Students and Industry Benefit from Energy Assessments
As a land grant university, the University of Arkansas is obligated to educate students, contribute to the local economy and conduct research. In his role as director of the Arkansas Industrial Energy Clearinghouse, or AIEC, and the Industrial Assessment Center (IAC), mechanical engineering professor Darin Nutter is able to do all three of these things.
In the state of Arkansas, customers of investor-owned utility companies pay an energy efficiency fee. This money funds rebates that energy companies give customers for upgrades that improve the energy efficiency of their homes or businesses, but it also pays for small and medium-sized manufacturers to get energy efficiency resources and assessments through these two organizations.
The Arkansas Industrial Energy Clearinghouse features a full-time engineer and a contact center that provides personalized answers to questions about energy efficiency, helps manufacturers perform self-assessments on their use of energy, and provide resources such as publications and software so that businesses can create their own energy management programs. They also offer limited on-site plant assessment services. All of their services are provided free of charge.
The Industrial Assessment Center at the University of Arkansas is an affiliate of the IAC at Oklahoma State University. This center sends engineering faculty and students to small and medium-sized manufacturing plants to review energy bills, examine the facilities and identify projects that can save the plants energy and money. The University of Arkansas is one of 32 participating universities across the country that helps US manufacturers and provides energy engineering experience to students.
One of the manufacturers that Nutter works with is Pratt & Whitney, a leading aircraft engine manufacturer. Brad Rekus, environment, health and safety manager for Pratt & Whitney’s Springdale, Arkansas, facility, explained that the company benefitted from working with the university. “We’ve been extremely happy with what they’ve done,” he said. “They’ve been exceptional to work with. I would strongly recommend anyone who has not been working with the Clearinghouse to take advantage of the program.”
Nutter and Chase Harding, mechanical engineering research associate and the staff engineer at the AIEC, worked with a team of students to assess Pratt and Whitney’s energy use and provide suggestions to help the company conserve energy. Recommendations included changing the lighting, reducing the amount of power the plant uses when demand is low and improving the performance of their compressed air system.
Through this experience, Pratt & Whitney learned about new technology and approaches to saving money and energy. The facility has currently completed 80 percent of its recommendations. They have seen a reduction of more than 30 percent in greenhouse gas
emissions, even while their sales have gone up 25 percent. Pratt & Whiney has also saved about $62,000 annually because of the changes they’ve made. In 2014 they received the Arkansas Environmental Stewardship Award for the pollution prevention program they developed with the help of the university.
The students who help with the assessments also benefit, explained Nutter, who worked for the Industrial Assessment Center at Texas A&M as a graduate student. By participating in these projects, University of Arkansas students gain hands-on experience with the manufacturing industry and also with energy efficient practices. One of his current graduate students, Chelsea Wilson, agreed. “It’s good job experience,” she said. “When you’re in the classroom, you learn about systems but never see them. I remember the first time I saw a boiler—I hadn’t realized the scope.”
Wilson hopes to go into consulting when she graduates, and continue to help businesses reduce their energy bills, because she has seen the difference it can make “It’s a huge step toward the U.S. manufacturing future,” she said.
In his research, Nutter seeks to advance the understanding of various fundamental energy interactions within industrial manufacturing and commercial buildings, and his research efforts are closely connected to his AIEC and IAC efforts. “The primary motivation for all my efforts is to improve system energy efficiency, resulting in energy conservation and reduced use of natural resources. In fact, much of my research is spawned by the identification of current problems, issues, and inefficiencies within the industrial and commercial building sectors” he explained.
“The primary motivation for all my efforts
is to improve system energy efficiency, resulting in energy conservation and reduced use of natural resources.”
Darin Nutter, mechanical engineering professor