From Guest Blogger Jayde Ferguson: How to Carry Out a Farm Energy Audit

With today’s soaring electricity price, tough economic climates and global warming concerns, farmers seek to streamline efficiencies to create savings. We live in a world where energy can no longer be taken for granted and so putting an effective energy audit in place is absolutely essential to identifying key problems. From the use of clean sustainable energy to energy conservation and pollution penalties, it’s become paramount for everyone to tackle energy security.

Whilst the ever-rising utility expenses have had an effect on all of us, it’s the farmers who need to reduce their vulnerability to the volatile costs of on-farm energy the most. Using simple steps that can be acted upon immediately will help reduce your farm’s energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and spend on utility bills. Here’s some tips on how to carry out a farm energy audit to get you started:

1. Importance of an Energy Audit

Before you can carry out an effective energy audit, you need to have a comprehensive understanding about what an energy audit is. Energy audits are a blueprint to energy savings and are used to assess the energy needs and efficiency of the property and everything that’s being used within it.

This detailed report looks at your farming operation to see where you’re using energy and where you can be conserving it. An energy audit will highlight important modifications that can be made to save your farm a significant amount of money and reduce negative impacts on the environment. Conducting a farm energy audit isn’t just good for your wallet – it’s beneficial in many ways.

2. Farm Energy Management Principals

Energy use on the farm is usually defined by two categories – direct and indirect. Direct energy comes from electricity and gas consumed on the farm property, fuel oils and fuel used by various machinery. Indirect energy tends to be the most overlooked and this covers the energy used in the extractions of minerals, transport, manufacture and maintenance of farm machinery.

Good management of these areas is the most effective way to boosting energy efficiency on the farm. Being aware of your current consumption, the way in which it’s distributed and how it’s being used can help you compare it with previous years or other farms. The three most important farm energy management principals are:

1. Good record keeping: This will allow for improvements to be measured and problems identified – a crucial part of an effective energy audit.
2. Maintenance of equipment: Regularly check automatic controls such as thermostats with heating. If settings are off by just 1 degree, it can increase the energy consumption to 15%. Ensure all tractors and other equipment using power are the right size for the job.
3. Insulation levels on buildings: Although this is in the design stage of the property, it’s essential to maintain the building fabric and replace damaged insulation where necessary. There are recommended levels of insulation for different situations, and an energy farm audit will help to identify how well-insulated your property is.

3. Key Areas for Energy Saving Opportunities

A farm energy audit will give you the overall picture of your energy use and demonstrate how many small changes to your operation can impact your energy bills and the environment positively. It doesn’t matter how large or small your farming operation is, here’s a few key areas you should be looking at in an audit:

1. Passive Heating and Cooling: Simple ventilation will use little to no energy to warm and cool your farm building.
2. Lighting: Install lighting controls, such as dimmer and timers to ensure lights are only used when needed. Opt for LED lights where possible.
3. Motors and Engines: Peak performance creates many benefits on the farm like reduced maintenance expenses, better fuel efficiency, extended machine life and reduced downtime. Purchase high efficiency electric motors.
4. Vehicles: Maintain all farm vehicles and equipment. Things like blocked air filters can increase fuel consumption as much as 20%! Use the vehicle properly to lower operating costs (using the right gears etc) and minimise idling which can account for 15-20% of fuel use. Ensure fuel storage tanks are sealed well to prevent loss from leaks and evaporation. To effectively monitor all equipment on your farm, it can be a good idea to have a technician come and install an electrical metering device to give you an accurate representation of how much energy they are consuming.
5. Other Appliances and Stand-By Power: Everyday home and farm appliances can be costing you more than you realise. Use this check sheet to determine how efficient your appliances are.

4. Renewable Energy Generation

Another way to cut down costs with a farm energy audit is to consider renewable energy generation. Supplying your own energy to run your operation provides several key benefits including financial viability and cost savings, operational independence and reducing your carbon footprint.

Producing energy for farm and personal use can be done through a few area. Solar energy is the most popular on farms for powering electrical fencing, heating greenhouses, pumping water and heating. Solar water systems can also be installed. Solar panels on roofs is the most wide-spread for of solar energy production and converts the energy from the sunlight into electricity. Other key areas include wind power, hybrid systems, green power, nuclear energy and generators.

5. Boosting Energy Efficiency with Backup Generators for the Farm

Whilst not a renewable energy product itself, backup generators are used in almost all renewable energy systems. Diesel backup generators for farms convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and can be a vital part of an overall renewable energy plan to cut down operating costs and reduce negative environmental impact. Not to mention, a reliable source to keep your farm running smoothly in the event of an emergency.

By reviewing your current practices on the farm through an energy audit, you’ll have access to better ideas for energy saving and the improvements you can make will offer a higher return of investment. As a great management tool, an energy audit will open up the door for alternative methods of energy production through renewable energy to help develop a better energy plan within the farm business.

Author Bio

This article is written by Jayde Ferguson, who writes for Able Sales – Australia wide supplier of quality diesel and petrol generators for reliable farm operation. You can catch her on Google+.