Impact evaluation of energy conservation measures installed at a new industrial facility

摘要

This paper presents the pros and cons of several energy, savings estimating methods considered as part of a recent impact evaluation of energy conservation measures installed at a lumber mill in the Pacific Northwest. The energy conservation measures (adjustable speed drives, programmable logic controllers, and high efficiency motors) were installed when the mill was initially constructed rather than being installed as a retrofit. Therefore, direct measurement of baseline energy consumption was impossible. As described in this paper, several reasonable methods can be formulated for estimating the energy savings when a physical baseline does not exist. The alternative methods will often result in radically different energy savings estimates, which may translate into significantly different conclusions regarding the efficacy of the energy conservation measures and/or the energy conservation program being evaluated. Therefore, it is critical to understand and carefully consider the options for estimating energy savings when a physical baseline does not exist.