Eaton – Richard Chattergoon – 2011

Goals

Richard Chattergoon spent his summer as an EDF Climate Corps fellow at the world headquarters of Eaton Corporation in Cleveland. As a diversified industrial manufacturer, the company has more than 200 plants and facilities globally. During a nearby plant visit, he consulted with a local utility representative regarding potential incentives for a completed lighting efficiency project. He also engaged with the facilities manager on other possible projects at this plant.

Solutions

After reviewing the scope of work performed on the past lighting project, Chattergoon confirmed that the energy saving came from replacing the existing lamps and fixtures in the manufacturing bays with modern, highly efficient models. He realized that the plant could further reduce energy usage through a simple change: replacing existing controls with occupancy sensors in additional spaces in the building that required less than 24 hours of light a day, such as offices, conference rooms and restrooms. Chattergoon also analyzed the costs savings involved with replacing two older, industrial dryers on the manufacturing floor with new, energy-efficient dryers.

Potential Impact

Chattergoon calculated that at this single plant, Eaton could cut a combined 350,000kWhs per year, saving around $25,000 in electricity costs and almost 250 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. This analysis showed the ever present possibilities to save energy and its related costs, even at facilities that have already implemented energy efficiency projects.