed.

There are 16 additional potential leak points for everythree-way valved steam trap bypass.


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8-B. Eliminate Three-way Valved

Bypasses on Steam TrapsSolution

Eliminate three-way valvedbypasses on all traps.

They serve no useful purpose.

What piping items aremissing in this pipingschematic?


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9-A. Blowing Steam TrapsWaste Huge Amounts of Steam

The Problem

A single passing high pressure steam trap can

easily cost you $5,000 a year in lost steam. Very few owners do steam trap testing.

Very few owners know how many traps they have;the makes, types and sizes; what they are serving,

and their locations.

Many traps are virtually inaccessible.

Occasionally, traps are buried beneath insulation.

Traps can only be tested when steam is ON!


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9-B. Test Steam Traps Often

The Solution Inventory your traps. Keep your inventory up to date.

This is time consuming and tedious but very worthwhile.

Test your steam traps frequently.

Ultrasonically Visually Steam Eye (automatic wireless system offered by Armstrong Steam)

In a large facility, consider having one person dedicated to suchsteam trap testing.

He can also test many other items such as bearings, compressed air

leaks, gasket leaks, etc. with the same ultrasonic tester. He can also do other testing such as vibration analysis. Do not use infra-red for testing traps; it only tells you whether traps

are hot or cold, not whether they are blowing. Watch out for oversized traps. They are huge energy wasters! Blowdown Y-strainers while testing steam traps. Use full port ball

valves.


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9-C. Test Steam Traps

Ultrasonically or Visually

Ultrasonic trap testing Visual trap testing


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9-D.Test Steam Traps Often

Never use fixed orifice steam traps; theyare a rip-off!

Problems with fixed orifice/fixed Venturisteam traps

High first cost Typically no catalogued data No major trap manufacturers offer them They cannot be tested ultrasonically If undersized, they can easily cause dangerous,

costly water hammer Such traps properly sized could work on

constant loads but in reality constant loadsonly exist in textbooks.


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10-A. Use Electronic Data Loggers

The first step in solving any problem is defining

exactly what the problem is. Data loggers help us define problems quickly and

easily in these ways: These small easy-to-conceal devices automatically monitor

whats going on over long periods of time when nobody ispresent.

Hook-ups are wireless. No external power is required.

No paper charts are required.

Downloading data to a computer is simple.

Interpreting data is simple.

They dont lie!

They are objective, not subjective.

What cant be measured cant be managed!


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10-B. Various Types of Data Loggers

Great for measuring

temperatures inspaces. Extremelycompact!

Great for measuring

temperature andhumidity.

Great for measuring temperature

and humidity. Built-in LEDsenergize if temperature or humiditygo below or above user set limits.

Measures AMP drawon motors and otherequipment.

Measures up to 8 differenttemperatures simultaneously.Great for air handling unitsand chillers.

Measures differential airpressure between variousspaces or between insideand outside of building.

10 C T i l D t L Di l


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10-C. Typical Data Logger Display

Typical graph of downloaded

temperature data logger.

11 A Missing or Failed Piping Insulation


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11-A. Missing or Failed Piping InsulationWastes Huge Amounts of Energy

The Problem

Failed or missing piping insulation wastes energy.

If water gets inside insulation, it invariably fails.

Walking on insulated pipe lines is not uncommon and is never good forthe insulation.

Improper installation of insulation, especially on cold lines, can lead topremature failure.

One type of insulation definitely does not fit all applications.

Poorly designed and installed and overly complicated piping leads toinsulation installation problems:

Examples: Three-way valved bypasses on traps and control valves create an additional

need for insulation.

Three-way control valves also create an additional need for insulation

Ball valves without extended stems

When pipe fitter does not allow enough space for piping insulation

Example: a 6 line with 2 of insulation becomes a 10-1/2 line


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11-B. Replace Missing or Failed Piping Insulation

The Solution

Keep your piping simple.

Dont install things that you dont need, such as three-way valved bypasses.

Use closed cell insulation on small chilled water lines, and cold refrigerantlines.

Use closed cell insulation on chilled water pumps and other irregular shapesin chilled water lines.

Do not insulate such items as check valves, steam traps, isolation valves,unions, strainers, control valves in steam, condensate, and hot water lines2 and smaller.

If you use removable insulated covers for odd shapes such as large gatevalves, only purchase custom fitted heavy duty covers that are simple,durable and easy to re-install.

If you dont have a pipe insulator on staff for insulation repairs, structure anequitable blanket agreement with a reputable local insulation contractor tohandle such repairs and replacements as they arise.

Try to find a nearby retired pipe insulator who can work for you as needed.


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11-C. Pictures of Damaged or

Missing Insulation

Damaged elbow Missing insulationPoor condition

12 A E M t S t (EMS)


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12-A. Energy Management Systems (EMS)

Dont Monitor/Control Everything

The Problem Even when a central EMS exists, very often numerous buildings are not tied into it. In buildings served by the central EMS, many potential points are not tied into

it. Examples:

Humidity sensors in computer room Moisture sensors underneath raised floors of computer rooms Door switches on personnel doors and double doors that are frequently blocked open by

UPS, FedX and other delivery drivers and then stay open! Door switches on overhead doors Pressure sensors in mains of dry sprinkler systems. Equipment overridden ON by your EMS will stay ON

Equipment that is controlled OFF can actually be ON because hand-off-automaticswitches (H-O-As) on motors are in the hand ON position.

Proprietary software from some EMS manufacturers makes it difficult to write your ownsoftware without going to the EMS manufacturer.

Various makes ofEMS systems may not be capable of talking to each other. Pressurized lines in dry sprinkler systems.

12 B E M t S t (EMS)


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12-B. Energy Management Systems (EMS)Dont Monitor/Control Everything

The Solution Make sure that whatever system you install is BACNET and LONWARE

compatible for interoperability.

Make sure you can write your own software without being held hostage byyour EMS supplier.

Expand your EMS to control and monitor additional points and buildings.

Monitor more than just temperature.

Use night and weekend setback on static pressure sensors on VAV systems.

Monitor doors that stay open for extended periods.

Establish good relationships between your EMS operator and yourmechanical maintenance department.

Make sure that if a piece of equipment is turned ON or OFF at the H-O-Aswitch, an alarm is generated by your EMS.

Review daily all equipment that is overridden ON or overridden OFF by yourEMS.


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13. Take Hard Look at LargeBuildings with Very Small Steam

Heating Loads

The only steam loads in this huge building were two small

baseboard heaters and one small domestic hot waterheater.

Electric resistance heaters would have eliminated 2200 ofhigh pressure steam piping and tremendous associatedenergy losses.

1000 of underground steam main

Steam manhole

1200 of high pressureoverhead steam main

Unheated warehouse

900

20

30

300

Office area

14 Use Steam Powered Float Actuated


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14. Use Steam Powered Float ActuatedSump Pumps to Automatically Pump Water

Out of Steam Manholes.

Smoking steam manholes are verydangerous and waste huge amounts

of energy.

Neat simple steam powered sump pumpwill solve this problem.

15 A H O i T i i f


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15-A. Have Ongoing Training forYour Maintenance Personnel

The Problem

You probably dont have nearly enough qualified highly skilledmaintenance mechanics.

The baby boomers who have served you so well in the past areeither nearing retirement or have already retired.

Mechanical systems are becoming more complex.

Having people with a good attitude who show up for an honest

days pay is becoming more and more difficult. Many of your mechanical and HVAC systems were designed

and installed improperly and you and your maintenancepersonnel are now the unfortunate victims of these

mistakes!

15 B H O i T i i f


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15-B. Have Ongoing Training forYour Maintenance Personnel

The Solution Have surveys of existing mechanical systems by

qualified experienced engineers to identify problems

and then use your own maintenance personnel toeliminate them whenever possible. Have on-site, ongoing maintenance training by

qualified personnel for your maintenance mechanicsso they can identify problems, solve problems, and

save energy. Knowledge is Power! Energy conservation should be part of your

mechanical and electrical maintenance

department. It should not be a separate effort!


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7 Low Cost/No Cost Ways to SaveEnergy (not included for lack of time)

1. Take advantage of roofs for better or worse.

2. Replace missing or failed gaskets on doors.

3. Use variable frequency drives (VFDs)4. Take a hard look at air filtration.

5. Install properly sized condensate P traps onall air handling units.

6. Establish a good set of mechanical guidespecs.

7. Utilize mechanical plan review.

Si l E L C t/N C t


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Simple Easy Low Cost/No Cost

Ways to Save Energy

presented by

Jack Ames, P.E.

Problem Solving Engineer

www.SteamTraining.Comproviding

On-Site Customized Steam/HVAC

Maintenance Training So YourPersonnel Can Work Smarter

[email protected]

410-337-3721 (o) 410-961-2008 (m)

Identifying Problems, Implementing Solutions & Saving Energy For YOU!

C ll M !
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

simple easy low or no cost ways to save energy

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