Energy Reduction
Hi all, I am currently working on an energy reduction project and we are exploring both solar and wind energy. Does anyone have any experience with either or have a reason they chose one over the other? Anyone have any other cost efficient energy reduction ideas?
Comments (9)
What industry are you in? There's solutions out there to have energy usage monitored and benchmarked for you. Also can give you a computer generated model of what your energy consumption could look like over time allowing you to adjust. ROI is much more immediate than solar or wind. Figure out how to use what you're using more efficiently, and it comes back quickly.
We recently installed solar on our rooftops. We partnered with a third party to install and the tax incentives were nice. We are already seeing days where the solar is completely offsetting our electricity consumption for the associated building. If we produce too much, the utility company buys is back. It was a win-win for us.
Another reduction opportunity is looking at water. Have your toilets and sinks been set to low-volume, automatic? That may be an opportunity. Additionally, look at your processes. Is your facilities group recycling everything they can to divert solid waste? Are you reviewing incoming chemicals to ensure you are not buying and disposing more than necessary? Have you evaluated your current recycling program and/or looked into composting?
Hi all, my apologies! I should have clarified, we have already switched over to LED bulbs and have had our systems reworked to have maximum energy efficiency. Now we are looking at the lowering our electric cost by generating our own energy so I was looking at ROI for solar or wind.
The easiest option is changing out older styles of lights with LED. After that it's going to depend on what your business is. Can you adjust air conditioning schedules for buildings? Do you have combustion equipment that may need tuning? Can you recycle water streams and reduce your discharge?
Just to clarify - if you're looking for energy reduction - generating solar or wind power wont reduce the amount of energy you use. It will simply produce additional energy and reduce your dependence on the grid.
If you're talking about cost savings when buying energy - solar/wind may do that, but I'm assuming your ROI will be decades, as that was my experience the last time I looked into solar around 5 years ago.
With Solar, the ability to install it yourself will be a big factor, as well as location and I don't know anything about wind. Going greener is definitely an admirable goal if that's something you have the time to pursue!!