Bandwidth Analysis, Lean Methods, and Decision Science to Select Energu Management Projects in Manufacturing

摘要

Bandwidth energy screening (BES) methodology is a tool that plant engineers can use to identify and select energy management opportunities. The BES tool highlights processes that personnel may have overlooked while trying to lower energy usage costs. The impetus for this research came about as a result of observing plant personnel selecting energy management projects over hundreds of energy audits. These energy project selections are often based on the perceived efficiency of the energy usage of a particular process. There is an opportunity to more systematically select areas for improvement. Essentially, the BES methodology is a screening technique for applying energy management to manufacturing processes. This article describes a brief background on the use of bandwidth methodology and decision science in energy management and then uses an example to illustrate. Essentially, BES gives the plant manager an understanding of the energy use of individual processes at a systems level and then uses a quantitative means for the identification of candidate energy improvement projects. This article demonstrates the first law (thermody-namic) analysis in the form of energy bandwidths and selection processes. Once the BES analysis is performed, the sub-processes with potential for energy conservation are highlighted and may be ranked or otherwise selected by the engineer and management for action. This methodology is the front end of a more comprehensive methodology (exergy ratio diagnostic method) that includes second law analysis; however; the entire methodology is not presented in this article.