For the past several years, researchers from the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) have helped Department of Defense (DOD) industrial facility managers meet energy efficiency and environmental compliance requirements by conducting Process and Energy Optimization Assessments (PEOAs). CERL has also developed data collection and analysis tools and assessment protocols to facilitate the energy assessment. A team of experts begins the PEOA by gathering data from operating personnel, energy generators and suppliers, and waste disposal operations. Advanced instrumentation monitors actual energy consumption and pollutant generation and to verify data. Experts analyze the resulting data, then recommend measures to optimize production processes, reduce energy consumption, and reduce or treat emissions, all of which can result in great cost savings.
The PEOA incorporates a holistic view of the industrial production process from "material and energy in" to "product and waste out"; the process can accompany pollution prevention efforts to estimate energy consumption changes and new pollutant generation. A PEOA goes beyond the traditional "equipment review," which merely seeks to change technology to avoid generating specific regulated contaminants. Instead, it considers new known and/or potential byproducts, along with imposed energy demands. |
Capabilities