Windsor steel producer retrofits legacy lighting system with LEDs
by IESO
The project—which tapped into incentives from saveONenergy—are estimated at $140,000 per year
—Sponsored article by the Independent Electricity System Operator
DJ Galvanizing is based in Windsor, Ont. and is one of North America’s leading auto steel producers. The company, owned by Luxembourg’s ArcelorMittal, produces 420,000 metric tonnes annually of galvannealed steel that are shipped to North America’s five major car manufacturers, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, to make exterior body panels.
Galvannealing is the combined process of heat-treating and galvanizing steel (zinc coating) in preparation for shaping, stamping or forming.
The company made a major advance in strengthening its competiveness with a $280,000 investment in a new lighting system for its 240,000-square-foot manufacturing and storage facility. DJ Galvanizing received an incentive of $125,000 through the saveONenergy Retrofit Program.
Project
The retrofit project involved replacing over 775 inefficient T-12 fluorescent lamps and high-wattage metal halide fixtures with high-efficiency T-5 fluorescent fixtures and LED lights.
“We work with our large industrial users to identify opportunities for energy savings and guide them through the process leading to the incentive,” says Jeff Scott, Industrial Key Account Manager, Conservation & Demand Management, EnWin Utilities Ltd.
“We educate them about the saveONenergy programs available—ranging from energy audits to engineering studies that help them identify opportunities—and then we look at the capital incentives to implement the findings from the studies.
Graphic courtesy of the IESO
The incentives help participating businesses reduce their operating costs, contributing to their bottom line and to an overall reduction in electricity demand across Ontario, says Lawrence Musyj, Director of Conservation & Energy Management, Enwin Utilities Ltd.
DJ Galvanizing continues to identify energy-saving projects in the facility to boost its competitiveness. “Every year we review energy efficient investments that can provide good returns and help reduce our overall carbon footprint,” says Richard Jazvac, DJ Galvanizing’s Finance and Administration Manager.
Seeing the savings
“The return on the investment was more than 60 percent”, says Mr. Jazvac. “The incentive is a big help on a project like this when there are other projects competing for capital funds,” he says. “Without the incentive, the project would have been a very hard sell.”
Annual electricity savings with the retrofit are an estimated $140,000.
“The existing lighting system was at the end of its life cycle and required extensive and expensive ongoing maintenance,” says Bruce Ashton, the company’s electrical engineer. “We were continually fixing and shutting off lights. In the warehouse we had too much light and in the production areas we needed more. Something needed to be done.”
Saving into the future
The company expects to implement additional energy-efficiency projects that will further reduce electricity usage and increase competitiveness.
A variable speed drive compressor will be installed in the facility’s air compressor system. Currently the existing air compressors run continually because of old, inefficient control technology. “It’s a very inefficient use of electricity and it’s expensive,” Mr. Dunmore says.
To read the full article or download the case study as a PDF click here.
Find out more about energy efficiency incentives and strategies at saveONenergy.ca/get-started
