An Energy Design Review is the most efficient way to reduce long-term operating energy costs at little to no additional investment costs for a new facility yet to be built.
Who is it for?
- for companies planning on large expansions or reconstructions or new developments of industrial facilities
What can you achieve with an EDR?
- Reduced long-term energy expenses from the first day
- Decreased long-term energy intensity and improved operational efficiency
- Significant reduction of total cost of ownership (TCO = investment and operating costs)
While every architect and design team these days possess valuable knowledge for energy efficiency in the design of factory buildings, employing a specialist can significantly further reduce operating costs that easily cover the additional required investment in only several months and generate savings for the long-term.
The key is to make energy efficiency changes to your plant while the new plant is only in the design phase so the energy consumption of the factory is reduced to its optimum from the beginning.
Typical examples:
- Design engineers are usually asked to design a new building or installation at lowest investment costs possible while still complying with minimal design requirements. This can lead to a situation where an HVAC system is installed which despite its lower investment costs of, say, 20 000€ uses that same amount of money in increased annual operation costs compared to a superior system with better controls. In other words, an investment into the more expensive system has a payback of only one year and delivers significant savings each year thereafter. What seemed more expensive on first sight is actually a much more economic solution in the mid- to long-term.
- Another example are air handling units which usually these days include efficient heat recuperation and low voltage high efficiency motors. The supplier is happy to have saved his customer significant energy costs with this state-of-the-art equipment. However, even this new installation harbors further potential for energy optimization once adapted to the specific production scenario it is used in and given that its controls allow for such fine-tuning.
The key to successful energy management is to install the equipment, that you plan to invest in at your new facility, with sufficient control features to make it adaptable to the given needs of production and to changing conditions such as season, lighting levels etc. This is what an EDR can provide you with before you commit to the investment.