Tools help process manufacturers improve energy efficiency

Honeywell on June 16 announced Energy Management Solutions, a customizable portfolio of new and existing hardware, software and services to help improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The solution from Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) is targeted to a wide range of energy-intensive process manufacturing facilities. In the area of refining and petrochemical production, this solution additionally leverages expertise from Honeywell's UOP subsidiary, which is a leading developer and licensor of process technology for refining and petrochemical industry.

The portfolio features the new Honeywell Energy Dashboard, which gathers information from various instruments and systems and tracks their energy consumption against dynamic energy targets. Capturing and analyzing this data allows users to understand key energy indicators and how they affect overall energy consumption. The Energy Dashboard, expected to be commercially available in the fourth quarter 2009, enables users to establish specific goals for reducing energy consumption, costs and the associated GHG emissions, as well as to measure actual performance against those goals.

Once energy saving potential has been identified, the Energy Management Solutions portfolio provides customizable hardware, software and services to improve performance, including enhancements to measurement and monitoring, control and optimization, heat recovery, feedstock optimization, advanced process technology, utilities optimization and services to sustain and even improve results over time. For refining and petrochemical industries, HPS and UOP solutions can reduce energy consumption by up to 25 percent and the associated GHG emissions by up to 320 metric kilotons per year. For other process manufacturing industries like pulp and paper, Energy Management Solutions can help reduce energy consumption by up to 20 percent and associated GHG emissions by up to 44 metric kilotons per year.

"Many process manufacturing facilities have grown over time in ways that obscure the connections between operations and energy consumption," said Harry Forbes, analyst with the ARC Advisory Group firm for manufacturing, energy, and supply chain solutions. "These facilities must have strategies in place to identify and execute energy improvements if they are to ensure profitability and appropriately manage emissions. Through Energy Management Solutions, Honeywell is providing a sound framework for helping manufacturers define and manage these strategies."

Energy Management Solutions can be implemented in stages starting with smaller-scale, quick return-on-investment projects, and moving to more comprehensive, higher-value projects. Honeywell has deep expertise in process technology, process control and energy efficiency along with solid methodologies, best practices and work processes to assure that the value from energy efficiency projects is achieved and maintained.

"The combination of volatile energy prices and increasingly stringent regulations have made energy efficiency one of the biggest issues the process industries have faced in decades," said Harsh Chitale, vice president of global marketing and strategy for Honeywell Process Solutions. "For example, energy costs typically represent 50 to 60 percent of non-feedstock refinery operating costs and about 25 to 40 percent of pulp and paper manufacturing costs. With Energy Management Solutions, Honeywell can help manufacturers build a holistic energy management strategy that can reduce energy costs and return those savings back to the bottom line."

To learn more about Energy Management Solutions and other Honeywell solutions for improving business performance, visit www.honeywell.com/ps.