Product category:
Maintenance planning, services and equipment
News Release from: Eriks UK | Subject: WYKO's thermography department at Coors
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 19 March 2008
Thermography team fine tunes energy
efficiency
A thermography department studied the heat and energy loss from other diverse areas of a brewery plant and offered a potential of saving up to GBP 60,000 in annual energy costs.
WYKO's thermography department, based in Tyseley, Birmingham, UK, has achieved a notable success in offering the Coors brewery in Burton the potential to save up to GBP 60,000 in annual energy costs Coors worked with WEMS (WYKO Electro Mechanical Services - an Eriks company) and initiated a survey, using thermal imaging
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 8 Feb 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The comapny had traditionally used thermal imaging for condition monitoring, to study the heat and energy loss from other diverse areas of its facility.
Taking two days, the survey cost Coors less than GBP 1,000 and was conducted using a FLIR ThermaCAM P640.
The survey covered boiler houses, overhead pipe work, tank houses, brew house, powder rooms and outside areas across the No1 brewery.
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Duncan Webb, thermography business development manager at WYKO, said: "Our work with Coors offers a great example of the capability of the thermography department.
We assess the integrity of a customer's building.
We look at their pipe work, heating systems, cooling equipment, windows, roofs, lagging, floors and spot areas of inefficiency.
We then offer hard figures which show directly the costs incurred by different types of heat loss and present the customer with recommendations, a budget quotation for repair work, and offer a follow-up survey to confirm that the work has solved the relevant problems".
Once the survey was complete a simple to understand report was generated for Coors' energy manager, that gave digital photographs alongside thermographic images highlighting 'hot spots'.
Alongside this WEMS also provided an easy to use power loss calculation.
The total power loss is a combination of the loss through convection and radiation.
The power emitted from a pipe is calculated and, as the price of electricity per kW/h for Coors is known, then the cost to heat the surrounding air can be determined.
* Potential energy costs savings - this report highlighted an enormous range of potential savings for the brewery from GBP 288/year for a minor loss up to GBP 21,000/year for some outside pipework.
The report identified potential savings of around GBP 60,000.
To achieve this saving the brewery would have to invest in some repair work, all of which can be done through WEMS.
As a result of the thermographic survey several steam leaks were also identified which were not taken account of in the total power loss calculations.
As even a 1/4in inch hole can cost over GBP 200/week, eliminating these types of leak could provide further savings, which are not included in main report.
The use of the thermal surveying to identify energy saving opportunities is another novel use of thermographic technology which is fully supported by Coors.
Coors energy manager commented that expanding the use of thermal imaging on the site through the WEMS project is just another example of how Coors is embracing best practice.
Because of the non-invasive nature of the technology the survey was carried out quickly and with no disruption to the site or production.
He said: "The potential areas which the report has highlighted will, once the changes are implemented, represent a significant energy saving for us which is important for our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) position, and our business and our financial bottom line".
As well as investing in equipment, WYKO has also invested in the training of its staff and it now has access to 30 thermographic technicians, located throughout the UK, that are qualified to conduct thermographic surveys at a customers site.
Acting as a valuable resource to customers amid the fluctuating ecological landscape WYKO can even help in dealing with The Carbon Trust and offer expert advice on how best customers can approach using Energy Saving Loans. Request a free brochure from Eriks UK ...
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