AEE’s Scholarship Scramble Tees Off

The Association of Energy Engineers, Middle Tennessee Chapter, knows how to show golfers a good time.  Their first golf tournament, established to support their commitment to higher education through scholarship opportunities each year, was aptly named the Scholarship Scramble. Funds raised benefit students in energy related fields of study at area universities.

The local AEE chapter provides excellent educational programs for the professional community by offering tech sessions at their monthly meetings, encouraging members to use innovative energy options, and sponsoring the Tennessee Energy & Environmental Expo every other year.  Presenting local students with financial scholarships illustrates the chapter’s interest in contributing to the energy field through support to higher education and a commitment to the future of the energy industry. The Scramble has set the stage for maintaining the scholarships in the future.   

First Place team:  Troy Klein, David Rehse, Al

 Herchenhahn, and Kirk Whittington

Twelve teams met at the Hermitage Golf Course on September 22 and enjoyed the play on the new President’s Reserve.  Coming in first, with a score of 59, was the team of David Rehse, Kirk Whittington, Troy Klein, and Al Herchenhahn.   Finishing in second place with a 65 were David Tucker, Fred Neu, Dean Smith, and Stewart Shunk, third place went to Keith King, David Gray, Robert Blythe, and Bob Winfree with a 66 for their final score.  Closest to the pin and longest drive recognition went to Al Herchenhahn.

In addition to trophies for the winning teams, a performance-based drawing was held to determine grand prizewinners.  Even the last place team had a chance to win gift certificates from the Hermitage Pro Shop.  The winners drawn included the team of Ray Hinson, Carlton Brown, Russ Crouch, and Eric Shipmon and the team of Jeff Williamson, Barbara Hughes, Joe Hughes, and Houston Naron.

Hole sponsors also played a large part in making the Scramble a success, receiving recognition at a hole and in the clubhouse.  AEE extends their appreciation to the following sponsors: Geo-Marine, Inc.; Building Systems Commissioning, Inc.; Nashville Gas; Light Incorporated; IC Thomasson Associates; Siemens Building Technologies; LG&E Enertech; CMS Viron Energy Services; Smith, Seckman, Reed, Inc.; Tennessee Valley Authority; Enron Energy Information Solutions; Nashville Electric Service; Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon; Southstar Energy Services; Woodward Marketing; Johnson Controls; Fast Electric; and Andrew’s Distributing.  Wow! What a great group of sponsors!

In addition to lunch and door prizes for all who attended, the weather added its own touch  - a Nashville cloudburst!  But play soon resumed, the golfers dried out, and a good time was had by (most) all!

Dr. James Lorenz, Middle Tennessee State University’s Engineering Technology and Industrial Studies Department, and Dr. Glen Johnson, Tennessee Technological University’s College of Engineering, dropped by to show their appreciation for the scholarships.  The officers of AEE worked hard to make this first-time event a success and anticipate it will become a yearly event to support their scholarship endeavors.  If you missed out on the fun this year, be sure to catch it next fall.

ASHRAE Standard 90.1 – 1999 Telecast

In September, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Standards and Guidelines Program, in partnership with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), held an interactive telecast offering a broad overview of the newest energy standard, ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.  The Center arranged a downlink and video taped the broadcast. 

The telecast covers changes in three areas: building envelope, mechanical, and lighting energy systems.  If you missed the opportunity to see this broadcast and are interested in viewing this tape, contact the Center and a screening can be arranged.

Lighting Lessons Learned

Kenny Spain, instructor for one of our CEM trainings, ventured back to campus in September to provide a seminar on designing and analyzing lighting projects to a room full of energy professionals.  Along with John Fetters, he covered lighting topics ranging from codes to quality, and from controls to almost everything in between.  The thorough and informative two-day seminar was customized for the Center.

Spain (PE, CEM, CLEP) is an internationally recognized energy engineer, an energy efficiency and economics trainer, and a senior research associate from The University of Alabama in Huntsville.  He is project manager for Idea$, the Industrial Energy Advisory Service, at UAH.  Fetters (CEM, CLEP) is a lighting efficiency consultant, president of Effective Lighting Solutions, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, and chairs the Industrial Lighting Committee for IESNA.  Both are accomplished instructors and have published in the energy field.

The Center strives to provide informative, educational, and leading-edge learning opportunities to our energy friends.  Let us know if you have area of interest that you would like to see the Center address through seminars or workshops.

     SEVEN REASONS

TO SUBMETER ELECTRICITY

Bill Howe and Wayne Stebbins

Electrical Submeters: Capturing Data and Savings      Electrical submetering provides powerful information about how, where, and when electrical energy is used. With such information at hand, energy managers are better equipped to make important decisions that will save electric energy and improve efficiency. Having data, however, is only the first crucial step: the information that data provides must then be put to productive use in order for savings to materialize.

     Electrical submetering can be used effectively by a wide variety of energy users:

n       Managers of office buildings and other commercial property can use submetering to more accurately allocate both electrical energy and demand costs to tenants.

n       Manufacturing companies and other industrials can use submetering to assign energy costs to individual departments or product lines, thereby identifying energy as a true product cost that can be managed and optimized.

Seven Reasons to Meter

     There are compelling reasons to install electrical submetering, seven of which are discussed below:

Reason #1: Verify the accuracy of utility bills

     Few bills are taken on faith as much as electric power bills. Given the many thousands of dollars paid for energy every year by the owners and operators of most buildings and facilities, catching even small accounting errors can quickly recoup submetering costs.

Reason #2: Allocate energy costs to specific departments of processes

     Some common methods of estimating energy allocation (based on square footage of floor space, number of workers or occupants, or the capacity of the electrical supply circuits) have the disadvantage of spreading energy savings from one area throughout an entire facility and thereby provide no incentive for departments within a facility to reduce their own energy use. A submetering system provides data that can be used to analyze and allocate energy cost information.

Reason #3: Assign accountability for energy users

     Simply making energy efficiency a factor considered in managers annual performance evaluations can shave several percentage points from a company’s overall energy expenses. One way to compare the relative energy efficiency performance of departments is to analyze energy use per unit manufactured or per tenant occupant.

Reason #4: Determine equipment and system efficiency

     Is the energy efficiency of installed office or manufacturing equipment acceptable? If electrical submeters are positioned strategically on circuits that feed key pieces of equipment, energy managers can develop powerful energy metrics (statistics or benchmark values) for evaluating the performance of installed equipment.

Reason #5: Audit before and after energy use for projects intended to improve efficiency

     Energy efficiency projects often are not viewed as central to a company’s business. Submetering can supply two types of supporting evidence to help justify these projects:

n       Before a project: gather measured data that quantifies the energy savings opportunities.

n       After a project: gather measured data that verifies the expected rate of savings.

Reason #6: Identify performance problems in processes and equipment

     Submetering can help identify sources of energy loss, including:

n       plugged heat exchanger coils in chiller plants;

n       clogged inlet filters on air compressors;

n       wearing of (or loss of) lubricant motors, load bearings, or gear boxes; and

n       control failures that cause equipment to run continuously or at inappropriate times.

Reason #7: Discover opportunities for potential energy efficiency improvements

     Submetering can help pinpoint energy savings opportunities by answering two questions:

n       Who is using the most energy, and how are they using it? Information gathered from electrical submeters can allow an energy manager to focus on the biggest savings opportunities in each building or process area.

n       Energy savings compared to what? An ongoing benefit of electrical submetering is sound, detailed documentation of a building’s or facility’s historical energy use patterns. Having a solid database of previous energy use can increase confidence in projections of energy savings.

Justifying the Cost of Submetering

     Potential energy savings from submetering falls into three general categories:

1.        Savings from just metering.  Telling employees that electric energy use is being measured in greater detail can have the psychological effect of increasing awareness, thus causing people to notice energy waste.

2.       Savings from increased accountability. Additional energy savings can be expected if managers are held accountable for knowing and controlling energy costs.

3.       Savings from automation. Additional energy savings can be achieved by automating part of the submetering process, and then linking the functions of process controls to energy-related factors. For example, in some manufacturing facilities, at times of peak demand the automated control system could shut down some of the noncritical processes, or even warn operators of impending problems (such as the risk of incurring increased demand charges).

The Importance of Follow-up

     By themselves, meters do not save money. The key to maximizing savings is to complement a submetering system with appropriate record keeping and evaluation procedures.

n       Record keeping. This usually involves developing and maintaining a database of energy readings.

n       Obtaining information. Once raw data has been gathered, it must be analyzed to provide information useful for evaluation and decision-making.

n       Taking action. Gathering and analyzing data on electrical energy use only makes sense if that then feeds a process of continuous improvement, preventive maintenance, and reward for improved performance.

Types of Electrical Submeters

     There are dozens of electrical submeters available on the market from a wide array of vendors. Submeters can be grouped into three general categories:

1.  Electromechanical Meters

Electromechanical meters (identified by their familiar spinning wheel under a glass dome) typically:

n       measure only one parameter (most often kWh or kW demand);

n       are read manually; and

n       are most appropriate for facilities that require only very simple, low-cost submetering without a heavy emphasis on automatic remote reading or controls.

2.  Meters for Substations and Electrical Distribution Centers

     For large users with complex substation and in-house electrical distribution systems, more sophisticated electronic metering technology may offer some advantages. These meters:

n       often combine electrical circuit protection and harmonics monitoring with kWh and kW demand submetering;

n       are relatively costly; and

n       are usually used for monitoring large distribution circuits of several hundred amperes.

3.  Distributed Electrical Submeters

     As the cost of microprocessor-based technology has dropped, a number of relatively low-cost electronic submeters have emerged on the market. Typically these meters:

n       focus on straightforward kWh and (optionally) kW demand measurement;

n       can be read manually or, with added equipment and software, automatically by a central PC-based system;

n       are relatively low cost, thereby allowing the user to install more meters for the dollar and obtain greater detail on where electrical energy is being used; and

n       are particularly attractive for allocating electrical costs in commercial or office buildings, or for monitoring smaller branch circuits in manufacturing plants.

(Printed by permission.  This information was provided courtesy of FT Energy. E source, a trademark of FT Energy, is an energy information and consulting service that provides organizations with unbiased, independent analysis of retail energy markets and energy-related services and technologies, as well as consulting services. On the supply-side, we offer RDI’s in-depth databases, syndicated studies, consulting services, and analytical tools. Clients include over 400 electric and gas utilities, other energy service providers, independent power producers, large energy users, government agencies and other organizations from over three dozen countries worldwide. FT Energy, inc., 3333 Walnut Street, Boulder, Colorado 80301, USA, (720) 548-5000.)

Spreading Energy Interests…

* Mr. Doug Kanitz, supporter of the solar bike project, solar demonstration area, and adjunct instructor for solar courses at MTSU, passed away in August. His many contributions to the university will be missed.

* Send comments, requests, or concerns to Watt’s Happening c/o the Center for Energy Efficiency.

   Center for Energy Efficiency | MTSU Box 57 | Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Phone 615-904-8096 | Fax 615-904-8093 | e-mail cee@mtsu.edu

MTSU is a Tennessee Board of Regents Institution. MTSU is an equal opportunity, non-racially identifiable, educational institution that does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities.