In response to the Climate Change Levy, the Castings Development Centre has carried out energy audits on 85 sites across the UK. These audits were for IPPC casting producers and the collected data was used by Target 2010 and DETR to agree the level of savings needed in the sector by 2010. This figure has now been set at 11% of current energy usage.

 
The potential savings found on individual sites have varied widely, depending upon the degree to which producers have addressed energy issues and management in the past. Very few foundries were found to manage energy issues specifically, although most were aware of the power consumption and costs associated with melting.

The general conclusion drawn from the audit work is that the industry as a whole is not particularly energy aware. Specific issues noted are:

• Many castings producers only use the main meters for billing, together with a sub meter on the furnaces;
• Energy usage is rarely an agenda item at board meetings;
• Very few staff below the Board level are aware of the amounts of energy purchased;
• Very few managers and supervisors are aware of how much energy is consumed in their individual departments. In most cases this is because there is no sub metering, enabling an assessment to be made;
• Lack of sub metering is a major factor impeding progress in energy saving, because energy monitoring cannot be carried out;
• At the shop floor level there is no imperative to save energy and energy saving issues are not discussed during the induction of new employees;
• Few foundries have a formal energy management system, although those foundries who have an environmental management system have energy included within it.
  

These findings have been distilled from the work carried out in the larger IPPC foundries and they are also expected to apply to the smaller, non-IPPC producers. Many of these would benefit from an energy audit because it would enable them to assess whether they can meet the 11% sector target or possibly agree a site specific target of their own.

For further information on the benefits of energy audits, energy monitoring or the installation of Energy Management Systems, please contact Martin Fallon or Roy Wootton at the Alvechurch office.