S. Paul, Starfire Technologies LLC, Malibu, CA
Energy conservation methods that do not rely on costly new capital equipment are identified. How to conduct and implement a simple energy audit is shown. The energy audit identifies losses due to; openings, deteriorating refractory linings, flues and incorrect shop floor practices. These are quantiied in real world dollars. The understanding of heat transfer is used to optimize actual shop floor practices such as; time in furnace, excess combustion air, and scheduling. The importance of personnel feedback and empowering the personnel with information is stressed. Shop floor examples are discussed where savings over sixty percent were realized using theses methods. Consequential gains in quality and productivity are shown.
Summary: Methods are shown as how to reduce energy costs greatly. This is done through a multi-pronged effort. An extensive energy audit is conducted. During this audit, heat losses through openings, refractory linings, flues, and incorrect shop floor practices are identified and quantified, so that management/supervision/shop floor personnel relate to these as dollars being lost. Further, options are shown as how to reduce these losses through simple steps - without buying costly new equipment. In the next stage actual processes such as; tempering, stress relief, normalizing, annealing are addressed through heat transfer modeling/experience to reduce costs further. Scheduling, personnel feedback and good shop floor practice are additionally used to reduce energy costs. The consequential gains achieved in quality and productivity are discussed. Actual shop floor examples are given where more than sixty percent of the energy costs were eliminated using these techniques.
