Natural Gas Use: What the Heck Are You Paying For?
Energy isn’t cheap.
If you run or work in a manufacturing facility, you’re well aware of this unspoken law of the industry.
Some forms of energy are more costly than others, motivating more and more plant managers to implement energy-saving solutions. One of the higher-priced examples of energy used in these plants is natural gas.
Natural gas costs are tricky, as even the smallest inefficiencies can cost your facility large amounts. Given that most of us aren’t exactly eager to quickly drain the energy budget at our plant, a natural gas audit is our best bet to ensure we’re using only what needs to be used and keeping those extra dollars as profit.
What Even Is A Natural Gas Audit?
To put it simply: a natural gas audit is a full body checkup on the natural gas system your company uses. This is done by professionals who specialize in energy efficiency who can quickly identify any areas where there may be unnecessary spending or natural gas usage. Anything that uses gas, such as boilers, furnaces, HVAC systems, etc., gets thoroughly analyzed to check for these holes. An energy audit also compares your gas usage to production output to see if you’re getting your full money’s worth.
If you’re still not sure how it works, here’s the audit process these specialists (such as Bright As) follow:
Deep-dive into energy bills: are there any weird spikes in the data?
Walk the floor: are there any obvious problems with any of the equipment?
Run some tests: are the machines efficiently doing their jobs?
Analyze results: what upgrades and tweaks could make a difference?
Implement the game plan: when can you roll out the fixes?
So, Why Bother?
There are so many reasons to complete a natural gas audit, the most obvious of which being to save money. Some other reasons include:
Lengthening the lifespan of your gear and equipment
Avoiding breakdowns and production delays
Lowering emissions
Potential rebates (did you know that in some places you can qualify for energy upgrades?)
Moral of the Story…
Energy is expensive. Every dollar matters. If you have yet to look into a natural gas audit, it may be time to ask yourself: what the heck is my gas bill paying for?