Energy and Money Saving Tips
Understanding how you use energy can save you money
Understanding the components of your electric bill and how you use electricity can save your business energy and money. The two basic components that determine your electric bill are demand and consumption. Demand is the combined amount of electricity you need for all electrical devices operating at any given time. The electric meter measures demand in 15-minute intervals. For billing purposes, we use the maximum demand, measured in kilowatts, for any 15-minute period. A small business on the G1-D rate saves about $2 for each kilowatt reduction in demand. A larger business on the GS-3 rate saves about $7 for each kilowatt reduction. The demand charge for “T” (time of day) rate schedules, which are now closed to new applicants, is recorded only during designated time periods for billing purposes. Consumption is the amount of electricity you use during the entire monthly billing cycle. We determine consumption, measured in kilowatt-hours, by taking the difference between the current and previous meter readings.
Suggestions for reducing demand and consumption
Use energy wisely
- Turn off motors, lights and equipment you are not using.
- Turn off equipment that will be idle for long periods of time between operation.
- Maintain equipment for efficient performance.
- Add insulation to reduce heating and cooling requirements.
Modify production
- Minimize the amount of equipment you operate simultaneously.
- Start pressure-controlled and temperature-controlled equipment before beginning a shift or operating other equipment.
- Match power needs to production output. Bigger is not always better; it may result in higher demand and consumption.
- Defer less critical operations such as refuse shredding, trash compacting and fork lift charging to non-production times.
- Distribute workload evenly between shifts.
- Defer electricity use to off-peak hours if you have a time-of-day rate option.
Modernize equipment
- Replace old, inefficient equipment and lighting with energy-efficient equipment.
- Install an energy management system that can automatically diversify loads and lower consumption by operating equipment only when needed.
- Install heat exchangers to reduce demand and consumption for heating, cooling, water heating and process heating without affecting production.
Examples of savings
These examples are based on demand management (reducing or deferring demand). Although consumption figures are included, actual consumption will vary depending on the amount of time you operate the equipment during the billing cycle.
Example 1: Two 5-horsepower motors running for four hours do the same amount of work as one 5-horsepower motor running for eight hours, but have a higher operating cost.
- Two motors running for four hours a day will add to the billing demand 7.5 kilowatts and use 900 kilowatt-hours. Effect on monthly bill at GS-3 rate = $119.
- One motor running for eight hours will add to the billing demand 3.75 kilowatts and use 900 kilowatt-hours. Effect on monthly bill at GS-3 rate = $91.
Example 2: If you operate equipment that requires 10 kilowatts during off-peak hours, or when other equipment is not operating you can reduce billing demand by 10 kilowatts, which will save $74 on a monthly bill at the GS-3 rate.
Any effort to control demand must be consistent for all days in the billing cycle.
