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Many types of organizations in the Puget Sound Region benefit from PSE's energy-efficiency programs, proving the point that responsible use of energy resources can improve the bottom line for virtually any type of business or institution. This issue of Re-Energize Your Business includes news about energy efficiency in healthcare, cultural, military and wastewater treatment facilities - now that is covering our bases. PSE grants and rebates for non-residential buildings offer something for nearly everyone who wants to use energy more wisely. |
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PSE Provides Energy-Efficiency Grant to Olympia's Providence St. Peter Hospital
Providence St. Peter Hospital |
PSE recently awarded Providence St. Peter Hospital (PSPH) an energy-efficiency grant totaling $458,343.23. The grant helped the Olympia hospital purchase a system designed to recycle the boiler heat that would otherwise vent into the atmosphere. The otherwise wasted energy is now being used to heat part of the hospital and provide hot water.
This project is estimated to save the hospital about $60,000 in natural gas costs per year. Reducing the reliance on natural gas has also helped PSPH reduce their carbon footprint.
"Conservation projects are core to our mission," said Casey Cochrane, PSE Government and Communications Relations Manager. "Part of our biggest initiative is to have people use energy more efficiently." |
PSE and Museum Keep the Glass Hot While Keeping Energy Usage and Costs Down
Tacoma's Museum of Glass (MOG) is using a lot less energy to create their unique glass-blown art these days, thanks to a $14,597 energy-efficiency grant from PSE, the museum's natural gas provider. In 2009, one of the two "hot shop" furnaces, where the glass art pieces are produced, stopped working and needed to be rebuilt. MOG replaced the furnace with a more efficient unit equipped with an energy-saving heat recuperator. Not a bad idea, considering each furnace uses a high volume of energy by holding up to 1,000 pounds of molten glass, operating 24 hours a day and reaching temperatures of 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit.
The recuperator is estimated to preheat the combustion intake air (roughly 70 degrees Fahrenheit) to around 400 degrees Fahrenheit before it is delivered to the burner, reducing the work of the burner, and reusing the heat that would have been exhausted into the atmosphere.
The PSE grant, which covered 70 percent of the upgrade to an efficient furnace with heat recuperator, is estimated to provide MOG a savings of 3,950 therms per year, which equates to $2,272 per year in natural gas costs. This makes for a speedy payback of 2.3 years.
The recuperator project was completed late last year, and now MOG's "hot shop," the largest and most active in the country, can serve as a demonstration site for other shops interested in improving their efficiency.
Click here for more information on the Museum of Glass. |
LOTT Alliance Receives Energy Efficiency Leader Award for Budd Inlet Treatment Plant Retrofit Project
JOHN DAMITIO I LOTT CLEAN WATER ALLIANCE Ribbon cutting on the new cogeneration system at the Budd Inlet treatment plant. (Front row from left to right) Scott Harbers, Trane; Howard Weisberg, LOTT; Chao Chen, PSE; Jim Hayes, Washington General Services. (Back row) LOTT operations staff  |
The LOTT (Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Thurston County) Alliance received the Trane "Energy Efficiency Leader Award" on May 6 for their sustainable energy and operational efficiency improvements. Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand, is a global provider of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and building management systems and controls under the Trane
and American Standard
brand names. Award recipients are selected for excellence in leveraging improvements in building design, renovation, construction, and operations to achieve real business outcomes, such as lowering energy and operating costs.
The award ceremony was held at the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant in Olympia, where LOTT installed a new energy recovery generation (ERG) system in 2009 with the help of a $1.7 million energy-efficiency grant from PSE. The grant represents 70 percent of an estimated total project cost of $2.4 million for the ERG system project and more than $300,000 for the aeration blower upgrade. The combined projects are expected to result in an energy savings of more than 2.8 million kilowatt hours per year, enough to power more than 210 Thurston County homes. The projects are also expected to save LOTT more than $228,000 per year in utility costs.
The ERG system, expected to save nearly $180,000 a year in utility costs on its own, enables the plant to provide all of the heating required at the site as a "district heating" plant, eliminating the need to burn off excess digester gas and greatly reducing the emissions of the site. An innovative technology, the ERG system supports plans to earn LEED certification for the LOTT regional services center and the new Hands On Children's Museum.
The aeration blower retrofit, scheduled for completion in August 2010, is expected to save more than $48,000 in utility costs for LOTT. The retrofit will replace one of the large existing blowers with a smaller, high-efficiency, high-speed turbine blower. The new blower will become the primary operating unit, serving approximately 95 percent of the plant's aeration system needs. This will allow the plant to increase overall aeration system efficiency and meet future aeration process demands.
"As a public wastewater treatment facility, responsible use of community resources represents the core of our work," said Doug Mah, President of the LOTT Alliance board of directors and Mayor of the City of Olympia. "We're pleased that we can further our commitment to environmental stewardship with these improvements and that these upgrades will also benefit our new neighbors at the museum." |
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PSE Helps United States Military Become More
Energy Efficient
You may already know that the United States military uses an enormous amount of energy, but you may not know that PSE has spent the last 10 years helping to reduce that energy use on military bases in the Puget Sound Region with energy-efficiency grants and rebates totaling $2.17 million. These grants and rebates were used to implement energy-saving measures such as replacing inefficient lighting, upgrading HVAC systems and installing vending machine controls - resulting in a savings of 18.3 kilowatt hours and almost 1 million therms each year.
In 1999, PSE provided a grant to help the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Keyport, WA fund one of the Navy's first Resource Conservation Managers (RCMs). Hired to provide a behavioral and awareness efficiency campaign, this RCM reviewed operational procedures for saving energy and performed detailed tracking of energy use. Under a basic ordering agreement contract, PSE Energy Management Engineers (EMEs) also worked closely with the base to reduce energy consumption. Thus began PSE's fruitful relationship with the military resulting in substantial energy efficiency.
PSE continued to support the energy-efficiency efforts of local military in 2005 by awarding $18,538 in energy-efficiency grants for Fort Lewis. The grants went toward a natural gas boiler replacement and funding for an RCM, and provided natural gas savings of 256,477 therms over three years. From here, PSE and military efforts to decrease usage and increase efficiency only grew.
The efforts of the RCM and EMEs paid off for the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in 2008, when the facility was awarded the prestigious platinum-level "Energy and Water Management Award" by the Secretary of the Navy at a ceremony held at the Navy Memorial in Washington D.C. This award recognized the outstanding energy program and exceptional year for energy project execution.
"PSE is proud to have facilitated our Navy colleagues' efforts and garnered this much-deserved award for their energy savings," said Cal Shirley, vice president of Energy Efficiency Services for PSE.
In addition to the platinum award, the base was given $5,000 and the privilege to fly the Secretary of the Navy's Energy Flag for one year.
PSE recently provided a grant to help the Madigan Hospital install energy-efficiency upgrades to a steam plant. As of early April, PSE gave a $950,000 energy-efficiency grant to help fund the insulation of four warehouses at Joint Base Lewis-McChord to further efficiency and savings. |
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Considering a Standby Generator for Your Business? PSE Can Help!
At PSE, we work hard to provide reliable electricity service for your business. Unfortunately, events beyond our control such as storms, flooding, vehicle accidents, vandalism and even wildlife activity can cause outages.
Loss of power can cost businesses substantial money. That's why many commercial customers approach PSE for assistance and information about standby generators. Determining the size and type of standby generator you need can be very confusing. PSE's experienced staff is available to assist you as you determine which product will best suit your business needs.
During power interruptions, a properly-installed standby generator can safely power many or all of your business operations. If you utilize a standby generator, it is essential to do so in a safe and legal manner.
PSE's Contractor Referral Service can recommend a local pre-screened contractor to install your generator. Additionally, PSE staff can assist you with information on planning, natural gas fuel needs, permitting and installing equipment.
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PSE Hosts Successful West Coast Energy
Management Congress
PSE Energy Management Engineers provided energy-efficiency information to conference attendees |
The 28th annual
West Coast Energy Management Congress (EMC), hosted by PSE at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, turned out to be a great success - attracting about 2,000 participants.
Attendees were treated to informative educational sessions presented by top energy experts from around the region, and over 150 exhibitor booths. Some attendees took advantage of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) seminars held in conjunction with the EMC. These seminars provided architects, engineers and facility managers with valuable continuing education on subjects including energy auditing, power quality and carbon reduction - all important topics with the country's current focus on energy solutions.
The 2011 West Coast Energy Management Congress will be held in Long Beach, CA. Click here for more information.
Thanks to everyone who attended and helped to make this year's conference a success. |
We hope that this issue has provided you with some ideas and resources to improve energy efficiency at your business. Let us know if you have ideas for future articles. Please look for our next issue in October 2010.
Thanks for using energy wisely,
Your energy specialists at Puget Sound Energy |
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