Connection technology and automation specialist WAGO now saves over a million kilowatt hours of energy at its production and logistics facility in Sondershausen in Thuringia – a gratifying achievement in energy conservation. The linchpin of this efficiency project is a combined heating, cooling and compressed air supply system.
WAGO Saves a Million Kilowatt Hours of Energy
Together with the Energy Efficiency department of the consulting firm Galek & Kowald GmbH, WAGO set out to achieve annual energy savings of this order. This example of best practices in action shows what a collaborative path to greater energy efficiency in industrial production can look like – with compressed air/CHP solutions, high-efficiency heat recovery and sorption cooling systems, both centralized and decentralized. The result: a reduction in primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Due to its innovative nature, the project is supported as a demonstration project by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with European Union funds.
Hunting for Potential Improvements
The path to greater energy efficiency starts with the first step: finding out exactly where the potential lies in the system. This analysis of the status quo is essential for identifying optimization options. Achim Zerbst, WAGO Facility Manager and head of the Energy Management team, puts it in a nutshell: “Measure it or forget it!” With 80 measuring points, WAGO’s Sondershausen plant already had lots of existing measurement data, recalls Anne Häring, the energy efficiency project engineer on the Galek & Kowald team from nearby Mühlhausen who oversaw the efficiency project on the consultant side. “We got the rest through mobile measurements,” she reports. “The next step was to analyze the processes: Where is energy being used, and for what?”
Falko Kowald | Technical Director of Galek & Kowald
Energy Management Means More Than Just Saving Energy
When moving to the concrete optimization concept, “You shouldn’t get too obsessed with details at the beginning,” advises Achim Zerbst. It’s more important that concept “makes sense in terms of energy consumption and is technically and economically feasible.” “We ourselves first had to develop a feel for how to keep the scope of operation of the innovative system technology that was being designed manageable,” he recalls. Falko Kowald, Technical Director of Galek & Kowald, adds: “The idea behind energy management is that making long-term changes is better than just saving as much energy as possible all at once.” So it’s important to look not only at the energy efficiency of the supply structure, but also at the overall operating costs. These then also include maintenance costs. Achim Zerbst provides an example: “There’s no point in having an air compressor that’s efficient in itself if the maintenance costs are many times higher.”
The Path from Consulting, to Concept, to Implementation
“First, an energy consultation outlines the current state of energy consumption in the company. On that basis, measures are developed to identify potential energy efficiency improvements,” explains Anne Häring. These take the form of specific recommendations for action, including an initial technical and economic assessment. For some energy efficiency measures, it may be necessary to involve planning experts, e.g., for cooling technology, as the project progresses. Doing so can provide a firm footing for the concept under development. Anne Häring points out another consideration: “Depending on the incentive program, subsidies may be available not just for machines, systems and equipment, but also for planning services for energy efficiency measures.” In most cases, it is possible to identify multiple energy conservation measures, which are sometimes associated with very different levels of expense. Replacing existing system technology with more efficient options is associated with relatively low planning and implementation expenses. One example would be a recommendation to retrofit conventional lighting with LEDs. By the same token, recommendations for switching over to a different technology are associated with higher planning and implementation expenses. “Depending on the measures, various incentive programs may be an option for co-financing. In such cases, it’s advisable to have an expert partner at your side that’s familiar with the various incentive programs on the state and federal level,” says Achim Zerbst. The energy efficiency project at WAGO in Sondershausen took advantage of the “GREEN invest” incentive program of the Thüringer Aufbaubank development institute. The innovative nature of the project led to an assessment as a demonstration project under the ERDF funding conditions. Because of the investment volume, a public tender was required for both the planning and the implementation. The expert planning services were put out to tender throughout Germany at the beginning of 2018. “From the start, we had a specialist attorney at our side for this process; he already provided support the tendering phase so there wouldn’t be any missteps,” recalls energy manager Zerbst. His tip: This specialist attorney should be someone who is active in the relevant federal state, since the planning and implementation can also involve state-level incentives in some cases, and construction law also differs from state to state.
Galek & Kowald GmbH – Integrated Support, from Consulting to Implementation
The contract for the compressed air and cooling building systems was awarded to the Industrial Plant Engineering department of Galek & Kowald GmbH; one reason was that the company has roots in compressed air engineering. Technical Director Falko Kowald speaks candidly: “Faced with resource scarcity and climate change, we as an equipment manufacturer have always questioned whether, from an energy consumption point of view, we should even still be selling compressors.” Compressed air generation is one of the most inefficient processes in general-purpose technology, and the energy consumption and generation costs are correspondingly high. But it was the economic crisis in 2008 and 2009 that first “gave us the opportunity to look at where we stood and what direction we really wanted to go in order to avoid contributing to the clearly intractable sustainability and cost problems.” The problem was, until 2009, the priority in energy management was generally the insulation of building envelopes. Back then, no one else dared to address complex production processes. “But we did! Because a crisis always also offers an opportunity for renewal, and we dared to seize that opportunity,” says Falko Kowald with confidence. “I was personally less concerned with expanding renewable energy generation plants than with uncovering untapped potential that still existed for conserving energy and leveraging synergy. In the process, it became clear to us that air compressors don’t always have to be a problem – they can actually be part of the solution.” So, in cooperation with Enertec Kraftwerke GmbH, a CHP plant manufacturer from Mühlhausen, Thuringia, Galek & Kowald GmbH developed a system for cogeneration of heat and compressed air, the success of which led them to establish another company: altAIRnative GmbH.
Successful Energy Management with WAGO’s Own Technology
For the efficiency project in Sondershausen, the project team used WAGO technology – from energy data collection, to plant control, to the wiring of the building and production technology. That seems like an obvious choice, but Achim Zerbst is no less proud for that: “Our own products were the only ones that allowed us to precisely record the energy consumption and all basic conditions for processes, such as temperatures, pressures and operating states.” WAGO’s own modular I/O System, controllers and corresponding software solutions “were essential for the sector coupling and the complex, harmonious interplay of the individual controllers for cooling, compressed air and heating.” The overall technological solution allows manageable operation of complex plant technology. However, the systems themselves remain easy for staff to operate. Zerbst’s summary: “We’ve created the basis for gradually optimizing the systems and implementing successful energy management.”
Energy Efficiency Always Requires Metrics
Together with the Energy Efficiency department of the consulting firm Galek & Kowald GmbH, WAGO set out to achieve annual energy savings of this order. This example of best practices in action shows what a collaborative path to greater energy efficiency in industrial production can look like – with compressed air/CHP solutions, high-efficiency heat recovery and sorption cooling systems, both centralized and decentralized. The result: a reduction in primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Due to its innovative nature, the project is supported as a demonstration project by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with European Union funds.
Optimization Is Not the Same as Troubleshooting
“Our metrics are the standard for further modifications and the basis for our regular optimization meetings with planning experts, consultants and all the project participants,” says Achim Zerbst. It’s the same issue for compressed air, heating and cooling consumption: “Something always changes throughout the course of the year, for example due to shift operations or new equipment that needs to be connected.” The processes are dynamic by nature. Therefore, when such changes are followed by partial energy consumption increases, this should not be considered a fault per se. Achim Zerbst provides a vivid analogy: “With our optimization processes, we can ensure that we’re not getting worse. It’s like cars: I can buy a fuel-efficient one, but that in itself by no means guarantees that I’ll really save on fuel. How I drive makes all the difference.”
The Motto: “Keep at It”
WAGO’s efficiency project has also been the subject of a bachelor’s thesis. The result: “We still have potential to increase efficiency further, even just in the settings that control how the systems are interconnected.” It’s like car that has a sixth gear, but continues to be driven in fifth. “Therefore, we need to define new rules and then adapt the WAGO controller programming or individual parameters to them, for example,” says Achim Zerbst, looking forwards. For WAGO, the efficiency project in the Sondershausen plant marks an important step towards energy-efficient, climate-friendly production.
Achim Zerbst | Energy Manager at WAGO
Expert Tips
Approaching Energy Efficiency Projects Successfully
Three Tips from the Energy Manager
1. Find the Right Energy Consultant
When searching for an appropriate energy consultant for an efficiency project, it is helpful to choose a company listed with the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) that specializes in the domain where you want to increase energy efficiency, for instance: in buildings, the process industry or industrial production. Another plus is a consulting company located nearby in the same federal state as the site where you want to increase efficiency – not only for meetings etc., but also because energy consultants based in the same state often possess deeper knowledge of both the specific challenges and the possible implementation solutions at the site. Finally, trust is also essential.
2. Explore Incentive Programs and Persuade Top Management
When it comes to persuading the company’s directors, possible incentive programs can be the key for energy managers to get the attention of the decision-makers. That’s especially true in companies with a corporate group structure – but not only there. The eligibility conditions should already be met in principle – otherwise, the whole endeavor is in vain. Therefore, the appropriate incentive option should fit with the theme of the entire concept, not just one part. To achieve that, it is advisable to turn to an external expert consultant on incentive programs so you don’t lose track of the possible funding options and their various combinations.
3. Put the Implementation on a Sound Footing
Motivated allies within the company are important for efficiency projects. However, the implementation requires much more than that, especially domain-specific know-how. Most companies can’t do that alone – and not just for technical reasons concerning available resources. Depending on the size of the effort, support from a planning specialist and a specialist attorney may be advisable. Furthermore, for financial incentive programs above a specific investment volume, whether on the state, national or EU level, public tenders are required. And eligibility alone is not sufficient to get the funding. You must have a legally demonstrable claim to funding in order to actually be able to obtain the funding.
