TIPCHECK energy audits applied: Saint-Gobain Isover best practice energy management programme to utilize saving potentials of thermal efficiency in energy-intense industrial plants

Panel: 3. Energy management: the nuts and bolts

Author:
Michael Berger, Saint-Gobain Isover G+H AG, BUTI, Germany

Abstract

When thinking about Energy Management many times reduction of thermal losses are still surprisingly seldom considered or even completely forgotten throughout thewhole industrial sector and EU region. The potential in this scope is huge and solutions needed are many times relative to other energy saving methods easy to implement and less expensive - but the awareness remains low and the impact underestimated. When the thermal design of tanks, pipes and other industrial equipment hasn’t been performed considering increase of prices of energy, best available techniques or they have been designed following old fashion-based design models and focus on personal protection of hot and cold surfaces only, the system is out of date and decreasing thermal losses comes as a huge opportunity to save money, resources and CO2 emissions. In some cases it can even improve stability of industrial processes, either in product or process quality. TIPCHECK audits are a systematical approach to the topic, based on the methodology developed by EiiF (European Industrial Insulation Foundation). Saint-Gobain Isover decided last year, as a pioneer, to perform TIPCHECK audits as part of the energy management and ISO 50001 audits in all of SAINTGOBAIN’s energy-intense industrial facilities in Europe during the next years. The program started last year in Spain when 4 TIPCHECK audits have been realized with results that were proving the energy saving potentials in general and can be seen as a good practice example of what can be gained in any industrial plants working with higher process temperatures and intensive energy use. Being not only an energy-intensive industrial player by its own but also an insulation manufacturer same time SAINT-GOBAIN ISOVER can demonstrate how easily tailor-made solutions can be developed in most of the cases with pay-back times less than one year in some of them.