My friend Andrew once learned that he was paying twice as much for electricity than his neighbour across the street. Similar house, similar family, similar lifestyle, same utility ... but neighbour paid $200 a month, while Andrew paid $400. So Andrew decided to tackle the issue. He invited a utility rep to do a walk [...]
An old engineering joke says that if it moves, but should not - use duct tape, if does not move, but should - WD-40. Though every joke contains a joke, this formula can be applied to a walk through energy audit: engineering knowledge and common sense will go a long way in identifying low hanging fruits [...]
An old adage goes that an engineer keeps working even standing in line to pay for beer. This certainly came true during my last vacation at a small resort by a warm sea. Several energy-related observations I made there illustrate what is commonly happening in industrial setting back home and provide actionable lessons. Following these [...]
Steam is one of the most expensive forms of energy at most manufacturing plants. Powerful boilers produce lots and lots of it. Surely a couple of small leaks cost next to nothing, right? Here is a simple way to assess what damage a leak makes to the bottom line. Idea of this post came from [...]
