Nissan shares energy tips

Nissan shares energy tips The automaker played host to representativesCarbon fiber hood from approximately 40 companies for the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Save Energy Now LEADER Industrial Sustainability and Energy Management Showcase.” The day-long event covered topics including sustainable manufacturing, measuring energy savings and implementing energy savings programs.

“You can’t really measure savings without measuring usage,” said energy engineer Richard Russell, who was hired by the company several years ago after working as a consultant when Nissan’s Canton, Miss., plant was built.

Nissan adopted an energy-saving program in 1992 and has become more vigilant with it in the last decade. Russell said the company has three main goals — to eliminate waste, cut manufacturing costs and reduce the impact its operations have on the environment.

Information service monitors are located throughout the facility and give workers the ability to track a department’s energy usage by day, week, month or year. The company has cut its energy usage by 30 percent in the last 18 years, Russell said, adding such projects work best when endorsed by senior management. Companies should constantly review their programs and technologies to make sure the best results are being achieved, he added.

A 100-watt light bulb burning for 10 hours uses one kilowatt-hour. Depending on outdoor temperatures, Nissan can save more than 21,700 kilowatt hours in a day by shutting off 27 air units, and more than 22,000 kilowatt hours by shutting down the 958 robots used in the plant over the weekend, officials said.

While touring the plant, conference attendees noticed dim lighting or dark areas in some parts of the plant. The company has saved $125,000 by installing lighting timers and replacing the entire lighting system in just the stamping part of the facility, and decrease energy usage Carbon fiber hoodby an average of 9 percent during shutdown times.