Audits

Viscount Plastics upgraded their cooling water system after an energy audit identified where savings could be achieved.

The company uses chilled and cooled water to cool its injection moulding machines before extracting the heat via cooling towers before using it again. It also uses the water to cool plastic products during production.

The upgrade reduced energy use at the factory by at least 324,848 kWh a year - a saving of about $38,000.

A thermal energy audit of South Island MDF producer Dongwha Patinna identified seven energy management opportunities, and a buyer for excess fuel produced onsite - which together could be worth up to $288,000 a year.