Projects

USDOE Industrial Assessment Center

University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is one of the newly-designated U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) Office of Industrial Energy Technologies Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC). Along with 26 other universities across the United States, UIC now offers no cost industrial assessments. These assessments are performed by students from various engineering disciplines. Energy conservation, waste minimization and process improvement recommendations have resulted in an average annual savings of nearly $59,000 per plant assessment.

The UIC-IAC

• Concluding its sixth year
• 120 assessments to date
• Over 1000 recommendations made
• Goal is to save client 10% of total energy budget within capital investment guidelines

UIC-IAC Results
FY2001 - FY2004

Recommendations per assessment day (2001-2002)

• Average savings: $50,000
• Implementation cost: $110,000
• Simple payback: 2.3 years
  

Recommendations per assessment day (2001-2004)

• Average savings: $66,000
• Implementation cost: $160,000
• Simple payback: 2.4 years

Recommendations per assessment day (energy, waste and productivity, for 2001-2004)

• Average savings: $218,000
• Implementation cost: $280,000
• Simple payback: 1.2 years

Overall implementation rate: 44%

Each assessment includes:

• Measurement of combustion efficiency for all fuel burning equipment
• Measurement of electric motor operating parameters
• Evaluation of compressed air and steam systems
• Inventory of all ancillary energy users within the plant
• Development of a process flow map

Mechanical and industrial engineering students earn credit, as well as gain valuable experience working closely with engineering faculty to complete assessments and compile reports detailing their analyses and findings. The UIC-IAC has many resources at its disposal, including faculty and staff from the Energy Resources Center (ERC). The ERC has been conducting energy and environmental studies and providing assistance to industry, utilities, government agencies and the public for over 25 years, With many years experience in the industrial audit arena, including over 100 energy assessments, the ERC is a valuable resource for the UIC-IAC.

Eligibility

Small and medium sized manufacturing plants in Standard Industrial Classification Codes 20-39 are eligible for the IAC assessments if they meet the following criteria:

• Gross annual sales below $100 million
• Fewer than 500 employees at eh plant site
• Annual utility bills more than $100,000 and less than $2.0 million
• No in-house professional staff to perform an assessment

PowerPoint Presentation:

An Overview of the USDOE Industrial Assessment Center (0.8 MB)

For more information contact:
Robert Miller
Research Engineer
rob@uic.edu
or 312-355-2019

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