Energy management in operational functions[edit]
Facility management[edit]
Facility management is an important part of energy management, because a huge proportion (average 25 per cent) of complete operating costs are energy costs. According to the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), facility management is "a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, processes and technology."
The central task of energy management is to reduce costs for the provision of energy in buildings and facilities without compromising work processes. Especially the availability and service life of the equipment and the ease of use should remain the same. The German Facility Management Association (GEFMA e.V.) has published guidelines (e.g. GEFMA 124-1 and 124-2), which contain methods and ways of dealing with the integration of energy management in the context of a successful facility management.[2] In this topic the facility manager has to deal with economic, ecological, risk-based and quality-based targets. He tries to minimize the total cost of the energy-related processes (supply, distribution and use).[3]
The Passivhaus uses a combination of low-energy building techniques and technologies.
The most important key figure in this context is kilowatt-hours per square meter per year (kWh/m²a). Based on this key figure properties can be classified according to their energy consumption.
Europe: In Germany a low-energy house can have a maximum energy consumption of 70 kWh/m²a.
North America: In the United States, the ENERGY STAR program is the largest program defining low-energy homes. Homes earning ENERGY STAR certification use at least 15% less energy than standard new homes built to the International Residential Code, although homes typically achieve 20%-30% savings.[4]
In comparison, the Passive house (Passivhaus in German) ultra-low-energy standard, currently undergoing adoption in some other European countries, has a maximum space heating requirement of 15 kWh/m²a. A Passive House is a very well-insulated and virtually air-tight building. It does not require a conventional heating system. It is heated by solar gain and internal gains from people. Energy losses are minimized.[5]
There are also buildings that produce more energy (for example by solar water heating or photovoltaic systems) over the course of a year than it imports from external sources. These buildings are called energy-plus-houses.[6]
In addition, the work regulations manage competencies, roles and responsibilities. Because the systems also include risk factors (e.g., oil tanks, gas lines), you must ensure that all tasks are clearly described and distributed. A clear regulation can help to avoid liability risks.[7]
Logistics[edit]
Carriage of goods
Logistics is the management of the flow of resources between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet some requirements, for example of customers or corporations. Especially the core logistics task, transportation of the goods, can save costs and protect the environment through efficient energy management. The relevant factors are the choice of means of transportation, duration and length of transportation and cooperation with logistics service providers.
The logistics causes more than 14% percent of CO2 emissions worldwide. For this reason the term Green Logistics is becoming increasingly important.
Possible courses of action in terms of green logistics are:[8]
Shift to ecofriendly transport carrier such as railroad and waterway
Route and load optimization
Formation of corporate networks, which are connected by logistics service
Optimizing physical logistics processes by providing a sophisticated IT support
Besides transportation of goods, the transport of persons should be an important part of the logistic strategy of organizations. In case of business trips it is important to attract attention to the choice and the proportionality of the means of transport. It should be balanced whether a physical presence is mandatory or a telephone or video conference is just as useful. Home Office is another possibility in which the company can protect the environment indirectly.[9]
Energy procurement[edit]
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. Energy prices fluctuate constantly, which can significantly affect the energy bill of organizations. Therefore poor energy procurement decisions can be expensive. Organizations can control and reduce energy costs by taking a proactive and efficient approach to buying energy. Even a change of the energy source can be a profitable and eco-friendly alternative.[10]
Production[edit]
Production is the act of creating output, a good or service which has value and contributes to the utility of individuals.[11] This central process may differ depending on the industry. Industrial companies have facilities that require a lot of energy. Service companies, in turn, do not need many materials, their energy-related focus is mainly facility management or Green IT. Therefore the energy-related focus has to be identified first, then evaluated and optimized.
Production planning and control[edit]
Usually, production is the area with the largest energy consumption within an organization. Therefore also the production planning and control becomes very important. It deals with the operational, temporal, quantitative and spatial planning, control and management of all processes that are necessary in the production of goods and commodities. The "production planner" should plan the production processes so that they operate on an energy efficient way. For example, strong power consumer can be moved into the night time. Peaks should be avoided for the benefit of a unified load profile.
The impending changes in the structure of energy production require an increasing demand for storage capacity. The Production planning and control has to deal with the problem of limited storability of energy. In principle there is the possibility to store energy electrically, mechanically or chemically. Another trend-setting technology is lithium-based electrochemical storage, which can be used in electric vehicles or as an option to control the power grid. The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology realized the significance of this topic and established an initiative with the aim to promote technological breakthroughs and support the rapid introduction of new energy storage.[12]
Maintenance[edit]
Maintenance is the combination of all technical and administrative actions, including supervision actions, intended to retain an item in, or restore it to, a state in which it can perform a required function.[13] Detailed maintenance is essential to support the energy management. Hereby power losses and cost increases can be avoided.[14]
Examples of how it is possible to save energy and costs with the help of maintenance:
Defrost the fridges
Check the barometer of cars and trucks
Insulation of hot systems
Improve leaks in building envelopes
Information technology[edit]
The center of an environmental and resource saving structure of information technology is Green IT. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan defines the field of green computing as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems — efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment.”[15] This includes the optimization of resource consumption during manufacturing, operation and disposing of computers. With the help of IT, work processes can be eliminated or improved energetically.[16]
Approaches:
Production of devices: You should make sure that the equipment was manufactured resource-conserving and consume less power than comparable devices.
Energy Star Label
Purchase and operation of equipment: Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products originated in the United States of America. The Energy Star label can help to identify energy efficient devices. Important elements are for example more efficient power adapter, a modern stand-by and sleep mode.[17]
IT support: Many programs support organizations to conserve energy. This includes large ERP systems as well as the IT support of small systems. There are also commercial energy management systems.