The increase in corn prices and energy costs in 2008 has put more pressure on poultry companies to find ways to be more energy efficient and reduce their electric costs. The utility industry, state agencies, and consultants are being called upon to perform energy audits at processing plants throughout the country. An energy audit is an excellent method for establishing energy consumption and identifying opportunities to lower energy usage and costs.

There are many avenues for pursuing energy savings, but they generally fall into three categories: first, low-cost measures to be implemented immediately; second, projects that will take an initial investment but have quick paybacks; and finally, projects that may be more attractive in the future if energy costs increase.

Low-cost opportunities include fixing anything that leaks and making sure that energy use is tailored to the electric rate for the specific plant. Steam, hot water, and compressed air are expensive to produce, and leaks can cause even more expense. Repairing any leaks or faulty components (like steam traps) is a great way to cut a plant’s energy costs.

Lighting is another quick way to reduce costs over time. A number of poultry plants use high pressure sodium or metal halide fixtures that should be considered for replacement by more energy efficient (T8) fluorescent lighting with electronic ballasts. The payback for fluorescents can range from less than a year to two years depending on the lighting system that is being used at the plant. It is important to get several bids from lighting vendors, and then allow your energy consultant or utility provider to verify the numbers for accuracy. There are also tax deductions for lighting retrofits completed by December 31, 2013.

An energy audit is helpful in determining if you need to replace heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems with new equipment and perhaps install heat reclamation systems. Air conditioning is usually one of the larger energy users in most buildings. The standard for split systems (under 5 tons) manufactured after January 23, 2006 is 13.0 SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) minimum for cooling. Also, the filters should be replaced every month.

The energy audit should also include an examination of the electric rate. Many electric providers have real-time rates or time-of-use rates that provide incentives to reduce demand and usage during the 2 p.m. through 7 p.m. time period in the summer months. The prices for electricity are temperature dependent; the hotter the day the more expensive the kilowatt-hour price. In all of the air conditioning and refrigerated areas of the plant, it is a good idea to shift heat-producing loads to the cooler parts of the day. Good candidates for load shifting are batch-type loads that can be started after one peak period and finished before the next peak period. Battery charging can usually be controlled to run only during the off-peak hours.

Process heating in poultry plants is accomplished using either gas or electric boilers or sometimes both. For a gas boiler, minimizing the excess oxygen in the combustion process can improve efficiency. The installation of an oxygen trimmer can add 2% to its efficiency.

If a gas boiler needs replacing, then an electric option should be considered for fuel switching purposes. This provides more flexibility during periods of high natural gas or electric prices. In addition, electric or electrode boilers have smaller footprints and are on the order of 99% efficient.

Motor efficiency can save electric costs. An energy audit can help you determine the amount of work that a motor is actually doing. Having large power motors working at a fraction of their capacity is inefficient. Also, fully loaded motors should be replaced with higher efficiency motors. Variable speed drives on pumps and fans can save a significant amount of energy if the pumps are operated under partial loading conditions.

Compressed air is another large consumer of energy that could be targeted for savings. Typically only 50% of the compressed air produced is actually used to manufacture product, the remaining 50% is wasted through leaks, misuse, and artificially high pressure. Leaks should be found and repaired. A continuous flow of 100 psig compressed air through an eighth inch hole will cost a plant $2,000 annually if the system is pressured for 6,240 hours a year. A useful tool in locating leaks is the ultrasonic leak detector. Also, the control system should be optimized based on the duty cycle needs of the compressor. Multiple compressors should be controlled by a central unit if possible.

Conducting an energy audit is a great way to really understand the energy usage of a plant and to find opportunities to save energy through energy efficiency measures. Some of these measures to cut costs have quick paybacks such as lighting and finding leaks in the compressed air system, and others are more capital intensive relating to motors, HVAC, or boiler upgrades. However, it should be a part of an overall energy plan to maximize the efficiency of the poultry plant to help offset future energy, commodity, or material increases.