Free energy-use assessments saving companies thousands
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
GROVEPORT — Hague Quality Water International treated itself to an early Christmas this year, carving out potential energy savings for the company of $25,000 to $30,000 per year.
In November, Hague took advantage of the free services provided by the University of Dayton Industrial Assessment Center (UD-IAC), one of 26 regional IACs funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct free energy-use assessments for mid-sized companies.
A small team of faculty, professional staff and trained students from UD spent a day visiting the Hague facility outside Columbus, where the company manufactures home water treatments systems for distribution around the world. The team delivers a final report to each company it assesses within four weeks of its visit.
Rodger Rhinehart, Hague's chief engineer, said the UD team "talked about very specific things we could do to save on energy," including switching to high-efficiency fluorescent lighting, reusing water in its cooling towers, repairing air leaks in its compressor system and upgrading its heating system.
In all, Rhinehart expects the changes will save the company $25,000 to $30,000 a year on its energy bill, which ran to $233,000 last year.
"Like all industry in this country, we're looking at any means to be more efficient as a way to compete with those in foreign countries," Rhinehart said. "We can't necessarily compete on cost of labor, but we try to be very efficient in our technology."
The team's assessments are independent and based entirely on the company's needs, not the desire to generate sales of equipment or consulting fees, said Kelly Kissock, director of UD-IAC and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
Since 1981, the UD-IAC has helped more than 750 small- and medium-size companies reduce costs and stay competitive, Kissock said. The team helps about 25 firms a year on a first-come, first-serve basis. Only manufacturing firms with average yearly energy costs of $100,000 to $2.5 million a year can qualify.
Over the past five years, UD-IAC clients have reported saving an average of about $100,000 per year as a result of the assessments, Kissock said.
For more information about the center, call (937) 229-2852.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2437 or
jdebrosse@DaytonDailyNews.com.
