Chillers are widely used in industry and buildings. These machines contain two fluids - coolant and oil. Over a period of time, the oil permeates into the coolant - a process which is known as “oil-fouling.” Since oil is more viscous, it has a higher coefficient of friction. As the “oil-fouled” coolant circulates through the heat exchanger, the oil sticks to the inside of the heat exchanger tubes. This diminishes heat transfer by as much as 30% in less than 6 months, resulting in higher energy consumption, reduced life, increased maintenance, etc. Traditionally this has been remedied through the use of toxic and corrosive cleaners, which have to be used repeatedly because oil fouling cannot be prevented. The more appropriate solution is to prevent the oil from sticking to the insides of the heat-exchanger tubes in the first place.

Peak Shaving is the voluntary reduction of load whenever a peak occurs on the grid. In most jurisdictions, this occurs whenever a peak is “predicted.” A service provider typically provides these ALERTs (predictions) well ahead of the event and may also manage the client’s machinery to shave the peak and restore it to full load after the peak has passed. The following other phenomena are related to Peak Shaving:

1. Demand Response is the voluntary reduction of load when called upon to do so by the Utility instead of in response to the “prediction” of a peak. A service provider typically provides these ALERTs (predictions) when called upon by the Utility well ahead of the event and may also manage the client’s machinery to reduce the load and restore it to full load after the event has passed.

2. Price Arbitrage occurs whenever electricity is supplied from an auxiliary device (e.g., ESS or CHP) because the price on the grid is higher than the electricity that could be supplied from the auxiliary device. A service provider typically provides these ALERTs (predictions) and may also manage the client’s machinery to reduce the load on the grid and restore it to full load after the event has passed.

The following techniques are used to achieve Peak Shaving, Demand Response or Price Arbitrage:
LC – Load Curtailment
Also known as Load Shedding, this technique is used to shut down non-critical loads in response to the “prediction” of a peak or a situation when the price on the grid is uneconomical. It can also be used for Demand Response and Price Arbitrage.

ESS – Energy Storage Systems
Energy Storage Systems typically consist of Batteries. Besides protecting a vital asset against an outage, Energy Storage Systems are used to supply the load in response to the “prediction” of a peak. They can also be used d to charge during off-peak hours and discharge during on-peak hours on a daily basis, thus offering “price arbitrage” to lower the overall cost of electricity. The transfer of load to and from the grid is totally transparent. The largest application of these systems has been for the purpose of peak shaving in applications where the load cannot be reduced (e.g. Class A Global Adjustment in Ontario) and in Demand Response.

CHP – Combined Heat & Power
CHP typically consists of a Gas Fired Power Plant (GFPP). These devices are used to supply the load in response to the “prediction” of a peak. They can be used to supply the load whenever the price of the grid exceeds the price of electricity from the CHP, effectively offering “price arbitrage” to lower the overall cost of electricity. Besides supplying electricity, useful byproducts are a substantial amount of heat and carbon dioxide. The transfer of load to and from the grid is totally transparent. The largest application of these systems has been for the purpose of peak shaving in applications where the load cannot be reduced (e.g. Class A Global Adjustment in Ontario) and in Demand Response.

This involves the replacement of old lighting technologies (Incandescent, Fluorescent, Compact Fluorescent, Metal Halide, etc.) with modern LED technology. Besides reducing energy consumption dramatically, LED technology offers other advantages such as dramatically longer life, eco-friendliness, labor savings, zero UV emissions, and greater functionality/control. Specific procedures need to be followed to qualify for government rebates/grants.

Often known as Instrumentation, the requirements of Industrial Energy Management go beyond just measuring consumption. This is because of the widespread use of machinery, each with its own set peculiarities. In the case of electricity, it may include voltage, current, power factor, and power quality. In the case of water (and other liquids), it may include temperature, Ph, mineral level, etc. The extended purpose may be quality control, preventive maintenance, safety, compliance with industry/government standards, predictive analysis, process control, etc. A large number of sensors are often deployed. Most modern Energy Management systems transmit the information on a continuous basis via Internet/Wi-Fi directly to sophisticated Data-Warehouse software (multi-dimensional database), which analyzes the data to produce reports, dashboards and alerts.

Power Quality consists of the following elements

1. Power Factor
2. Voltage Imbalance
3. Surge Protection
4. Harmonics

Provisioning for the supply of Natural Gas

Xcela can provide Natural Gas to customers through any of the products shown in the diagram:

Gas Market Links:

• Natural Gas Price - US - History (Monthly):  Natural Gas (Globex) Monthly Commodity Futures Price Chart : NYMEX (tradingcharts.com)
• Natural Gas Price - US - History (Weekly):  Natural Gas (Globex) Weekly Commodity Futures Price Chart : NYMEX (tradingcharts.com)
• Natural Gas Price - US - History (Daily):  Natural Gas (Globex) Daily Commodity Futures Price Chart : NYMEX (tradingcharts.com)
• Natural Gas Price - US - Futures (Monthly):  Natural Gas (Globex) Futures Prices / Natural Gas (Globex) Quotes : NYMEX (tradingcharts.com)
• Natural Gas Storage – US (Weekly):   Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report - EIA
• Natural Gas Prices - Canada:  ICE NGX (theice.com)
• Weather USA:  National Weather Service
• Weather Canada:  Canadian Weather - Environment Canada
• Natural Gas Rig Count:  Natural Gas Weekly Update (eia.gov)
• Natural Gas Price Canada Forward Curve (on-request only)
• Natural Gas Price Canada – Strips (on-request only)