Virtual Energy Management
CASE STUDY
Based in St. Stephen, N.B. Canada, Ganong Bros. Limited is Canada’s oldest independent candy
maker. It’s a family-owned manufacturer of premium chocolates, sugar confectionary and fruit snacks,
including well-known brands such as Ganong, Delecto, Chicken Bones, Fruitfull and Sunkist. The
facility is 180,000 ft² in size and employs approximately 400 people.
The Case
The main facility of Ganong was constructed in 1999.
Since that time, energy efficiency or environmental
considerations have changed for a plant’s design. Even
though the facility has gone through many upgrades
and retrofits since then, there were still opportunities for
improvement.
Like many small-to-medium manufactures, for Ganong
to stay competitive and cost effective , continuous
improvement has become an essential ingredient to
profitablity. At the same time, consumers are also
becoming more aware about their vendors’
environmental record and policies.
To meet their goals of energy efficiency & cost savings,
Ganong decided to innovate by integrating an energy
management solution into its operations.
CUSTOMER COMMENTS
This is a progressive energy
soluon. It is an ongoing
connuous improvement
program. Analyzing energy
usage has become a science
and having access to SHIFT’s
experse and our data will
allow us to make decisions
based on facts. We consider
them our partner in energy
reducon.
Jeff Prucell
Vice President of Operaons
While talking to the journalists in a
press conference introducing SHIFT’s
VEM soluon at Ganong Bros.
SHIFT Energy and MCW Maricor worked together to conduct a site audit identifying energy saving
opportunities and to develop the foundation for the development of an energy monitoring strategy.
Subsequently,Ganong entered into an agreement with SHIFT Energy to use its EnergyMentor™
solution.
Virtual Energy Manager Engagement
Ganong realized that for any energy performance improvement project to be successful in regards to
energy utilization, plant managers must be able to measure what they were managing.
EnergyMentor™, SHIFT’s real time energy analytics dashboard, proved to be the best available
solution for their need. The dashboard would give plant managers a way to monitor and gain energy
insights about their production lines. It would also provide information to the Executives and indeed all
of the facitility employees so that everybody could contribute – opening up efficiency possibilities not
just the plant floor but to the entire facility including non-production areas like office rooms, cafeteria
even outside the building (i.e. outdoor lighting).
Access to information is good. But it was clear from the beginning that Ganong needed more than an
energy information system. They needed to spot the opportunities and act on them. For example,
looking at the dashboard, their employees could know they had a marginal electricity demand cost of
$13.1138/kW. But is it normal for their facility? If not, why is it high/low? What can they do to change
that? Given that it’s a complex factory that runs almost 24/7, figuring out such questions would be
daunting for even a regular person from looking at an energy monitoring dashboard.
Figure: SHIFT VEM Model
VEM
Energy
Balance
Energy
ng
Modeling
Data to
Information
Ongoing
Audit
Benchmark &
Evaluation
Best
Practices
s
To translate such information and to actively help Ganong in their search for efficiency and
sustainability, SHIFT suggested our VEM (Virtual Energy Manager) offering. Our VEM package is
designed for customers who do not have the engineering capability or resources to analyze the
real-time information provided by an EMIS dashboard. SHIFT would assign a certified energy manager
to such customers who would work with them over the period of the contract and help them on energy,
process and sustainability improvement initiatives. This included:
Consulting and analysis by our certified energy engineers;
On site engagement as and when needed;
Performance target setting and notification;
Help with energy sourcing and energy efficient equipment procurement;
Monthly and quarterly reports on the progress;
Workshops and training for employees.
Saving Opportunities
The table below shows what energy measures were focused and the impacting areas:
Table: Areas of Opportunity
Source of Energy Use
Energy Efficiency Measures
Lighting
Total 20+ areas were observed for CFL/LED upgrades, occupancy
sensors, separate circuit controls etc.
Air Damper
By turning off unused/redundant air flow to the Compressor Room.
Air Handler Unit
Building control system adjustment for set-points, schedule
optimization, filter changes etc. for total 12 AHUs in various areas of
the facility.
Heating
Adjusting the thermostat for Shipping Warehouse during weekends
and nights.
Power Factor
PF correction for Line 5 in Electrical Room Substation
Funding Assistance
SHIFT’s energy management program that would help Ganong identifying opportunities to save energy
through energy monitoring and ongoing energy management was approved by Efficiency New
Brunswick and Department of Energy for a 50% funding assistance. Their aim was to learn how an
energy management program could be appropriately scaled from a large industrial model to a medium
size plant using an Energy Management Information System (EMIS).
Conclusion
The work SHIFT has done with Ganong in collaboration with other partners solidified our understanding
of successful energy management programs in the mid-size manufacturing market. It proves that,
energy management program can be designed to be cost effective and deliver desired outcomes in
even mid-sized manufacturing environments.
For more information please visit us at:
www.shiftenergy.com
To contact us:
Address
Call/Fax
SHIFT Energy Inc.
75 Prince William Street
Saint John, New Brunswick
Canada, E2L 2B2
Email
Toll-free: 1-800-SHIFT-60
Phone: (506) 642 9422
Fax: (506) 642 6138
info@shiftenergy.com
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