Save Energy Now Assessment Helps Chrysler Save More Than $627,000 in Energy Costs
February 19, 2008
Steam can be one of the most energy-consuming systems in large automobile plants. Chrysler’s truck and minivan assembly complex in St. Louis, Missouri, is no exception. To help meet the company’s goal of reducing its annual energy use per unit of production by 2%, the St. Louis complex participated in a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Save Energy Now energy assessment of its steam system in July 2006. By implementing several of the assessment recommendations, Chrysler saves approximately $627,000 in energy costs and more than 70,000 MMBtu in natural gas per year, with a simple payback of just over 2 months.
Through Save Energy Now, DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program helps industrial plants operate more efficiently and profitably by identifying ways to reduce energy use in key industrial process systems. DOE Energy Expert Riyaz Papar of Hudson Technologies worked with two Chrysler employees to analyze the complex’s steam system utilizing DOE’s Steam System Assessment Tool (SSAT) software.
“Thanks to the expertise of the Save Energy Now consultant, we have identified some new opportunities to build on our past progress, and we are moving quickly to implement those ideas,” said David Lyons of Chrysler’s Environmental and Energy Planning Group.
After the assessment, Chrysler promptly took such steps as optimizing boiler operation, reducing boiler blowdown, and implementing an ongoing steam trap inspection and repair program. To learn more and see which Save Energy Now energy savings recommendations can be applied to your plant, read the case study (PDF 578 KB). Download Adobe Reader.