Energy efficiency is a SERIOUS matter

27 January 1999



Cutting energy costs today can assist with a laundry’s success tomorrow. Barbara Gledhill reports.


Leaving a light bulb on rarely registers as a big deal to the average worker on the laundry floor. But when Unipart took the simple step of installing microwave sensors at the ends of the aisles in its 37 600 m2 warehouse, the savings on unnecessary lighting exceeded £40 000 a year.

Energy efficiency is a serious business in any industry, and especially so for laundries where producing the heat, hot water and steam needed to process work is inherently energy intensive. Moreover, not only is there the commercial sense of cutting energy costs and thereby maximising the bottom line as far as possible, cutting energy consumption has long term environmental implications. It is at the heart of the Government’s environmental policy.

In the last months, the UK has taken forward the pro-CHP (Combined Heat and Power) policies of many leading European states by ending the immediate development of non-CHP power stations. It is also highly likely that some form of tax on the business use of energy will be imposed in the coming years, and work is being done for the UK to meet its commitment for a 20% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2010.

On top of this, the energy industry is embarking on further major upheaval. The full liberalisation of the gas and electricity markets is almost complete, but the final shape of the market is far from decided. Little wonder that interest in energy and utilities’ services is at an all-time high—reflected in the large number of energy suppliers, consultancies and energy management services. These have mushroomed to meet industry demand for cost-effective control of their energy requirements and obligations.

With the deregulation of utilities, and new markets opening up all the time, it is not easy for a laundry services manager to devise the most cost-effective use of energy within a plant without professional assistance. This is where companies such as Dalkia come in.

Dalkia—formed at the beginning of November through the amalgamation of three major energy management companies: AHS Emstar, Corrall-Montenay and Ellis Tylin—can be called in to oversee all aspects of service delivery, from fuel procurement, cost-effective contract energy management (CEM) to standby power generation. It can equally help optimise or improve the use of premises, manage on-site contractors and/or provide 24-hour site monitoring.

The concept of CEM arose as a direct response to the 1978 oil crisis. Companies in the energy market, trying to formulate responses to the crisis, started looking to third party financing where businesses that had capital to invest would take over the running of another’s energy facilities—boiler houses and the like—and would supply energy services at an agreed rate, keeping any further savings as their profit margin.

By the early 1980s, companies had started to move towards an ‘energy capsule’ idea whereby a portable boiler plant was brought onto a customer’s site for the duration of the contract and steam or hot water was then sold to the client. Here there was no capital investment as such: the capsule could be removed at the termination of the contract.

CEM type services stretch from running the existing boiler plant, with little or no further investment involved, through to a full replacement of the laundry’s energy plant and services. Nevertheless, CEM companies per se are not fully fledged facilities management providers—they always have the provision of energy services as their central remit.

The privatisation of the gas and electricity industries, and with it a loosening of constraints governing such large energy investments, suddenly made combined heat and power contracts attractive financial propositions.

CHP suppliers are commissioned to provide all the utilities on site and the idea of outsourcing support services took off. After all, it is not sensible to maintain several large steam raising boilers, for instance, when although the laundry operation on site uses steam in large quantities, a large part of the output is being used for general heating. It would be much more cost effective to install one adequately-sized steam raising boiler next to the laundry and build a CHP system to provide the whole site with electricity and heat. It might also be appropriate to replace the existing boilers with new, more efficient, versions.

There are a number of companies now offering CHP packages, and it is important to spell out the way in which improved energy efficiency is to be measured when taking out this type of contract. If efficiency is merely expressed in terms of price per delivered unit of energy, then paying a reduced purchase price for primary fuel would appear to deliver this yet without any accompanying improvement in the plant operation at all.

The contract should also specify limits within which the agreement will operate. Legally, the contractor has to take on all the risk of operating the facility. This can be held to mean that the contractor has to supply whatever demand the client requires and perhaps for no more money. The client is then free to use as much energy as he likes with no incentive for efficiency or economy.

CHP systems which generate heat and electricity simultaneously are suited to many industrial situations and are growing in popularity. Another factor worth considering, as gas transporter Transco points out, is that the adoption of the latest natural gas technology can cut a site’s energy costs and provide 65% lower carbon dioxide emissions than those associated with electricity.

By means of a CHP contract, many companies which have been put off gas by the substantial financial outlay involved in introducing it into their premises would be able to discover its benefits cost effectively. And for laundries which may wish to consider this option, Transco is funding a series of feasibility programmes, offering grants of up to 90% of a consultant’s charge for a feasibility study.

It is tacit that a secure and efficient energy supply is essential to a laundry. Any breakdown in service can have substantial consequences for the company’s livelihood and reputation in what is a very competitive marketplace. Inefficient washing equipment will lead to over consumption of energy and the likelihood of budget overspend. Hence a large part of a laundry manager’s day-to-day task is to minimise the risk of these things happening today, rather than planning and budgeting for the future of the business.

Many enlightened managers are now demanding energy guarantees. That is to say, the manager contracts to pay a fixed quarterly charge for, typically, a ten year period which will guarantee the delivery of an agreed energy supply in the most efficient manner. The fixed charge includes the cost of boiler/plant installation, the energy consumed, maintenance and guarantee of the plant.

Of course, many laundries are happy with their existing arrangements and do not want a new plant. But even so, it may be worthwhile bringing in energy consultants to evaluate the energy costs of an existing system and see if there are aspects where savings can be made.

For example, the Powerline Energy Technology Centre (Midland Electricity’s energy service for business customers) offers real time monitoring. Changes in load profile are reported immediately—providing the potential for energy saving from work scheduling and ultimately reducing the site’s fuel demand.

Real time monitoring helps a laundry to operate a preventative maintenance programme as it highlights any abnormalities in the power supply to specific machines. These, unchecked, could lead to costly problems. Data is typically collected every half-hour and downloaded onto a PC. It is then used to create individual cost centres for specific parts of the laundry operation.

Chalmor, a company that offers heating control systems, points out that heating controls should reflect not only the nature of the installation but also the type of heating and the use of the system. In addition, whilst the cost of equipping and fitting a system will certainly be least in a new build, even a retrofit should payback within two years. Control upgrades are thus an economically viable and attractive option.

Heating control options fall into one or more of the following categories: temperature, time, programmable and occupancy. Modern electronic controls offer the benefits of accuracy and improved flexibility and, today, many low cost controls feature benefits that were previously only available on big and expensive building management systems.

Examples of low cost and simple-to-fit controls include: occupancy controls where movement is used to switch plant; intelligent boiler controls that monitor external and system flow temperatures to control boiler firing cycle and regulate flow temperature; programmable thermostats that enable the right temperature to be set when required.

Energy management is vital to industry, to the environment and to everyone’s future. And just as pruning a shrub may ensure thriving growth ensues, cutting energy costs today can pave the way for a laundry’s success tomorrow.



Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.