Energy, Management, Principles: Applications, Benefits, Savings

By Craig B. Smith and Kelly E. Parmenter

Energy Management Principles: Applications Benefits Savings discusses the general principles and methods of energy management. The book is comprised of 15 chapters that tackle fundamentals, methodologies, and case histories of energy savings. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss the background of world energy situation. The third chapter covers the general principles of energy management. Chapters 4 and 5 tackle the organization of an energy management program. Chapter 6 examines energy efficiency, and the following chapters deal with the engineering aspects of energy management. Chapters 11 and 12 cover the supplementary analytical techniques, while Chapter 13 deals with assessment and planning. Chapter 14 discusses energy management in future cities, and Chapter 15 presents the synopsis of the book. The book will be of great use to individuals who seek to understand the general principles and methods of energy management.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Oct 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483101569

Craig B. Smith

Craig Smith retired as a President and Chairman, DMJM H+N, a subsidiary of AECOM Technology Corporation, an international engineering and construction management firm. He began as an Assistant Professor of Engineering at UCLA, where he was also the Assistant Director of the Nuclear Energy Laboratory. After UCLA, he cofounded ANCO Engineers, Inc., an engineering consulting firm in Los Angeles, later joining AECOM as the Vice President of Daniel Mann, Johnson, and Mendenhall (DMJM). He subsequently became the senior vice president, executive vice president, and COO. In 1999, he became the President of Holmes and Narver, Inc. He has been broadly involved in the field of energy and power, responsible for design and construction management, tests, and research on most types of electrical generating facilities.

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California

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

BACKGROUND

Since 1970 I have been examining the opportunities for more efficient energy use. In 1972 one of my projects was to help with the planning of a NATO Science Committee conference on this subject, which was held at Les Arcs, France. I recall hearing an announcement of the Arab-Israeli war on the plane as my wife and I were flying to this conference in October, 1973.

Events have changed the world since 1973. It is now clear that new approaches must be developed, and new strategies must emerge, as regards energy use. I remain convinced that a resource of major dimensions is those actions which can be taken by end-users themselves. Basically, they have untapped energy sources in their homes, offices, and factories — the energy wastes of past years.

Now that prices are higher and supplies more limited, it makes economic sense to collect these wastes — formerly uneconomic to reclaim — and put them to work.

That is what this book is about.

AUDIENCE

This book is conceived of as a textbook for a junior, senior, or first-year graduate course in engineering. It is planned to serve as a text for a course offered either in an electrical engineering department, a mechanical engineering department, an environmental sciences department, or an interdisciplinary energy program.

Readers are assumed to have a basic knowledge of physics, calculus, and computer programming using fortran, and to have had a survey course in thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and electrical circuit theory. It is recognized that some of the readers will have a great deal more knowledge in the field of electrical engineering, but will have only introductory courses in mechanical engineering. Correspondingly, it is assumed that there will be some students with a much more detailed knowledge of mechanical engineering, but little background in electrical engineering. To help equalize this difference in background among potential readers, appendices are provided to give supplementary information, and basic developments are included in the text.

The approach taken in the book is to provide clear, concise descriptions of general principles and methods, and to illustrate them with typical, realistic examples and case histories. A list of typical problems and class projects is provided, as are references for further study.

It is assumed (and hoped) that many of the students who use this book will seek careers as energy managers. Therefore, the book has been designed to serve also as a useful reference for those continuing in this profession. Likewise, it has been designed to be suitable for practicing energy managers, plant engineers, architects, and city managers and planners, many of whom will have strong expertise in one area of energy, but who wish to expand their knowledge of other areas. These professionals can ignore the Exercises for the Student, since they will undoubtedly come equipped with their own store of problems.

THE PLAN OF THE BOOK

The book may be thought of as consisting of eight parts. These are:

I Overview (Chapters 1 and 2)

These chapters provide background on the world energy situation since 1970 and events leading to the so-called energy crisis.

II General Principles (Chapter 3)

This chapter is a condensed version of the entire book. It describes the principles — such as heat recovery — which are fundamental to efficient energy use and which may be applied to many different situations. They are repeatedly identified and applied (with variations) throughout the remainder of the book.

III How to Organize and Conduct an Energy Management Program (Chapters 4, 5, and 13).

While of interest to practioners, these chapters may be skipped by professionals who are beyond this stage, or by engineering students more interested in the quantitative and analytical aspects of energy management (see Part V).

IV Definitions of Efficiency (Chapter 6)

This is a prelude to the quantitative analysis chapters, and defines what is meant by efficiency.

V Engineering Aspects of Energy Management (Chapters 7–10 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10)

This provides the basic thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and electrical engineering needed to develop and analyze energy management strategies. The key points are defined, applied, and illustrated. This could be the core of a senior or first-year graduate course, and is self-contained for practioners (presuming some knowledge of mechanical and electrical engineering). It goes from first principles and theory through to examples and actual case studies.

VI Supplementary Analytical Techniques (Chapters 11 and 12)

Computers are widely used now for engineering analysis. They have some special applications in the field of energy management as outlined here. Economic considerations determine the viability of energy management projects. The most common approaches are summarized.

VII Extension of the Concept to Cities (Chapter 14)

The principles outlined in Chapter 3 are general and can be applied to the design of a new household appliance or to the planning of a city. This chapter extends the ideas developed in Chapters 4–12 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 to possible applications in designing energy-efficient cities.

VIII Appendices

These provide minimal data, measurement techniques and conversion factors to make the book self-contained.

The above provides an organizational or logical framework of the book which can guide the reader to those parts which most interest him or her. In Chapter 15, there is a brief synopsis which outlines the conceptual or methodological framework, and recapitulates the main points of the book. It is suggested at this point that the reader review Chapter 15 (particularly figure 15.1) to ascertain which chapters will be most useful.

This is in keeping with the well-established guideline for a successful presentation to an audience:

• Tell them what you are going to tell them.

• Then tell them.

• Then tell them what you told them.

Each chapter is structured in the same manner, with an introduction outlining the purpose and scope, and a concluding paragraph recapitulating the main points.

PRACTICAL ORIGINS

It has taken a long time to write this book — more than four years, to be exact. I am very grateful for the publisher’s patience and support during this lengthy gestation. Robert Maxwell and his associates — particularly Bob Miranda — have kindly supported many of my energy-related activities with generosity and confidence going well beyond normal limits.

Events have changed so rapidly during the past seven years that initially I was not confident that future directions — let alone principles — could be perceived. The rapidly changing energy technology and awareness is consistent with the fact that the world is experiencing an energy revolution, on a scale which parallels the industrial revolution. It will certainly be a different world in the future.

This book incorporates experience gained in establishing and conducting energy management programs at several hundred sites in the United States and abroad. This experience includes energy audits and consulting activities with more than 1,000 buildings of virtually every type: homes, apartments, hotels, office buildings, libraries, hospitals, power plants, steel shops, wood shops, electronics manufacturers, research laboratories, and so on. These buildings have been situated in climates ranging from tropical to arctic.

I have been assisted with technical reviews by a number of my associates and colleagues, notably M.K.J. Anderson, M.S.K. Iyengar, E.J. Lobit, and J.M. Newcomb of Anco Engineers, Inc. A preliminary review of some of the material was provided by Professors R.J. Smith, Stanford University; R.A. Fazzolare, University of Arizona; J. Dyer, California State University, Long Beach; H. Perloff, University of California, Los Angeles; and T.T. Woodson, Harvey Mudd College. In addition, the material in this book has been tested and developed over a five-year period in training programs and seminars carried out for a number of industrial firms, utilities, utility associations, and universities, both in the United States and abroad.

I am very grateful to my associates at Anco Engineers, Inc., who encouraged this work and rendered valuable assistance, particularly Dr. R.B. Spencer, who was an essential supporter and critic, and Chris Kato, who was responsible for the illustrations. Nancy J. Smith provided encouragement, research assistance, and typed the manuscript; her efforts were an effective catalyst.

Craig B. Smith,     Santa Monica, California

1981

1

Introduction

Publisher Summary

This chapter provides an overview of the rapidly changing world energy situation and outlines the role of energy management. The society is at the beginning of a new era of change, an era of possibly greater fundamental significance than the industrial revolution. Around the world, in industrial and nonindustrial nations alike, there is a growing awareness of the central role played by energy in the economy, food supply, and national productivity. The energy management concepts promise to be of increasing importance in enabling mankind to meet the challenges of the future: providing employment, food, and security for future generations. The finiteness of energy resources is also moving the world closer to war. The resources of all types are essential to war and in themselves can be causes for war and for the rise and fall of nations. Therefore, the efficient energy use not only increases one’s independence of external energy supplies but also helps defuse a potential unstable international situation.

What if wealth and power, war and conquest, were only surface illusions, unworthy of a mature mind? What if this science of hypothetical atoms and genes, of whimsical protons and cells, of gases generating Shakespeares and chemicals fusing into Christ were only one more faith… .?

W. Durant, 1954

The Story of Civilization

INTRODUCTION

Energy is essential to life and survival. Reduced to bare essentials, stripped of thermodynamics, economics, and politics, this is how we must view it.

Energy may well be the item for which historians remember the last half of the twentieth century. We are at the beginning of a new era of change, an era of possibly greater fundamental significance than the industrial revolution. For several centuries mankind has grown lazy, lulled into complacency by the ease with which multitudes could be fed, housed, and transported using the abundant supplies of low-cost energy which were readily available.

Then, in less than a decade (1973–1981) the bubble which had taken 114 years to swell (since Drake’s first well in 1859) finally burst. Long unheeded warnings took on a prophetic aspect as fuel shortages and rising costs nearly paralyzed the industrial economies and literally shocked the world into an inflationary period which is not yet ended.

It is remarkable that our lives could be so affected by one perturbation to the world economy. Figure 1.1 shows what this perturbation was — a tenfold increase in crude oil prices in less than a decade.

Fig. 1.1 Crude oil price increases. Source: Compiled by the author.

Of course, in reality the problem is much more complex, involving not only oil prices but also the uneven geographical distribution of energy resources, the exponential growth of populations and fuel consumption, the desires of poorer nations throughout the world, political and national security considerations, and long-term environmental effects.

Tragically, the finiteness of energy resources may also be moving the world closer to war. Resources of all types are essential to war, and in themselves can be causes for war and for the rise and fall of nations. Twenty-four centuries ago, Greece denuded its forests building ships to continue the Peloponesian Wars; in 1940, Germany seized the Rumanian oil fields at Ploesti when it could no longer import petroleum due to the British blockade; the Israelis captured the Egyptian fields in Sinai. In its September, 1980 attack on Iran, Iraq went after the huge Abadan refinery complex and other strategic points in Iran’s oil-producing western province of Khuzistan.

Efficient energy use therefore not only increases one’s independence of external energy supplies, but also helps defuse a potential unstable international situation.

This chapter provides an overview of the rapidly changing world energy situation, and outlines the role of energy management.

RESPONDING TO A CRISIS

In 1973, the Community Concourse (six city-owned buildings in San Diego, California) used 21 million kWh of electricity per year at a cost of $270,000. By the end of 1974, the costs were $230,000 annually, even though stringent economy measures had been instituted immediately following the oil embargo in October, 1973. These measures, which included an employee awareness campaign, adjustment of lighting levels by delamping, thermostat setback, and revised operating procedures on the building HVAC systems, resulted in a savings of 7 million kilowatt hours per year, or roughly 33 percent. In spite of these savings, the costs had quickly increased back to nearly the original level. Further studies were undertaken to achieve additional savings in energy. By the end of 1975, an overall reduction of 37 percent from the 1973 levels had occurred. Meanwhile, costs were now $330,000 per year (see fig. 1.2). The significant point is, however, that without the energy management activities which had been undertaken, the costs of operating this facility in 1976 would have doubled to approximately $520,000 per year, and the taxpayers would have had to support this increase. This case history describes what happened in six large municipal buildings. There are thousands of buildings throughout the United States for which similar stories may be told.

Fig. 1.2 Historical electricity use — Community Concourse (San Diego, California).

Meanwhile, farther to the north, citizens in Seattle were asked to approve participation in a nuclear power plant project. The project was under consideration because additional low-cost hydroelectricity capacity was no longer available.

After an extensive investigation in 1976, Seattle decided not to participate in the new power project. Instead, energy management efforts were to be undertaken, with savings gained by more efficient energy use being used to meet future growth needs. This bold proposal — not without the possibility of some severe economic penalties if Seattle’s optimism is overstated — hypothesizes that nearly half (230 MW) of predicted future growth needs by 1990 can be met by an energy management program. The program includes formation of a city office of conservation, residential insulation retrofit, new construction standards, appliance standards, energy use disclosure reports, heat pump projects, and energy management research and development.

Two years after the embargo, Arizona moved to ban all new hook-ups of natural gas. Other states began reviewing energy supplies and uses. New Mexico proposed a tax on energy exported out of the state. Three years later, the California Public Utility Commission established priorities for natural gas use; it was prohibited as a fuel in generating plants. Over the next several years natural gas was to be phased out in industry; first as a boiler fuel, then for all process heat applications for which a substitute fuel — usually oil — could be found.

The impact varied from firm to firm. In a large manufacturing plant, the potential loss of gas-fired boiler capacity led to an investigation of heat recovery possibilities. It appeared possible to reclaim heat dissipated by 5,000 hp air compressors; before, the heat was extracted by interstage coolers and discharged to the atmosphere in a cooling tower.

In a smaller plant which manufactured agricultural antibiotics, the crisis meant that no natural gas was available to fuel a drying oven needed to expand the plant’s capacity. Looming in the future was the possibility of fuel curtailment, resulting in a shutdown of the plant’s boiler and existing drying ovens.

Rising energy prices have hit hard at agriculture by increasing the cost of fuels, irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides, transportation, and food processing. Feed lot operations are particularly energy intensive. Energy audits indicate that feed lot beef requires an input of 20 to 30 energy units for each energy unit of edible meat produced. Much of today’s high yield agriculture is energy intensive; as fuel prices increase, so do food costs.

In Los Angeles, an emergency ordinance was passed following the oil embargo when it became apparent the city did not have sufficient fuel to meet all needs. Commercial users were asked to reduce electricity use by 20 percent; industry by 10 percent; and residential consumers by 10 percent.

One Southern California family installed fluorescent lighting, better insulation, additional switches, changed thermostat settings, and operated appliances more efficiently. As a result, annual energy use for a family of four went from 6,859 kWh per year ($ 156 per year) in 1972 to 3,868 kWh per year in 1974. By then, rising prices had brought the cost back up to $141 per year; in 1975 the cost was the same as 1972, even though the usage had dropped to about 56 percent of the pre-embargo level. Yet, without the energy management efforts extended by this family, they would have experienced a sharp increase — perhaps a doubling — of utility