My official Franklin Energy title might say Regional Director, but some days I feel like it should be Clean Energy Detective. My team and I specialize in helping our clients find energy-saving solutions as unique as they and their situations are. When we land on an answer, it feels like solving a Rubik’s cube, except even better.
The satisfaction doubles when we help customers who didn’t think clean energy could work for them. Â
Nothing puts this in clearer focus than the project we did for a large Midwest utility that wanted to find a non-lighting measure to help its underserved commercial and industrial customers. Many of them were manufacturing facilities in Michigan that worked under tight production schedules and couldn’t afford disruptions. They didn’t have the time or money for clean energy.
Or so they thought.
Combining the utility’s customer knowledge, our expertise on delivering efficient solutions, and extensive research, our team proposed an innovative solution: compressed air nozzles. There are nearly 15,000 manufacturing companies that employ more than 700,000 workers in Michigan, many using air nozzles in their processes. It turns out that the small but mighty efficient compressed air nozzle had low installation time and could bring both energy and non-energy benefits to the facility.
Our team got to work conducting targeted outreach to auto-makers across the state. Customers first received samples, allowing them to test the nozzles during convenient times before committing to a larger facility-wide upgrade. Because the cost of acquisition per kWh was so low, we could offer the samples for free.
Once they tried out the nozzles, there was no going back. One auto parts manufacturer installed them on one line. It was so successful (including seeing a CFM reduction of 75%) that the line manager outfitted all 9 of their machine lines. In total, the company installed 121 compressed air nozzles and stay set hoses, equaling an incentive of $104,984. They also achieved annual electric savings of 1,465,879 kWh with an estimated annual cost savings of $117,270. Installation occurred with minimal downtime that didn’t interfere with production.
Program-wide, our utility’s customers increased their energy savings by 8,144% during the first three years. It produced annual savings of 50 GWh, surpassing the initial goal of 20 GWh. Customers saw an average savings of $360 and 4,500 kWh annually per nozzle.
My team and I were delighted, to say the least, with the entire project’s results. We identified an underutilized energy efficient measure that greatly helped a traditionally underserved segment. We’re strong believers that energy-efficient measures can benefit all types of businesses and sectors, leaving no one behind in the clean energy transition. The key is having a partner who will help you find what works for you.