One of the biggest costs any facility faces, after labor and raw product costs, is the cost of utilities. It is predicted that natural gas costs will jump 34% this winter and has increased 66% since 2020.* Natural gas generates about 40% of the electricity in the U.S., so utility bills will be seeing a significant impact. By finding better ways to manage energy use, there are significant opportunities to reduce costs. Some ways to reduce energy costs for pretreatment, cooling, and boiler systems are:
- New chemistry
- Steam trap replacement and repair
- Equipment upgrades
- Regularly scheduled pretreatment maintenance
- Automation and Smart Water solutions
Making some simple changes to how you manage your boiler and cooling systems, can save a significant amount on these ongoing monthly costs. Below is a birds-eye view showing where you can make changes to start saving.
5 Ways to reduce energy costs
New Chemistry
There are several new and innovative products that can help improve heat transfer and reduce blowdown to save on energy costs.
- EndoTherm is an energy saving additive that can be installed into hydronic heating, process, and chilled loop systems containing both water and glycol solutions. While water contains some good heat transfer qualities, its high surface tension reduces thermal contact, therefore detracting from its efficiency. EndoTherm reduces the surface tension of water, which allows for improved heat transfer efficiency, saving up to 15% on energy costs.
- Aquafilm is an organic film forming agent that forms a thin protective surface barrier on all metal surfaces of a boiler system. Aquafilm improves heat transfer to lower energy costs and significantly reduces feedwater conductivity to lower blowdown frequency – saving water, chemicals and energy! Aquafilm works differently in that it treats the metal and not the water. In addition, it can replace up to three traditional chemistries. Film forming agents are a simple, efficient and cost-effective way to provide complete system protection and save energy.
Steam Trap Replacement and Repair
Steam traps that are not working properly can have a huge impact on efficiency. Failed steam traps are not always obvious and can result in considerable energy loss. Identifying steam traps that need repair or replacement saves money. The chart below outlines steam leak costs by size.
Watertech provides regular inspection, testing and repair of steam traps to help you save money.
Equipment Upgrades
By improving the quality of the make up water going to the boiler, significant savings can be realized in energy, water, chemicals and salt. The most common way to do this is the installation of a reverse osmosis system. By removing the dissolved solids from the make up water boiler blowdown can be reduced from in some cases from 20% to 2%. You can also add a blowdown heat recovery system to capture the energy from the boiler blowdown before it goes to the drain. Cooling the boiler blowdown with boiler make up water is the most common way to recover this heat. Making these upgrades will improve efficiency and reduce energy, water and chemical usage.
Regularly Scheduled Pretreatment Maintenance
The pretreatment to your critical systems is the most important part of your water treatment program. It is important to regularly maintain your water softeners, ROs, and other equipment so that they work at peak efficiency. For example, to get the full benefit of having an RO system, it should be cleaned quarterly to make sure you are removing the maximum amount of contaminants from the water. If you do not have time to stay on top of this, it will cost you down the road. You can choose
Watertech’s FreedomPlus Pretreatment Service to ensure that all your pretreatment equipment will be properly maintained by experienced professionals on a regular contracted schedule. A pretreatment service program improves efficiency, reduces downtime, and prolongs the life of your equipment.
Automation and Smart Water solutions
Having better visibility to your system allows you to be proactive and make updates when your system’s parameters are out-of-range. Watertech’s
automation packages include advanced wireless sensors that store cloud-based data you can trust. We rely on this data to identify which water treatment components need to be addressed, allowing us to quickly identify problem areas and focus on finding a solution. Automation tools allow for a quicker response time, saving energy and money.
Watertech is invested in your success.
Full Service
Watertech has consulting, pretreatment, service, equipment support, and chemical delivery all under one roof. Our team works together to create success for our customers.
Are you maximizing energy savings at your facility?
If you want to know for sure, reach out to Watertech for a free site survey. Being proactive about reducing energy costs can result in big savings. Make sure you are not leaving any money saving opportunities left unchecked.