Despite falling oil prices, switching from oil to LPG could save companies a fortune, and dramatically reduce their carbon footprint.
It was reported recently that British Industry currently wastes a huge £3bn a year by using outdated energy sources. The report also found that using these energy sources needlessly pumps an extra 13 million tonnes of CO2 into the air.
The outdated energy source in question is oil and therefore the businesses that burn it are generally off grid. There are tens of thousands of off grid oil users at present in the UK and every one of them can take a bite of the potential £3bn savings, and every single one can have a positive impact on the amount of CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere.
So if you’re managing or advising on oil purchasing for off grid plants, read on, this article will save you money and reduce your carbon footprint. Guaranteed.
The main problems with oil are well known; it’s expensive to buy, it’s an inefficient (and therefore expensive) fuel to burn, it’s dirty, and it’s a huge environmental pollutant.
Add to that the maintenance costs of an oil boiler, the potential for oil theft and the pollution risks (and fines) associated with oil leaks and spillages, it’s easy to see why it’s time to switch away from oil.
Although renewables are increasingly being talked about as a potential alternative, they’re some way off from providing a viable solution for your complete supply. Renewables are also currently more expensive than oil, so although you would tick the environmental box for a proportion of your supply, you wouldn’t be reducing your costs.
To reduce your costs too, the only real alternative for off grid businesses is LPG.
It is cheaper than oil, greener than oil, cleaner burning and fulfils all the same criteria that natural gas fulfils for on grid businesses. You wouldn’t burn oil if you were on the grid, so why use it off grid when there is a gas alternative?
Despite the current fall in oil prices, propane (LPG) pricing has proved historically to be consistently lower per litre than oil, regardless of whether it’s being compared to kerosene, gasoil or HFO. This is still the case, especially when factoring in the price per kilowatt hour of energy produced.
Even with the current dip in oil prices, the expectation is that in the medium and long term the price differential between oil and LPG will constantly increase, so the savings to be made by switching will continue to grow.
The exact amount saved will depend on usage, and on the current grade of oil used. However, experts predict LPG could reduce bills by between 20-40%.
With the food and drinks production sector currently spending over £1 billion a year for its heating, lighting and manufacturing processes experts suggest that the savings available by switching to LPG are around £300m.
These savings come in two parts. £223m could be saved on fuel alone, representing a reduction of 22%. Then, when you factor in replacing the oil burning equipment with the much more fuel efficient LPG burners, the saving rises to almost £300m, giving a total saving in this example of around 27%.
The report bases its figures on average pricing across all grades, but savings of up to 40% are possible depending on the current oil source, usage and spend.
For many, the financial savings of LPG will be the most important, but the industry is seeing more and more companies converting to LPG for green reasons too.
Consumers are increasingly demanding it from industry, and with government levies on carbon emissions, LPG could bring significant benefits.
Comparing the fuels alone, LPG reduces CO2 emissions by 14% compared to kerosene, by 29% compared to gas oil and by 31% when compared to heavy fuel oil. However, when combined with the more efficient LPG burners, LPG offers carbon dioxide reductions of 30-50%, helping to take a huge chunk out of corporate carbon footprints.
LPG not only offers significant reduced CO2, but also reductions in particulates, NO2 and SO2 when compared to all grades of oil.
Looking again at the recent report shows that off grid British industry as a whole currently uses almost 187 billion kW of energy a year, generated from almost 20 billion litres of oil. To do this, it is producing the equivalent of 58 million tonnes of CO2 a year.
However, if that energy had been generated from LPG, CO2 emissions would be cut by 13.2 million tonnes a year (23%), to just under 45 million tonnes.
Extrapolating these figures for the food and drinks production sector shows CO2 savings of 1.1 million tonnes, the equivalent of over half a million flights from London to Sydney.
Again, the report has used averages as the basis for its figures, but savings of up to 50% are possible depending on current oil source and usage.
It’s not just about the fuel source; the equipment also plays a large part in the money and pollution saving qualities of LPG. Oil boilers are expensive to run and maintain. A brand new LPG boiler needs far less maintenance and is even cheaper to install than a new oil boiler.
In addition to the savings on installation and maintenance, a new LPG boiler runs at 95% efficiency, which means energy consumption could be reduced by 5%. Additionally, control systems can be recommended that see efficiency savings rise even further.
Switching to LPG is easy, and according to Flogas, most businesses will recoup the conversion costs in a year or less.
The switching process starts with a comprehensive site survey from Flogas’ qualified engineers. They’ll check the efficiency of your existing plant before designing a solution to suit your individual business needs.
Before any costs are committed or any work is carried out, you’ll be shown the exact savings you can expect to see.
Experts in energy, Flogas are the UK market leaders in oil to LPG conversion, so when you do make the switch to LPG, the Flogas team will take care of everything – from civil works, to the installation and commissioning of new plant equipment and LPG tanks. It’s a completely managed process from start to finish.
But if making the switch is so easy, with conversion costs being recouped in a year, and obvious savings both financially and environmentally, why hasn’t everyone converted to LPG?
According to Flogas head of bulk sales, Rob McCord, it’s because people just aren’t aware there is an alternative to oil.
McCord said: “We find the biggest reason that businesses still burn oil is a lack of awareness that there is a cheaper, greener alternative, or because they are under the misconception that switching is expensive or difficult. However, once they’ve seen how much they can save, and how easy the process is, the conversion quickly follows.
If you’re interested in finding out more, contact Rob McCord, or visitwww.flogas.co.uk
*The article first appeared in the February 2015 issue of Food & Beverage International
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