A growing number of West Midlands manufacturing and engineering
firms are radically reducing their gas costs after installing
low-carbon technology from energy efficiency company Vickers
Electronics.
Recent data from five Vickers' customers across the region show
they have reduced gas consumption by an average of 38 per cent. At
the same time, carbon emissions have been cut by 529 tonnes in 12
months - the equivalent environmental benefit of taking 176 cars
off the road.
Vickers designs, installs and maintains advanced energy
efficiency technology that monitors temperatures at different
locations in a building and controls the heating system to
substantially reduce energy consumption.
The latest system, the V42, uses self-learning predictive
programming, coupled with many energy saving features and
high-accuracy temperature sensing to dramatically reduce heating
consumption. Latest developments include the addition of lighting
and electrical appliance control, along with a PC package to
remotely monitor and operate the system.
Among the businesses that have produced feedback reports is
steel products business Arcelor Mittal Distribution Solutions UK,
in Halesowen, Birmingham, which reduced gas consumption by almost
38 per cent and shrunk its carbon footprint by more than 58
tonnes.
Tom Lloyd, of Arcelor Mittal's operations team, commented: "The
Vickers Energy management System is ideally suited to our business.
The flexibility it gives us, together with the precise control of
temperature is invaluable, given the nature of the stock held
here.
"Vickers has actually delivered much more than was originally
agreed and, as a result, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the
system to anyone who is serious about cutting costs and protecting
our environment."
Other West Midlands customers to have reported significant
energy and carbon reductions are: off-highway transmissions
manufacturer Turner Powertrain Systems in Wolverhampton (energy use
down by 44 per cent and and carbon emissions by 280 tonnes);
closing systems engineers EMKA Profiles in Birmingham (37 per cent
and 15 tonnes); gardening products maker Hozelock in Birmingham (41
per cent and 145 tonnes); and Bosch Thermotechnology in Worcester
(31 per cent and 87 tonnes).
Vickers managing director David Hilton, said: "The truest judge
of any product or service is the end-user and it is especially
fulfilling to learn that our energy management systems are enabling
West Midlands customers to significantly improve their bottom line
performance, as well as shrinking their carbon footprint.
"We offer guaranteed savings and often cut customers' energy
costs by more than 40 per cent. The continuing rise in the cost of
gas, which is expected to to increase by 33 per cent by 2020,
combined with regulatory requirements such as the government's
Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), mean we are strongly positioned
to harness demand for our sustainable technology."