SmartWatt Energy Completes Centralized Energy Management System and More for Bridon American Corporation's Hanover, PA Facility

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Jul 23, 2015, 02:00 ET

MOOSIC, Pa., July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartWatt Energy recently completed a major sustainability project for wire rope manufacturer Bridon American at their Hanover, PA facility. UGI presented a $100,000 rebate check to Bridon American during an event at the Bridon facility earlier today. Bridon American qualified for the rebate through UGI's Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Program.

The project began with an audit of all energy systems at Bridon American's 130,000 square foot campus facilities by engineering teams from SmartWatt, a national energy-efficiency contracting firm with an office in Moosic, PA. Prior to this energy efficiency project, the facilities at the Hanover campus consumed over 13,000,000 kWh per year. By implementing two major facility improvement measures (FIMs), Bridon American is reducing this site's electric consumption by over 6 percent.

The Bridon American site provided opportunities to provide energy savings improvements across multiple systems. The comprehensive project FIMs included the installation of an energy management system and program to optimize set points, sequences and operating schedules of equipment. Energy management controls were applied to plant space heating units, electrical room cooling systems and heating/cooling environmental systems for plant and corporate offices. Boiler controls and electrical metering were also implemented to provide maintenance and operational benefits beyond energy savings. Variable frequency drives (VFDs) were installed to optimize the operation of large process motors where modulation and setback strategies could safely be applied. The three main cooling tower fan motors were retrofitted with VFDs.

"It was critical to implement savings strategies and sequences as part of the installation in order to ensure that savings would be realized," explained Tracey Jumper, LEED AP BD+C, Project Director at SmartWatt Energy. "Too often, controllers and VFDs are set in place, but are not set up properly to achieve savings."

As a by-product of the electric energy savings project, there will also be natural gas (therm) savings. Furthermore, Bridon American now has visibility into the operations of their systems that they did not have before. For example, temperature differentials can now be monitored and trended. Systems can be repaired and calibrated upon receiving automated alarms from the energy management system. And troubleshooting can be done remotely at the web dashboard first, then at the system.

SmartWatt Energy is the program administrator and implementation contractor for UGI's Custom Incentive Program. For more information, or to participate, call 800-515-1376.

ABOUT SMARTWATT ENERGY, INC.

SmartWatt Energy is a unique energy-efficiency firm. It provides turnkey solutions for utilities, commercial, industrial and institutional clients. SmartWatt Energy's teams use cutting-edge technologies, design and processes to take on and solve their customer's toughest sustainability challenges:

The Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Division works with end-use customers throughout the United States to design and install integrated energy-efficiency projects. Clients look to SmartWatt Energy to provide large-scale savings through turnkey energy auditing, engineering, project management and installation services.
The Utility Division contracts directly with utilities to manage their commercial energy efficiency programs. SmartWatt Energy's vertically integrated program delivery platform ensures utility program success and customer satisfaction, because all elements of the utility program are handled by a talented, integrated, cross-functional team.

SmartWatt Energy has won several Inc. magazine "Hire Power" awards and has been named one of the "Fastest Growing" private companies in the United States on the magazine's annual 5000 list multiple times. For more information, visit www.smartwattinc.com.

SOURCE SmartWatt Energy, Inc.