Energy & Power, Heating, Cooling & Drying

Energy management systems to become mandatory from 2013 onwards

Phil Black - PII Editor 27/09/2011

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With effect from 2013, energy management systems will become imperative if companies seek to receive tax benefits. The establishment of a corporate EnMS is described in documents including the EN 16001 standard.

To stay competitive, production facilities and processes must be continuously modernised and optimised to reflect the state of the art. Closer analysis shows that almost any system offers potential areas for savings. In awareness of this, the political arena is promoting the implementation of energy management systems (EnMS) at an early stage.

Since the beginning of this year, companies able to furnish evidence of an energy management system (EnMS) have had the possibility of benefiting from cuts in energy and electricity taxes. Another attractive option is that of low-interest loans to unlock potential savings by improving energy efficiency and realising optimisation measures. 2011 and 2012 have been deemed a transitional period for companies to lay the foundations for EnMS implementation and thus for systematic recording of their energy demand. From 2013 onwards, a fully functioning EnMS will be imperative in order to take advantage of tax benefits. However, all EnMS in the above cases without exception require certification by an impartial third party.

Technical prerequisites for an EnMS

The basic function of every EnMS is to supply an overview of the systems used in a company. EnMS are used not only to improve energy consumption and demand, but also to record them and draw up an energy balance. This requires enormous amounts of data on energy-related processes to be collated and appropriately processed, a task which can only be realised by computer-based systems. The measurement devices installed on the key consumers supply data which are then recorded, catalogued and evaluated by the accompanying software. Existing process control systems can be used for on-demand control of individual devices.

A data acquisition system as a basic part of an EnMS is a combination of hardware and software components that can be tailored to the needs of a specific company. The central elements of an EnMS comprise measuring sensors for the energy carriers used – including electricity, gas, water, heat, compressed air etc. – and decentralised electronic data loggers. Further key elements include signal lines (electrical lines, ethernet, telephone connections etc.) and IT. Data recording and evaluation can be done on a normal commercially available PC equipped with visualisation and parameterisation software. This equipment can be used to prepare load and consumption curves, which are critical for subsequent energy reports, and energy accounting that can be allocated to individual cost centres. Online measurements assist in establishing targeted control of energy demand and energy flow at a later stage.

Higher efficiency in the Leuna Chemical Park

TÜV SÜD Industrie Service supported Innospec Leuna GmbH in improving its energy efficiency. In this example, the energy experts presented a comprehensive analysis of energy demand and designed tailored improvements for the company”s high-pressure polymerisation plant. Innospec Leuna is a member of the international company Innospec Specialty Chemicals Inc. The company produces speciality chemicals, including special plastics and chemical additives, at its location at LEUNA Chemical Park in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany where it is currently implementing a state-of-the-art EnMS.

One of the prerequisites for implementing an energy management system is a systematic inventory of energy demand. The TÜV SÜD experts worked closely with the engineers at Innospec to analyse both time-specific energy consumption and grid quality. Detailed assessments were conducted of individual systems with noticeable peak loads and the steam management system. In an industry benchmark comparison, the polymerisation plant at Leuna was shown to have excessive electricity and steam consumption, resulting in slightly above-average energy costs.

Energy screening as per DIN standard

The European standard EN 16001, passed in August 2009, provides guidance for EnMS implementation. In many parts, the standard closely follows the ISO 14001 standard on environmental management. While many companies have already established an environmental management system in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard, an EnMS in accordance with the new EU standard can either be implemented independently of existing management systems or integrated into them.

In Leuna, the experts started by performing in-depth screening of the energy supply and energy input for each stage of the process. The core process at the Leuna plant is polymerisation. One of the central systems in this process is a hyper-compressor, used for the initial processing of the raw materials, which consumes a substantial amount of the overall energy used. Other large-scale energy consumers comprise the intermediate compressor station, the cooling circuits and various individual consumers grouped together for the purpose of analysis.

In a second step, the experts used the compiled data to determine possible potential for savings and suggest improvement measures, including new, more energy-efficient drive systems and motors. Further measures included control of the volume flow and pressure of the cooling circuit pumps, and the utilisation of excess low-pressure steam.

Every measure is scrutinised

Not all measures taken to improve energy efficiency make equally good sense from both a technical and an economic perspective. Given this, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service provides assistance with sustainable investment planning in the form of a comprehensive energy audit. The pros and cons of the use of heat recovery systems, improved insulation, motion-controlled lighting and improved algorithms in electronic control systems must be considered carefully in cost-benefit analyses. Another possibility to reduce energy costs is the temporary shutdown of sub-systems when not in use and the recovery and efficient use of waste heat. In these areas, minor improvements over time can add up to significant savings. Innospec Leuna succeeded in further reducing its energy costs. In the future, the EnMS will open up further areas of significant potential savings.

By Dr Michael Bunk, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service and Dr Silvio Kammer, Innospec Leuna

TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH
Drescherhäuser 5d
01159 Dresden

can be contacted on:

Tel.: (+49) 351 42 02 315
Fax: (+49) 351 42 02 356
E-mail: michael.bunk@tuev-sued.de
www.tuev-sued.de/is