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Clean energy and its ability to reduce climate change continues to make headlines. An existing technology that is greatly under-utilized is the evaluation and expansion of programs designed to reduce the waste of the energy we currently generate.
Mechanical insulation is an existing, proven technology that reduces energy consumption, saves money and reduces GHG emissions in the industrial, commercial, government and private sectors.
Recent worldwide events create energy cost concerns in the marketplace and demand a proactive approach to future energy security issues. The use of mechanical insulation reduces dependency on foreign energy sources, reduces consumption of fossil fuels, reduces energy costs and reduces polluting emissions. The better a facility upgrades and maintains its mechanical insulation, the lower their fuel costs. This improved efficiency helps the facility be more competitive in their marketplace.
When a mechanical insulation audit is performed and the recommendations enacted, the Return on Investment (ROI) is most often less than three years and sometimes in as little as six months. The more competitive a company operates the more likely it is that it will expand and grow. In short, mechanical insulation is an important component in improving manufacturing, reducing costs in healthcare, education, retail, petrochemical and a host of private and public sector facilities.
As an example, mechanical insulation has a remarkable ROI.
The Payback period of installing mechanical insulation on an uninsulated 10 -inch valve at a refinery in the Gulf Coast region using a 500°F valve, with 95°F as the ambient temperature and a wind speed of 6 mph, is less than 3 months.
The ROI of properly installed mechanical insulation, part II
Input data used: Cost of Fuel $ 4.59 MMbtu
(Source: 2023 Industrial U.S. Avg. U.S. Energy Information Administration.)
Average Wind Speed used 6 mph
(Source: USA.com – (Houston, Texas average annual wind speed of 11.95 mph)
Mechanical Insulation Paybacks based on 3EPlus® (www.3eplus.org)
Why is mechanical insulation one of the most overlooked and undervalued energy efficiency concepts within engineered building facilities in America? There are multiple reasons, but perhaps the most common reason is the way in which buildings are contracted to be built in the U.S. Most buildings are designed and then the project owner issues a request for general contractors to bid on the project. The general contractor then makes bid documents available and solicits bids from contractors. The bid package includes drawings, specifications, general information, dates and times for submission of bids and details as to whether the bid opening will be public or private. Specifications are usually provided using the Construction Specifications Institutes (CSI)s, MasterFormat for construction. This breaks down specifications for commercial and industrial projects in the U.S. and Canada into 16 major divisions. Some of these divisions include site works, concrete, doors and windows, finishes, equipment, mechanical/ plumbing and electrical. The mechanical and plumbing contractors that wish to bid on the project will solicit subcontractor bids from multiple subcontractors including mechanical insulation subcontractors.
The mechanical insulation scope of work is bid as part of the mechanical and plumbing system packages. To find the lowest cost bid, the mechanical contractors solicit bids from a number of mechanical insulation subcontractors. Many public projects are statutorily bound to select the contractor with the lowest bid price. As the mechanical and plumbing scopes of work will usually be awarded to the lowest cost mechanical system bid, it is in the mechanical contractor’s best interest to choose the lowest mechanical insulation bid. (This strategy increases the likelihood that their entire mechanical bid will be selected).
After the mechanical and plumbing contractors are selected by the general contractor and contracts are signed, the mechanical and plumbing contractors will often then go back to their mechanical insulation contractors and “shop” or “buy out” the mechanical insulation portion of the project, asking the mechanical insulation contractor to find ways to reduce their bid price. This often leads to mechanical insulation contractors, looking for any “loopholes” in the specifications where they can provide an alternative product, insulation with a lower performing thickness or “value engineering” out part of the original scope of work.
During construction installation, there are few instances in which the mechanical insulation systems are properly inspected prior to sign offs for payment of the mechanical and plumbing systems. It is easy for a mechanical contractor to “roll the dice” with selection of mechanical insulation contractors, regardless of their quality of work, adherence to the specifications, and sometimes their safety record. If the insulation installation is substandard or if the insulation contractor has not installed the correct thickness of insulation specified, the cost of correcting the improper installation is usually borne by the insulation subcontractor, and not the mechanical or plumbing contractor, so there is little incentive in todays marketplace to select the most qualified, best performing mechanical insulation contractor.
Mechanical insulation systems are unlike most other building systems. If an electrical system is not correctly installed, lighting will not illuminate or some piece of equipment will fail to energize. If the plumbing system is not correctly installed water will not reach its destination or a drain will fail to function. If the mechanical insulation system is not correctly installed, the other systems will continue to function, however due to the lost energy, the facility owner may pay more than the original entire initial installation cost of the mechanical insulation portion of the project, sometimes every year, for the life of the building. As the contract to build the facility is often based on the lowest initial cost of the project, cutting costs on the initial mechanical insulation system installation is an exceptionally common practice.
There is an immense amount of misguided justification for reducing the best performance mechanical insulation systems, in order to reduce initial system installation costs. Examples include statements such as “we are leaving off the insulation on all valves, pumps and flanges so that the maintenance workers have free access for any repairs;” “any heating that rises from these systems will simply heat the upper floors of the building;” “the systems in the tunnels are below ground, so only minimal insulation is needed;” “the systems in the chases are short runs, so it isn’t worth the money to install insulation in the chases;” and “we don’t have enough space or room to install thicker insulation in these areas of the building.” All the previous excuses or justifications usually cost the owner significant amounts of money and are major sources of lost energy.
In the industrial setting mechanical system insulation is left off systems for a multitude of reasons. As the mechanical insulation is one of the last items installed during a shutdown prior to “going back online,” if there are cost overruns on the piping, equipment, scaffolding or time delays, often the mechanical insulation scope is reduced to “recapture some of the cost overruns,” or due to schedule delays, the owner will make any possible cuts so that they can compress the remaining schedule. The outage manager will be under pressure from upper management to “get back on schedule” to make product.
The maintenance or facility director will often receive input from their maintenance team, requesting mechanical insulation be left off joints, flanges, valves, strainers, etc., to provide “easier access” when repairs are needed. However, this “ease of access” usually comes at reduced system efficiency, sometimes reducing the amount of “higher margin product productions.” The cost of the energy lost, even for a short duration, is more than offset by the reduced efficiencies and the higher cost of additional fuel consumption.
The ROI of properly installed mechanical insulation, part II
How much energy loss is there in your facility? A Mechanical Insulation System Energy Audit would identify opportunities to reduce your energy losses.
Improving the performance of your mechanical insulation system not only improves the performance of your other mechanical systems, but it results in lower life cycle costs for the other building system. Boilers and chillers operate at better efficiency levels, cycle less often, and use less chemicals to operate these systems. With less cycling, equipment such as pumps and their associated bearings and impellers, last longer, there is less system down time for replacements, your maintenance crew can attend to other duties and the list goes on and on.
How can you fight back to improve your mechanical insulation system performance? The first step should be to request an investment grade mechanical insulation audit. The results and recommendations from this audit will give you quality information, from which you can make informed engineering decisions as to investment spending priorities. A mechanical insulation system energy audit starts with a visual walkdown of the mechanical system insulation, using an infrared camera with “side by side” digital images to evaluate the existing condition of the mechanical insulation and to determine how much of the insulation is damaged or missing. This is a key component to calculating the potential energy savings of a thermally efficient, properly installed, fully insulated system. Many mechanical insulation audits provide you with a “cafeteria type” of report, breaking the different mechanical systems down into different areas of your facility, providing you with state-of-the-art information, as to recommended materials, installed insulation thicknesses and information concerning overlooked opportunities to reduce your energy consumption and reduce your fuel costs. The audit will provide should include items that would be the most beneficial, practical and prioritize the quickest return on investment, for the initial scope for the project.
Depending on the organization, an energy audit, an energy assessment or an energy appraisal may often be defined as the same procedure. The term “assessment” or “appraisal” is sometimes used, especially in the Energy Service Company (ESCO) markets as many believe it may be a more accurate representation of the service/ process. However, “audit” is heavily utilized with the DOE. Many organizations have different levels of energy audits, but most recognize an investment grade or detailed analysis as being the most intensive. Procedures are established, based on the organization, that often will perform complex energy use pattern analysis, systematically measure and meter equipment, systems, personnel and processes, determine potential upgrades, changes or capital investment options. A report will be generated which provides potential energy cost savings and efficiency improvements, reviews energy usage patterns and management practices, recommends methods and or equipment to generate additional savings and identifies methods to achieve or maintain energy reductions. Often this includes recommendations for continued measurement of verification of energy usage. The time and cost of these investigations can be extensive and lengthy.
Many mechanical insulation energy auditors use the 3E Plus® software which is recognized by the DOE as software uses the heat flow calculation method described in ASTM C680. This software is an energy efficiency tool used for calculating the energy that is recognized used in a mechanical system. The program provides statistical calculation information that can be used together with site specific observations and investigations to help prioritize mechanical insulation system improvements.
A mechanical insulation energy audit will be based on meticulous, complex research, in conjunction with knowledgeable and competent mechanical insulation experts to provide practical and realistic results. Most independent mechanical insulation energy audits are based on simple paybacks.
While a simple payback analysis has some shortcomings, such as the fact that simple paybacks ignore the issue of an Energy Conservation Measure (ECM) providing continuous, ongoing energy savings returns. A strategy for report information, data collection and associated calculations provided in a report should be conservative, ensuring energy savings and cost reductions are based on minimum savings. A simple payback calculation process is sometimes the best choice to give you the relevant information, in a timely manner, needed to assist you in your decision-making process.
Mechanical insulation professional installed and maintained has a remarkable ROI. Mechanical insulation audits with associated implemented mechanical insulation system recommendations have demonstrated through scientific verification of energy savings, fuel cost reductions, reduced polluting GHG emissions and enhanced working conditions for workers and staff. Case studies have demonstrated the net present value and internal rates of return for these projects make them one of the best investments made by facility director and other facility stakeholders.
In recent years the influx of natural gas has kept the cost of fuel relatively low, or even reduced energy fuel costs. However as is evidenced by recent world events, the future cost of fuel is uncertain. Often the mechanical insulation system is designed with efficiency and paybacks based on current fuel costs. As properly installed mechanical insulation well maintained, has an expected life cycle of twenty or thirty years. It is prudent to design mechanical insulation specification standards, including insulation thicknesses, based on a sliding escalating fuel cost. At a minimum this should be based on the expected mid-life cost of fuel for the system.
Construction budgets in the U.S., including outage work, is often proportionally tied to quarterly company stock prices. This common strategy for many U.S. companies is one of the reasons U. S. manufacturing has fallen behind many of our foreign competitors. Educating ourselves with methods on how to reduce fuel costs and consumption is good for U.S companies, potentially escalating profit margins, securing well paying employment opportunities for our local economies and helps improve the domestic stability of the U.S.
The efficient use of domestic energy sources is good stewardship of American resources. Using energy-efficient technologies is one method of moving us forward to create a better standard of living for everyone and helping create a cleaner environment for our children.
Thank you for your interest in reducing energy consumption, for helping to create a stronger economy and for working to create a cleaner planet.
For more information, visit mechanicalinsulatorsLMCT.com or contact the author, James A. Petrides CEM, CEA, CTII, CIEA at (317) 947-8167 or through e-mail at jpetrides@insulatorsLMCT.org. You may also contact LMCT Executive Director, Pete Ielmini, at pielmini@insulatorsLMCT.org.
