Energy Audits: Tools For Business Competitiveness And Environmental Improvement

Energy efficiency is crucial now for the competitiveness of any company, including in this concept of effectiveness of different aspects of energy: electricity consumption of fossil fuels (from oil, coal or natural gas) and other sources alternative energy. However, before talking about efficiency is necessary to know what our situation in this aspect, ie, it is necessary to measure to control and to propose measures for improvement. This is where energy audits are at stake.

Audits are a systematic process by which we obtain a sufficiently reliable knowledge of the energy consumption of the company to identify factors that affect resource consumption and to identify and evaluate different savings opportunities based on their profitability. The typical stages in which its activities are of this type are:

• Pre-audit or pre-diagnosis. A person makes a first visit to the facility as a contact, gathering information on equipment, working methods, protocols, performance, pricing and consumption data (electricity, fossil fuels, alternative energy). The objective of this stage is to identify critical points in terms of consumption, poor, etc. and to establish a plan of action for periods and data collection points, measured "in situ" and interviews with staff.

• Data collection. The data collection periods vary greatly depending on the type of company, ranging from days to a month depending on the number of audit teams, types of facilities, size, etc.. In any case, should be sufficient so that the data are representative. It is important at this stage have the assistance of company staff, especially the maintenance manager and plant manager.

• Diagnosis: The study of the above data will identify where you are not getting effective use of energy and establish the appropriate remedial action such as replacement of equipment, new protocols for action ... In addition to technical feasibility, we must analyze the economic, certain investments, benefits, costs and payback periods.

• Implementation and monitoring. Once adopted, the proposed measures should be monitored to verify that they are running properly and confirm the improvements and resulting savings.

WHY USE INFRARED Electrical Inspections

With the traditional technique of "clean and press" actions are performed to correct loose connections and poor contact, so all connections, joints and contact points are physically problematic or is in need of maintenance. Generally one will not know if which is the case of there is really a problem.

With the help of thermography or infrared electrical inspections, one can now pinpoint the electrical problems which must be corrected under the conventional techniques and can find other problems that would not normally be detected. Since infrared thermography is a means to identify, without any contact , electrical and mechanical components that are hotter than they should be, probable fault area, and also indicates excessive heat loss, insulation failure that may be defective.

The advantages of this technique, we can cite:

• The inspection is performed at a distance without physical contact with the element in normal operation. That is not necessary to decommission the facility.

• This is a technique that allows accurate identification of the defective item, unlike the pyrometer which is a temperature measurement only of a certain point on the wire.

• It is applicable to various electrical equipment: terminals of transformers, current transformers, switches, cables and connectors, etc.

• It can be used to monitor defects in "almost real time", which quantifies the severity of the defect and the impact of load variations on the same schedule to allow for maintenance needs at the right time (which can range from simply follow a load limitation or immediate action before the defect can cause the collapse of the installation).

• In relation to the traditional maintenance, the use of thermographic inspection promotes reducing risks to staff, reduced outages and lower maintenance cost.

Disadvantages and / or inconvenience, we have:

• Limited capacity to identify internal defects in the measure that the defect is not manifested externally by increasing temperature.

• Solar reflections can mask or confuse defects.

• The charge status of the item under analysis may influence the determination of the anomalies.

THERMOGRAPHIC INSPECTION PROCESS

In the thermographic inspection process can be defined, in general, the following steps:

1. Inspection planning during periods of peak demand.

2. Evaluation and classification of the warming detected.

3. Issuance of reports, identifying faults and the degree of urgency for repair

4. Repair Tracking

5. Thermographic review to evaluate the effectiveness of corrective maintenance performed.

Storm and Water Damage

Excluded from this coverage are damages caused by leaks due to bad drainage and other community facilities.

Often, especially in summer, storms are responsible for many of the water damage to homes, shops and garages. The insurance policies of all companies contemplate compensation for flooding. However, the conditions of the premium and the nature of the disaster are those that determine who should be responsible for repairs and to compensate the insured for damages.

The first thing the policyholder must do once you have known the claim, is to notify your insurance company. During business hours, it is preferable to contact the insurance agent or broker, but also you can call your customer service of the company that operates 24 hours.

Each insurer specifies the amount of water per square meter which will entitle the customer to damage from a storm to be covered by the policy. The same goes for wind speed and its consequences. Usually excludes damage caused by leaks in the lower floors or groundwater flooding that accompanies these atmospheric phenomena.

Pay special attention to the damage caused by rain entering through ceilings, pipes, chutes, balconies or windows as a result of leaks or leaks caused by traffic jams and sewage overflows. Normally, these damages are excluded if they happen as a result of a poorly maintained roof drains or patios, whether for the policyholder himself, because it is a detached house, as if it should do the residents of the building .

If the latter happens, the insurance company will send an expert to estimate the amount of damage. In some cases, move to the professionals who are needed for the water damage repair. Subsequently claim damages to the homeowners to cause flooding.

If flooding or overflows are such affecting rivers or the sea or due to broken levees and dams is a public body, the Insurance Compensation Consortium, which deals with compensation.

Helping Professions – Imparting A Lot Of Stress And Joy

A social work often involves long, strenuous and different working hours, including emergency services. But he also conveys a lot of joy and satisfaction.

To the helping professions, social or other varieties of professions, the most important are: doctor, nurse, physician assistants, paramedics, dieticians, physiotherapists, geriatric nurse, occupational therapist, psychotherapist, curative, social workers, addiction counselors, counselor and probation officer. In the social professions, it is important to advise other people they are caring for, treating or maintaining. The job descriptions are influenced by humanist theories: the focus of the business is the suffering, sick and lonely people, aiming to secure their needs.

The people who take on social work are faced with special challenges. The courses last for a very long time and not everyone is physically or mentally able to discharge his dream job, too. In terms of career choices, one must carefully consider which of these professions is the right one. Anyone who is unsure, in order to serve better, can undergo a several-month internship in this field of work, before deciding. The insights gained from this internship, with all its practical requirements and procedures, will pave the way to their decisions towards a professional life.

Another important issue when choosing a social work is that the internal social commitment must be strong enough to continue with their professions for decades. The desire to have a career, should not play a large role. Otherwise it may happen that initially committed people become dull after a few years of professional work.  They begin to recognize in their everyday work, no longer the suffering people in the center of their activity, but these people are only perceived as cases to be treated.

All social professions have in common is that they both are physically and mentally very demanding on the staff. Many, talented people who have selflessly served for many years and worked to exhaustion, can fall victims to the burn-out syndrome. If this is left untreated, it can lead to total unemployment and disability. But who cares, anyone can do the social work of his choice and turn it into a permanent, deep inner satisfaction and joy that had eluded him in another profession.

Save Empty Bottles?

Many times I come to see some poor people in depressed areas all over the world trying to cope with poverty.  All these things I can only watch as they are interviewed by reporters.  It always comes to my mind the earnest desire to extend help to these less fortunate fellows, but how?

These poorest of the poor situated at far flung areas are hardly reached by civilization, to add a little exaggeration. They live in very small dark shanties, without amenities and worst - nothing to even give to their children at meal time.

Now, I began thinking of providing them at least illumination to light up their homes without adding burden of paying additional electric bills. I humbly suggest that the respective local government units gather and use the discarded empty plastic bottles of drinking water to light up homes. This newly discovered procedure can easily be prepared by anybody. The materials are easily obtained and cost nothing, not to mention the preservation of the environment if these are recycled.

Get an empty plastic bottle of clear bottled water, a piece of discarded corrugated or an aluminum sheet or anything to keep the materials stick together.  Now punch a hole the size of the bottle on the center of the metal sheet, fill the empty bottle with water, attach the bottle to the sheet and attach the gadget on the roof. Just make sure that half of the bottle is seen on the roof and the other half extended inside the house. You'll be amazed, as I was when I first saw one; the amount of light it can give to the house is brighter than any ordinary bulb can.

This will surely lessen the many problems of the distressed families, at least during daytime when the sun shines and the rays are reflected on the water filled bottle installed on the roof inside the house. How about at night? I'm also waiting for another engineer to come up with a solution to that.

So, the next time you feast and open drinking water bottles, think of our less fortunate neighbors out there. Save those empty bottles!