Over the past two decades energy costs have both risen and
become more variable, which has negatively impacted profitability for many
firms. As a result, U.S. industry has had to become more concerned about energy
efficiency in order to reduce energy expenditures and maintain its business
objectives. Resource Dynamics Corporation has been at the vanguard of helping
clients understand the costs and benefits of energy efficiency in the
industrial and commercial sectors.
To help our clients understand how energy efficiency
directly benefits them we combine a comprehensive knowledge of their business
processes with the practical application of industry best practices, emerging
technologies, and other tools and methods to create value-added solutions for
them. Because our clients span a wide range of governmental organizations,
power suppliers, manufacturers and trade associations, we offer a comprehensive
portfolio of technology and market assessments, technical guides and handbooks,
training modules, case studies, tip sheets, and economic analyses that provide
meaningful insights into improving the efficiency and productivity of
industrial and commercial process systems.
Leading Solutions
To help raise awareness about the value of energy
efficiency, we offer several tools to industrial end users including:
Case Studies.
Since 1995, RDC has produced over 150 case studies in support of the US
Department of Energy’s (DOE) BestPractices program on multiple industrial motor
system projects. In many instances, these case studies or portions of them were
reproduced in trade association magazines, presentations or other DOE
publications.
Fact Sheets. RDC
has produced dozens of fact sheets on various industrial systems. These fact
sheets provide important ‘take away’ insights that end users can rapidly apply
towards issues related to energy efficiency, equipment reliability and system
performance.
Awareness Training
Modules. RDC has produced Awareness
Training Modules on industrial steam, pumping, compressed air, fan, motor and
process heating systems. These modules have delivered key insights into the
efficient operation of industrial systems.
Sourcebooks. RDC has produced sourcebooks on industrial
steam, pumping, compressed air, fan, motor and process heating systems. These
sourcebooks are excellent reference tools that allow industrial system
end-users understand how to operate specific industrial systems efficiently and
outline opportunities to improve those systems’ performance. These sourcebooks
have been a pivotal tool for raising awareness about the performance and energy
efficiency potential in industrial systems.
Training Workbooks.
RDC has developed training workbooks for both the Fundamentals and Advanced
Training in Compressed Air Systems courses offered though the Compressed Air
Challenge.
Software Tools. RDC has created tools and programs that have
helped clients analyze their systems’ efficiency and identify opportunities to
save energy.
Recent Accomplishments
Supported the DOE’s
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Industrial Technologies
Program by producing technical documents, educational materials, advising on
database construction, and analyzing program impacts.
Supported PG&E’s
Savings By Design program by producing energy efficiency baselines for multiple
industrial sectors, case studies and educational materials, and assisted with
marketing efforts.
RDC
conducted a market assessment of residential, commercial, and industrial
applications of heat pumps and solar hybrid technology for Propane Education
and Research Council PERC). We performed
a comparative analyses of high efficiency heat pumps, furnace/central air
systems, and boiler/chiller systems in five states. The project calculated energy performance and
cost with natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, and propane fuel sources. It also evaluated energy costs and economics
of photovoltaic and photovoltaic hybrid systems in numerous states, comparing
the cost of installing and operating solar systems with installing electric
utility line extensions for residences currently off the utility grid. Both of these analyses were included in a
market assessment for PERC that targeted increasing propane use in engine-driven
applications.
Sponsored
by EPRI, RDC conducted an assessment of solar water heating for households in
the NYSEG service area. While both flat
plate and evacuated tube designs were evaluated, most of the economic analysis
focused on evacuated tube models due to the severity of winter conditions. RDC researched solar water heaters available,
and evaluated the installed base of hot water heaters to establish baseline
scenarios to evaluate. From this, the efficiency,
installed costs, annual energy costs and life spans of multiple types of solar
water heating systems were assessed using NYSEG gas and electric tariff
pricing. The assessment found the
economics challenging, but found that households using electric hot water
heating offered positive economic returns.
Under certain sensitivity scenarios, solar water heating provided
attractive economics relative to oil hot water heaters.
