WEEC 2005 - World Energy Engineering Congress10 Strategic Steps to Reducing Your Energy Costs

摘要

If your company is looking at energy management as part of its overall strategy to reduce costs andrnimprove profits, it is not alone. While energy prices have increased at a shocking rate, so has interest inrnenvironmental responsibility. Progressive organizations are exploring ways to conserve energy and reducerngreenhouse gases. Some are even creating new positions for these issues, placing someone in charge ofrncorporate social responsibility (CSR). The CSR's job is to help a company be more socially responsible andrnreduce harmful emissions. Energy management can accomplish both conservation and emission goals—rnplus, it lowers utility costs and strengthens your bottom line!rnIn the past, reasonably priced energy made it difficult to justify new conservation projects. It was hard tornmeet the standard criteria of 2-3 years payback. However, natural gas prices have tripled in the last fivernyears from $2 to over $6 per Dekatherm (Dth). Electric prices also have increased dramatically—by morernthan 100% in some parts of the country. These increased energy costs have made conservation projectsrnmore desirable. A natural gas improvement project that had a six-year payback five years ago may havernless than a two-year payback today.rnNew technologies also have helped drive down the payback of projects and opened up new areas forrnpotential savings. The following paper looks at how the new market offers opportunities to reduce overallrnenergy costs.