Ralph W. Russell, II, founder of Henrico County, VA - based energy consulting firm eDiscoveri, helped attendees at the October 2, 2014 meeting of the IEEE Richmond Section discover strategies for energy cost reduction. Russell showed how commercial, industrial and governmental organizations can use low-cost/no-cost strategies to reduce energy costs. Methods to optimize the acquisition of utility services such as electricity, natural gas, propane, fuel oil and water/sewer were presented. Strategies such as meter totalization, contract adjustments, and sales tax exemptions were discussed. An IEEE member for many years, Russell’s profile is at: http://tinyurl.com/p7z7z2t.
LPC Warehouse Management System For Clients In The Business Sector
Discovering Low-Cost/No-Cost Strategies for Reducing Energy Costs
1. DISCOVERING LOW-COST/NO-COST
STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING ENERGY
COSTS
Ralph W. Russell, II, CEM
President – eDiscoveri
Presented to IEEE Richmond Section
2 October 2014
“Helping Customers Discover Energy Solutions”
3. Keys to Energy Management
Who is in charge of managing energy usage & cost?
What is the cost of energy & what are the available rate
tariffs?
When is energy is used?
Where is energy used?
Why is energy used?
How much energy is used?
Practice simple energy management techniques
Reduce equipment run time
Use more efficient equipment
Shift load to off-peak period
www.eDiscoveri.com 3
4. Electricity Fundamentals
Ohms Law
Volts = Current x Resistance
V = A x R
Units
Volts is in volts
Current is in amps
Resistance is in ohms
Power
P (watts) = A (amps) x V (volts)
A (amps) = P (watts) / V (volts)
KW
W (watt) x 1,000 = KW
(kilowatt)
Demand
Rate at which energy is used
KWH
KW (kilowatt) x Time (hours)
= KWH (kilowatt – hour)
Energy consumed over a
period of time
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5. Terminology
Cooling Degree Days (CDD)
Cooling degree days
indicate how summer
weather affects building
cooling energy use.
Heating Degree Days (HDD)
Heating degree days
indicate how winter
weather affects building
heating energy use.
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9. Electric Bill Components
Billing Determinants
Rate Schedule
Billing Period Dates
Billing Days
Off-Peak Usage (kWh)
On-Peak Usage (kWh)
Distribution Demand (kW)
Off-Peak Demand (kW)
On-Peak Demand (kW)
rKVA
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10. Electric Bill Components
Bill Details Bill Details
Distribution Service
Basic Customer Charge
Distribution Demand
rKVA Demand
Electricity Supply Service
On-Peak Demand Charge
Off-Peak Demand Charge
Adjustment Charge
Meter Behind Transformer
On-Peak Energy Charge
Off-Peak Energy Charge
Fuel
Rider B
Rider BW
Rider C1A and C2A
Rider R
Rider S
Rider T1
Rider W
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11. Electric Bill Components
Bill Details
Sales and Use Surcharge
Distribution Facilities
Charge
Transmission Facilities
Charge
State/Local Consumption
Tax
Local Utility Tax
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14. Operational Changes
Turn it off
Shift production to off-peak periods
Use start time and stop time optimization to
minimize consumption
Review daily demand graphs for
opportunities to peak shave or shift load
Determine cost benefit of installing more
efficient lighting and motors
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16. Billing Errors
Common causes of billing errors:
Metering errors
Calculation errors
Out of date rate schedules
Miscommunications between internal
departments
www.eDiscoveri.com 16
18. Rate Schedule Changes
Explore & understand available rate
schedules from local utility company
(electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, propane,
water/sewer).
Request rate comparison from utility or
energy consultant such as eDiscoveri.
www.eDiscoveri.com 18
19. GS-1, 2, 2T, 3 & 4
GS-1 – 30 kW or less
GS-2 – 30 kW – 500 kW
GS-2T – 30 kW – 500 kW Time of Usage
GS-3 – 500 kW or greater. Secondary Voltage
GS-4 – 500 kW or greater. Primary Voltage
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20. Dominion Virginia Power
Special Tariffs
Schedule 6TS – Thermal Storage
Schedule 10 – Large General Service
Variable Pricing
Calendar year divided into “A”, “B” and “C” days
“A” days most expensive. Maximum of 28 “A”
days in any calendar year
“B” days mid range
“C” days least expensive. Minimum of 60 “C” days
in any calendar year
Day classification found at +1 800 446 4877
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21. Dominion Virginia Power
Riders
Rider A – Fuel Charge Rider
Rider B – Biomass Conversion
Rider C1A – Peak-Shaving Increment Rider
Rider C2 – Energy Efficiency Increment Rider
Rider R – Bear Garden Generating Station
Rider S – Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center
Rider T1 – Transmission
Rider W – Warren County Power Station
Sales and Use Surchargewww.eDiscoveri.com 21
23. Tax Deductions & Exemptions
Tax Deductions & Incentives
The U.S. Department of Energy DSIRETM (Database
of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency)
www.dsireusa.org
Tax Exemptions
Sales tax exemptions available in some areas for
state and municipal sales tax on energy.
Sales tax refund ranging from 12 to 48 months
available in some areas.
www.eDiscoveri.com 23
25. Utility Rebates
Start your
investigation into
utility rebates at
www.dsireusa.org.
After locating a
rebate, check the
utility’s website to
confirm its availability.
Current programs from
one utility for
commercial and
industrial accounts
include:
Energy Audit
Duct Testing & Sealing
Distributed Generation
Lighting
Window Film
www.eDiscoveri.com 25
27. Utility Contract
Review Agreement for
Electric Service
(Contract) that most
commercial, industrial
and governmental
customers have with
the local electric utility.
Review Contract for
adjustment of rate
schedule, Contract
Minimum Demand and
extra charges such as
facilities charges.
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28. Metering
Primary Metering & Totalized Metering
Combining all of the meters into one monthly
invoice.
Reduction of the demand and demand cost
since most accounts don’t hit their daily peak
demands at the same time.
Sub-metering
Customer owned metering to measure
energy consumption of specific equipment or
business areas.
www.eDiscoveri.com
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30. Demand Response
Demand Response (also known as load
response) is end-use customers reducing their
use of electricity in response to power grid
needs in return for a payment.
End-use customers participate through
curtailment service providers.
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32. Alternative Financing Terms
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
Contract between two parties, one who generates
electricity for the purpose (the seller) and one who is
looking to purchase electricity (the buyer).
Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC)
Contracting vehicle that allows utilities to provide to
their Federal customers comprehensive energy and
water efficiency improvements and Demand-reduction
services.
Energy Saving Performance Contract (ESPC)
Allows Federal agencies to complete energy savings
projects without up-front capital costs and special
Congressional appropriations.
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33. 2 – Walk Through Energy
Audit
www.eDiscoveri.com 33
34. Walk-Through Energy Audit
Identifies energy cost, consumption, use,
location and timing.
Involves touring the facility and collecting
data that includes information on customer’s
site, operations, HVAC, processes, lighting,
envelope, refrigeration, and office
equipment.
Establishes baseline of energy consumption
and cost to measure success of future energy
projects.
www.eDiscoveri.com 34
36. Networking
Talk to your peers inside and outside of your
company.
Attend professional society meetings such as
IEEE, ASHRAE, and AEE.
Participate in LinkedIn on-line communities
such as Association of Energy Engineers.
Attend conferences.
Develop a personal energy training plan.
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38. Natural Gas
Rebates
Customer Incentive Programs
Heat Recovery
Solar Hot-Water
Retro-Commissioning
Control Systems
Rate Choice
Rate Comparisons
Tax Exemptions
www.eDiscoveri.com 38
39. Fuel Oil
Daily Prices
Fixed Contracts
Fill-Up during Summer and before Hurricane
Season
Tax Exemptions
www.eDiscoveri.com 39
40. Water/Sewer
Deduct/Exclusion Meter for applications such as
landscaping, manufacturing, etc.
Reduce Strong Waste Water Surcharge
Jet out lines that may be contaminated
Replace grease traps
Impervious Area Charge Incentive Programs
Rain gardens
Rain barrels
Pervious paving
Green Roofs
Storm water reuse
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42. About eDiscoveri
eDiscoveri's mission is
to help customers:
Manage relationships
with electric utilities
Increase operational
uptime through
improved electric
supply reliability
Reduce energy costs
www.eDiscoveri.com 42
43. Electric Utility Liaison
eDiscoveri can help customers
reduce the amount of their staff time
associated with electric utility
interactions by:
Assisting customers with managing
their relationships with electric
utilities
Managing periodic meetings with
various utility departments
Maintaining up to date utility
contact information
Developing, maintaining and
implementing communications
channels to be used during
emergencies
www.eDiscoveri.com 43
44. Electric Supply Reliability
eDiscoveri can help customers improve
their electric supply reliability by:
Maintaining a log of electric utility
disturbances and outages
Reporting disturbances and outages
to utility on behalf of customers
Managing communications between
utility and customer during electric
supply outage emergencies to
ensure minimal customer outage
time
Preparing report outlining root
cause of outage and recommending
preventive and mitigation measures
www.eDiscoveri.com 44
45. Contact Us
Contact us for a free
consultation on how
we can help you
discover low-cost/no-cost
strategies for
energy cost reduction.
eDiscoveri
P. O. Box 29254
Henrico, VA 23242
+1 804 291 7667 Cell
rwrussell2@eDiscoveri.com
www.eDiscoveri.com
www.eDiscoveri.com 45