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EPA’s Tips to help Reduce Emissions and Conserve Energy

Here at Air Systems Services, we are proud to support the efforts of our government’s Department of Energy and all that they do to protect our planet, climate, and future.  Of course, we are committed to providing useful and helpful resources to our clients, friends, and neighbors, which is why we’d like to direct your attention to the EPA’s Climate Wise program.

The Climate Wise program was created to promote lower energy costs and reduced pollution. This program began as an offshoot of the Dpt. Of Energy’s Industrial Assessment Center, visits plants around the country and makes recommendations on how they can run more efficiently, saving energy and money. After auditing over 4,000 locations, the Dpt of Energy had a pretty good idea of the connection between operations efficiency and pollution reduction; Thus came the Climate Wise program.

This program culminates the recommendations made by the DOE energy audits and provides information and tips on how to save money on energy. They estimate that by implementing their “Wise Rules”, you could save around 1.1% of your total energy usage.

Here are some of these rules related to process cooling systems:

  • Install energy-efficient chillers and refrigeration units.
  • If it gets cold enough outside, use your cooling tower water to replace your chiller for “free” cooling. This can cut cooling system energy costs by up to 40%!
  • Audit your cooling systems to see if you can increase your chilled water set temperature. Looking for ways to reduce your unnecessary heating sources will save you money. Each degree increase is associated with a .6%-2.5% reduction in energy input.
  • Reducing condenser pressure by 10psi can decrease refrigeration system energy use by about 6% per ton of refrigeration.
  • Decreasing the condensers working temperature by 1 degree can save 3.5% off of chiller energy use.
  • Eliminating leaks and improper defrosting can save 10-20% off of the refrigeration system’s energy use.
  • If you freeze products in your facilities, switch from continuous freezing to batch processing, and it will save you 10-20% in freezer energy use.
  • See a 30%-50% reduction in freezer energy use when you install variable speed drivers. Variable speed drivers allow you to match power to the load profile.

To learn more about the Climate Wise Program, visit their page on the EPA’s website. Also, check out the additional resources on the Department of Energy’s home page. For more information on how you can save money and reduce emissions in your HVAC system, check out the rest of our posts.