ELECTRICAL ENERGY USAGE

The kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage of a facility can be reduced by turning off loads such as heating and air conditioning systems, lights, and office equipment when they are not needed. The installation of timers, photocells, or sophisticated computer-controlled energy-management systems can make substantial reductions in facility kWh demand each month. Common sense will dictate the conservation measures applicable to a particular situation. Obvious items include reducing the length of time high-power equipment is in operation, setting heating and cooling thermostats to reasonable levels, keeping office equipment turned off during the night, and avoiding excessive amounts of indoor or outdoor lighting.

Although energy conservation measures should be taken in every area of facility operation, the greatest savings generally can be found where the largest energy users are located. Transmitter plants, large machinery, and process drying equipment consume a huge amount of power, so particular attention should be given to such hardware. Consider the following:

• Use the waste heat from equipment at the site for other purposes, if practical. In the case of high power RF generators or transmitters, room heating can be accomplished with a logic-controlled power amplifier exhaust-air recycling system.

• Have a knowledgeable consultant plan the air-conditioning and heating system at the facility for efficient operation.

• Check thermostat settings on a regular basis, and consider installing time-controlled thermostats.
• Inspect outdoor-lighting photocells regularly for proper operation.

• Examine carefully the efficiency of high-power equipment used at the facility. New designs may offer substantial savings in energy costs.

The efficiency of large power loads, such as mainframe computers, transmitters, or industrial RF heaters, is an item of critical importance to energy conservation efforts. Most systems available today are significantly more efficient than their counterparts of just 10 years ago. Plant management often can find economic justification for updating or replacing an older system on the power savings alone. In virtually any facility, energy conservation can best be accomplished through careful selection of equipment, thoughtful system design, and conscientious maintenance practices.