Endress+Hauser's Power & Energy Industry Manager, Wes Allen highlights the benefits of energy measurement and monitoring on steam boiler plants.
• Comply with UK regulations and policy
• Reduction on energy spend
• Set effective targets
• Track blow down, fuel to steam efficiency, economiser heat recovery and condensate return
• ISO50001 / ISO14001 compliance
• Reduced environmental impact
In 2019 the UK Climate Change Act was amended so that we could end our contribution to global warming by 2050. This Net Zero target means that to stay on track, we will have to reduce emissions by two thirds by 2035.
More recently the emissions targets were adjusted to include a 78% reduction by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.
The recent industrial decarbonisation strategy from the government focusses on the adoption of low carbon technologies. However, it also states energy efficiency will play a crucial role in reducing emissions in industry over the next decade.
Decarbonising heat isn’t cheap or easy, and in most cases will only become an option towards the end of the decade when technologies are incentivised and feasible.
The steady rise in global wholesale gas prices since January 2021 has recently come to a head with some companies considering stopping production to cut costs. Unlike the domestic sector, as yet, industry has no price cap or protection to price increases.
On process plants, industrial consumers mainly use fuel for heating, but now faced with massive hikes to annual energy spend, they need to look at ways to reduce the energy used.
Wes Allen is the Power & Energy Industry Manager at Endress+Hauser Ltd. With over 30 years’ experience in the field of process instrumentation, Wes mainly carries out a mixture of marketing, consultancy and business development work, helping customers in the Power & Energy industry with their applications, and with a particular focus on energy data management and reporting solutions.
For the majority of his working life, Wes has been involved in flow measurement, particularly steam, heat and gas measurement. For the last 10 years he has operated as an Ofgem approved Competent Person, supporting customers in their application for renewable heat and power accreditation.
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Absolutely! Furnaces and boilers can be retrofitted to increase their efficiency. These upgrades improve the safety and efficiency of otherwise sound, older systems. The costs of retrofits should be carefully weighed against the cost of a new boiler or furnace, especially if replacement is likely within a few years or if you wish to switch to a different system for other reasons, such as adding air conditioning.