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Reducing energy consumption in production process

Improvement <- B: manufacture intensive <-

Checklist for ECODESIGN analysis

Product
Are the production technologies used in the manufacture of the product energy efficient?
  
  
What is the energy consumption for each of the production stages in the manufacture of the product? Is there a savings potential by using other, more energy efficient technologies? Does the production technology for a given component correspond to best practice in energy efficiency?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Use energy efficient production technologies
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Has energy consumption in the manufacture of the product been minimized through optimal process design?
  
  
What are the relevant process parameters influencing energy consumption? Are these parameters constantly monitored and is the production process controlled accordingly?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Reduce energy consumption by optimum process design
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Are renewable energy sources used in the manufacture of the product and its components?
  
  
What renewable energy sources are available in sufficient quantities and adequate quality? Can the energy demand in the production be met – at least in part – by renewable energy sources? What measures could be taken to make possible the use of renewables or to increase the portion of renewable sources in the production process?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Preferably use renewable energy resources
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Are regionally available energy resources used in the manufacture of the product and its components?
  
  
What energy sources are regionally available? Can the energy demand in the production process be covered at least partially by regionally available energy resources? What measures could be taken to make possible the use of regionally available energy resources or to increase their proportion in the production process?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Preferably use regionally available energy resources
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Is the overall energy demand of the production site lower than for other, comparable locations?
  
  
Have the individual energy flows and the concomitant costs been assessed in detail? Has a comprehensive energy balance for the whole production site been established?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Minimize overall energy consumption of production site
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline


Approach to assessment:
  1. Relevance:
    Rate the relevance of the assessment question with a view to your product. (10...very important for my product; 5...less important for my product; 0...not relevant for my product).
  2. Fullfilment:
    Estimate the fulfilment of the assessment questions using one of the four possible answers (yes / rather yes / rather no / no); the additional questions support understanding of the assessment question and need not be answered.
  3. Priority:
    Select ECODESIGN tasks with high priority (P) and continue only with these.
  4. Idea for Realization:
    Find ideas to realize these ECODESIGN tasks. The content of the learning part with its examples shall assist you in doing that.
  5. Feasibility:
    Evaluate the feasibility of the suggested ideas (difficult / easy).
  6. Costs:
    Compare the costs of the new ideas with a reference situation (higher / same / lower) and give reason for that.
  7. Action:
    Decide when to carry out the ECODESIGN tasks (at once / later / never) and determine the person or department that shall be in charge of further steps in the realizing the product improvements and fix a deadline.
  8. Save:
    Save the checklist to document the ECODESIGN assessment.

 

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Use energy efficient production technologies

The type of production technology may have a decisive influence on the energy consumption in the manufacture of a product. Selecting adapted production technologies contributes to the minimization of energy demand. The objective is to analyze the energy consumption of the individual stages of production and, on the basis of this knowledge, to make manufacture of the product as effective as possible. This aspect should be taken into account when deciding for or against a certain production technology. In most cases, there are standard values for the energy equivalent of individual production stages (e.g. plastic processing).


Reduce energy consumption by optimum process design

In addition to using energy efficient technologies an optimized process design also contributes to a reduction of energy consumption, which, in turn, reduces the environmental impact caused by the generation of energy provided for the production process. Savings can be realized through constant monitoring and optimization of the process parameters (e.g. temperature, quantity of auxiliary material used, etc.) by means of computerized process control.


Preferably use renewable energy resources

With a view to a sustainable energy supply the use of renewable energy resources such as solar energy, biomass, hydroelectric power, wind energy, and geothermal energy is imperative. However, in this context one has to keep in mind that these natural resources must not be over-used as they are renewable only within the scope of their natural regenerative ability. Therefore, the issue of energy efficiency is an important factor in the context of renewables. Similarly, the environmental impact caused by the utilization of renewable energy sources must not be neglected.


Preferably use regionally available energy resources

The utilization of renewable energy sources is closely related to the utilization of regionally available energy resources. Thus, the use of regionally available biomass reduces hauling distances and, as a consequence, the consumption of fossil energy sources for the transportation of biomass.


Minimize overall energy consumption of production site

An important prerequisite for the reduction of the overall energy consumption of a production site consists in the analysis of energy flows and the concomitant costs. This will yield an assessment of the savings potential, which may serve as a basis for targeted measures. These will largely depend on the type and amount of energy required. One possible approach to a reduction of the overall energy consumption consists in cascading the utilization of heat at different temperature levels, another one in using combined heat and power plants (CHP) for the generation of heat and electricity. By re-using waste heat as process heat efficiency levels of more than 80% may be realized.