As part of the EU 2020 Strategy, the primary focus is to create a competitive low carbon economy as a means of reducing GHG emissions to the 2020 targets. CREM Ltd. was initially set up to provide solutions in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy alternatives towards achieving these goals.
Energy and the Environment
- The present Climate Change debate has been brought to the fore once again in recent months by extreme weather events globally. These events are being linked to Climate Change due to the rising levels of CO2 in the earths atmosphere which the IPCC is attributing to the burning of hydrocarbons (fossil fuels). Governments are already talking about controlling and mitigating legislation which ultimately will impact on how manufacturing companies operate.
Energy as a Resource
- The current Energy debate is concerned with the long term availability of cheap fossil fuels and the dependence of the work economy on its supply, as well as new and impending regulations to mitigate the impact that burning fossil fuels has on the environment. These factors drive up the cost of energy so in this regard, control of Energy as a resource is crucial to the ongoing viability of businesses.
Efficienct Use of Energy
- As Energy is a key cost to most business, the control of this cost will make a business more profitable. CREM Ltd. takes a three strand approach in reducing energy costs:
- Competitive procurement
- Energy efficient consumption and
- Conservation of the energy procured
Conservation of Energy in Industry
- Technologies such as Cogeneration Boilers, Biomass boilers as well as Renewable Energy solutions have been used by industry to reduce energy costs of space and process heating. Similarly energy efficiency initiatives such as
- Low energy and occupational sensor controlled lighting
- Variable speed motors
- Control of compressed air supply system
Conservation of Energy in the Home
- Many countries have used energy input labeling of domestic appliances as a way of focusing consumers to reducing energy consumption. According to studies, the replacement of old appliances is one of the most efficient global measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Based on a reduction of 40% in energy consumption in appliances over the past 10 years, it is estimated that if all households in Europe changed their appliances which were more than ten year old to new ones would result in 20 billion kWh of electricity being saved annually, hence reducing CO2 emissions by almost 18 billion Kg. In the US, the corresponding figures is 17 billion kWh of electricity and 12 billion Kg CO2
Energy Performance of Buildings
- The Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD) has established the legislative framework for setting minimum energy performance standards for buildings. The Directive established an Assessment and Certification procedure known as Building Energy Rating (BER) Certification. Building regulations have dramatically improved the Energy Performance requirements over the past number of years and are expected to continue to set higher standards in future Regulations. It is expected that the ultimate aim will be the construction of Energy Efficient Buildings such as Passive Buildings or Energy Neutral Buildings that have no net energy requirement.
