Energy and Environmental Engineering

UNIT-3
Energy Conservation

 Energy conservation: It is the effort made to reduce the consumption of

energy by using less of an energy service. This can be achieved either by
using energy more efficiently (using less energy for a constant service) or
by reducing the amount of service used.

It is defined as decrease in energy consumption but without sacrificing the

quantity and quality of production.

Energy conservation makes it easier to replace non renewable sources

with renewable energy.

It is economical solution to energy shortages.

 Objective of energy conservation:

1. Reduce total energy consumption while maintaining a high quality of
life and vibrant local economy.
2. Encourage energy conservation in residential, commercial, industrial,
public/institutional, natural resource, and transportation sectors.
3. Increase opportunities to make energy choices at the local level.
4. Decrease our reliance on non-local energy sources through
conservation and development and use of local renewable energy
sources.
5. Make energy choices that minimize adverse impacts to the environment.
6. Maximize energy efficiency by matching fuel type to end use.
7. Assure both an adequate supply of electricity and a secure distribution
network to meet the region’s needs.

 Principle of Energy conservation: The two principle governing energy

conservation policies are maximum thermodynamics efficiency and
maximum cost effectiveness in energy use.
Maximum thermodynamics efficiency in energy: It is defined as the
maximum possible work output by using a given amount of primary energy
input.
This can be given in the following form as,

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Maximum power
Output =Energy input-Energy loss in transfer-Energy discharge
Work is energy transfer between system and surrounding. It is done by the
system on the surroundings, if the sole effect of this interaction is to move the
desired mass in the surroundings.
The energy loss in transfer is the energy lost to the ambient environment
through radiation and convection heat transfer. The energy discharge is the
discharge to the atmosphere after producing required amount of work.

Maximum cost effectiveness in energy: To address challenges of high

energy prices, energy security and global climate change it becomes important
to improve energy efficiency cost effectively. Industries, hospitals consumes
more than 70 percent of natural gas and electricity used in the country
Evaluating the cost effectiveness of energy efficiency is essential to identifying
how much of our country’s potential for energy efficiency resources will be
captured. It is measured by comparing the benefits of an investment with the
costs.
The basic structure of cost effectiveness involves a calculation of the total
benefits and the total costs in rupees terms from a certain advantage point to
determine whether or not the overall benefits exceed the costs.

 Energy Efficiency: Energy efficiency involves using energy more

effectively at the technological level. Energy efficient products aims to
provide users with the same level of comfort and convenience while
cutting costs and preserving the environment. For example the electrical
appliances can be purchase with high energy star ratings.
The energy efficiency can be defined as the low cost and readily available
resources that offer variety of benefits to utility customers and to society as
whole. It is the utilization of the energy in the most effective manner to
carry out a manufacturing process or provide a service, whereas energy
waste is minimize and overall consumption of primary energy resources is
reduced.

 Best practices for increasing energy efficiency:

1. Install CFL Lights: Replace light bulbs with CFL lights. CFL light use less
than half the energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and produce
the same amount of light and last a lot longer.
2. Set the temperature of AC at 250C to have better comfort at least energy
usage.
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3. Keep refrigerators ice free.

4. Use maximum daylight: Turn off light during the day and use maximum
daylight as much as possible.
5. Switch off appliances when not in use.
6. Use energy efficient appliances: When planning to buy appliances prefer
to buy one with energy star rating.
7. Drive less, walk more and carpooling: It will not only reduce carbon
footprints but will keep you healthy as walking is a good exercise. Doing
carpooling with colleagues bring down your monthly bill.
8. Use the correct size burner for your pan.
9. Adjust heating and cooling controls to reduce overheating and
overcooling and use natural ventilation more effectively.

 Energy conservation in ventilation and Air conditioners:

Out of the total energy used in manufacturing industries, heating,
ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) constitute up to 35%. The design
of good HVAC system should consider energy consumption, indoor air
quality and environmental benefit.

Ventilation: The process of supplying or removing air from a space by

natural or mechanical means is called as ventilation. The air which is
extracted from the building must be replaced by outside air.

Air Conditioning: It is the process of removing heat, humidity, velocity

and purity of air, to improve the comfort of occupants.

Methods and techniques of energy conservation for HVAC (Ventilation

and Air Conditioning) system
1. Reduce HVAC system operation when building or space is unoccupied.
2. Eliminate usage in unoccupied system.
3. Close outdoor air dampers
4. Reduce HVAC operating hours
5. Use variable speed drives.
6. Adjust areas that are too hot or too cold.
7. Reduces unnecessary heating or cooling
8. Minimum make up and exhaust air.
9. Implement a regular maintenance plan

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 Energy conservation in Compressor:

A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of the gas
by reducing its volume.
Application of compressor:
1. Compressed air is used for operating pneumatic tools like drills, nut
runners for tightening of screws and nuts
2. Pneumatic drills for breaking the rocks.
3. Air brake system for trucks and railways.
4. Providing air blasts at furnace
5. Spray painting for cars and trucks.
6. Used in internal combustion engine for providing supply of air at higher
pressure to improve the performance of the engine.

Compressor has two types: a) Positive displacement: They increase the

pressure of the air by reducing its volume.
b) Dynamic type air compressor: The pressure in the air is induced by
dynamic effect i. e. imparting motion to the air and later converting velocity
into static pressure.

Following are the methods and techniques of energy conservation in

compressor.
1. Temperature of intake air: The air supplied at the intake of the
compressor should be at lower temperature. The intake air should be
dust free.
2. Dry air free of moisture should be supplied to the compressor: The
moisture present in the air gets converted in the water and will
damage the parts.
3. Turn it off: Turn compressor off during the evening and weekend, it
will reduce the energy bill up to 20%.
4. Fix existing leaks: Pipe system older than five years can have leak up
to 25%. Because it takes energy to generate compressed air, any air
that leaks is money wasted.
5. Prevent new leaks: Dust and sludge in a compressed air piping
system will cause corrosion very quickly and will increase the
number of leaks. Dried and filtered compressed air keeps piping
clean.
6. Run compressor at required pressure not beyond that.
7. Review piping infrastructure: Increasing the size of pipe from two to
three inches can reduce pressure drop up to 50%. Shortening the

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distance air has to travel can further reduce pressure drop by 20-
40%.
8. Inspect and replace the filter systematically to ensure the quality of
air and prevent pressure drop.
9. Emphasize on compressor maintenance.
10. Identify and eliminate inappropriate uses of compressed air:
Many times high pressure air is used for cooling or application where
low air pressure is required.

 Energy conservation in Pumps:

The hydraulic machine that converts the mechanical energy into hydraulic
energy is called pump. The hydraulic energy is in the form of pressure
energy.
Pumps are useful foe elevating liquid from lower level to higher level.
Similar to compressor pumps are also classified as a) Positive
Displacement pump and b) Rotor Dynamic type pump.

Following are the methods and techniques of energy conservation in

pumps
1. Select the most efficient pump types for the application. The old pump
should be replaced by energy efficient pump.
2. Minimize system pressure drop.
3. Implement proper control valve.
4. Implement variable speed drives.
5. Maintain pumping system effectively. To minimize the fluid losses
repair the seals and packing.
6. Eliminate unnecessary uses.
7. If possible avoid the valves in discharge side.
8. The pump should be operated near best efficiency point.
9. For higher heads the booster pump should be provided.
10. The resistance of the system can be reduced by pressure drop
assessment and pipe size optimization.

 Energy conservation in Fans and blowers:

1. Pressure minimization: To manage the system pressure and to have
good airflow characteristics the proper control device should be used.
2. Density control: The density of transporting gas gets affected by
temperature, moisture, molecular weight and absolute pressure in the
duct.

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3. Fan efficiency: The selection of fan is more important. Use high

efficiency fan.
4. Size of fan: Do not use oversize fan because it results in efficiency loss of
1-5%.
5. By using adjustable speed drives, significant energy saving can be done.
6. Instead of conventional V belts, use energy efficient flat belts or cogged
edged V belts.
7. Fan speed reduction by pulley diameter modification.
8. Minimizing excess air level in combustion system by FD fan and ID fan
load.

 Energy conservation in Electric Furnace:

Electric furnace is used for heating purpose in various industrial
production processes. Electric furnaces are used where more accurate
temperature is required.
Following are the methods and techniques of energy conservation in
Electric furnace
1. Complete combustion with minimum excess air.
2. Correct heat distribution.
3. Operating at the desired temperature.
4. Reduces heat losses from furnace opening.
5. Maintaining correct amount of furnace draught.
6. Optimum capacity utilization.
7. Use of ceramic coating.
8. The furnace should be provided with temperature controllers.
9. Waste heat recovery from the flue gases.

 Energy conservation in Electric Ovens:

An oven is thermally insulated chamber used for heating, baking or drying
of substance and most commonly used for cooking.
Following are the methods and techniques of energy conservation in
Electric Ovens.
1. Energy Saving Mode. Energy-saver mode uses less electricity for most
applications, so you can have more power available when you need it.  
2. Adjustable Exhaust Rate:  Usually, an exhaust fan removes solvent
vapors, moisture, or combustion byproducts. Adjust your exhaust fans
with a manual damper or variable frequency drive. Set them to the
minimum necessary. 

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3. Heat Recovery System:  Exhaust air carries heat energy.  A heat recovery
system or heat exchanger recovers that energy from exhaust air and
returns it to the oven. 
4. Humidity Control System: A humidity control system senses oven
humidity and varies the exhaust rate of your oven to the absolute
minimum necessary.
5. Proper Insulation: You can reduce oven heat lost through the walls by
using thicker insulation.
6. Seal Oven Openings: Seal the area where your parts enter and exit the
heating chamber. High temperature curtains, powered air seals, or
unheated vestibules help retain heat. Even a small leak wastes a lot of
energy.
7. Variable Speed Recirculation Fan: Use a variable frequency drive to
power the recirculation fan.  Ramp up your fan’s RPM as the oven heats
up. Once heated, your fan can move the lighter air easier. 
8. Idle Mode. Use idle mode for pauses in production, for tooling changes,
or for operator rest breaks. During idle mode, the temperature is
temporarily reduced so it uses less energy.  If your oven does not have
idle mode, it can be added to an existing unit.
9. Maintain Your Equipment: Proper maintenance will significantly impact
your energy costs.  Keep filters and blowers clean.
10. Cook in batches: cook as much as possible in the oven in one go to
make sure all the space and heat is being used. You can always freeze
portions of food to warm up at a later date.
11. Keep the oven closed while you're cooking: when cooking, each time
you open the door the oven loses heat and requires more energy to get
back up to temperature. Also, try to keep the oven door clean so you can
look in, rather than having to open it to see how your food is doing.
12. Defrost frozen food in the fridge overnight: defrosting food in advance
typically halves the cooking time.
13. Get to know your oven: learn how long it takes to pre-heat, so you're
ready to start cooking as soon as it's up to temperature.  
14. Pre-boil potatoes before roasting: by doing so you'll reduce the amount
of time they take to cook in the oven.
15. Use glass or ceramic dishes: they're the most efficient to use in the oven
and can reduce the temperature required for cooking.
16. Cut food into smaller pieces: that way it will cook more quickly.
17. Use the fan assist cooking option: this allows you to set the oven at a
lower temperature compared to when using the static cooking option.
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18. Turn your electric oven off ten minutes before the end of the cooking
time: it will still keep to the same temperature for this time period.
 Energy conservation in Boilers:
A boiler is closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The source
of heat for boiler is combustion of any of several fuels such as wood, coal,
oil or natural gas.
Following are the methods and techniques of energy conservation in boiler.
1. Preheat the air supplied to the combustion chamber with waste heat of
flue gases.
2. Feed water preheating using economizer.
3. The burner, nozzle and strainer should be clean periodically.
4. Use boiler blow down to supply warm back up water to the boiler.
5. The scale and sediment which is formed on the water side must be
inspect and clean.
6. Recycle the steam condensate from the condenser.
7. Make sure that you are only generating what you need. Measure the
demand and compare it with the boiler production.
8. Boiler duty should be at optimum efficiency. For ex. Do not use two
boiler at 30% output if you can run at 60-70% output.
 Energy conservation in Lightning system:
1. Use day light, turn off light when not required.
2. Proper maintenance of lamp.
3. Replacement with energy efficient lamp.
4. Incorporate proper lighting controls.
5. Use of electronic choke instead of conventional electromagnetic
ballasts.
6. Use of dimming controls.
7. Use of 28 watt instead of 40 watt.

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