Anglian may already be well known for producing energy efficient windows and doors, but over the last year they have been taking a detailed look at the energy efficiency and related costs at their own production sites. Anglian employed specialist energy consultants Energy 2000 to establish an energy management programme for the company.
Detailed scoping studies were undertaken at six main sites to establish the current energy usage habits, with every significant item of manufacturing equipment being monitored and logged. Reports were then produced identifying all potential energy saving measures, from no cost/low cost recommendations through to high capital expenditure projects.
It was identified that the water chilling plant for the plastic extrusion process was consuming a large proportion of the Norwich site’s total usage and further investigations confirmed the inefficiency of the current plant. A recommendation was put forward to replace the chilling plant with the introduction of a “free cooling” process to meet current demand. In addition, new chillers were sized to give an extra 50% capacity as provision for future expansion.
Aqua Cooling Solutions were recommended by Energy 2000 and were chosen to provide the equipment and to install and commission the 1.6 MW system. The integral free cooling facility uses the ambient air to cool the process water as soon as the ambient air temperature falls below water temperature returning from the extrusion machines.
The system has been closely monitored since start-up in August and it is calculated that Anglian will save over 850 tonnes of carbon per annum, equating to a financial saving of approximately £175,000 per year. The entire cost of the new cooling system will be recovered by energy savings made within just the first two years of operation.
Chris Dixon is Engineering Director at Anglian Windows. “With energy costs beginning to spiral upwards, and with our commitment to reducing our Carbon Footprint, we needed to implement a comprehensive Energy Management Programme. We accepted that this required specialist skills and, therefore, made the decision to outsource. Energy 2000 were selected as our partner because of their positive approach, cost effectiveness and their commitment to work with, and not just for, Anglian. We have enjoyed a very successful first year with Energy 2000. Savings have been identified and prioritised and, with their pro-active approach and Aqua’s equipment, we will continue to drive down our energy costs and reduce our carbon emissions.”
Aqua’s Director, Kevin Lancaster, comments: “We were delighted to be recommended by Energy 2000 for the Anglian Windows project. Aqua are committed to coming up with innovative, energy efficient solutions for clients and the Anglian system is an excellent example of how the free cooling concept can have a considerable impact, both from an environmental and financial point of view, in a relatively short space of time.”
