Energy Conservation & Waste Reduction at VeriForm

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Video of VeriForm's owners Paul & Rhonda Rack on CTV's Province Wide

At VeriForm Inc. we care deeply about the environment. In fact between 2006 and 2008 we invested $46,186 in over 42 individual energy saving projects and the result has been astounding: Our annual operating costs have been reduced by $89,152. Factoring in energy price increases, we expect to save over $1.42 million dollars over the next 10 years. In addition, we have reduced our company’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 233 tonnes per year. That is equivalent to more than 10,000 trees absorbing carbon dioxide annually.

Since 2006 we have more than doubled our sales per kwh which means we have reduced our energy costs by over 58%! If every business in Ontario tackled their energy costs as we have, Ontario would not need to build any new power stations and we could create thousands of new jobs in the energy saving products sector. Lastly, our return on investment for the average energy savings project was just 6.3 months and not the 2 years we had expected. Some projects paid for themselves in just 1.5 weeks.

Here is a list of both unique or very profitable energy and waste reduction projects:

Project	Initial Cost	Annual Savings	Annual CO2 Reduction (kg)
Replace Paper Towels with Super Hand Dryers	$2,020	$2,853	2,300
Turn Off Printers/Monitors/Computers at Night	$250	$2,978	3,487
Software to Print Multiple Pages per Sheet	$320	$1,200	1,293
Replace HID plant lighting with T5 lights	$8,000	$20,916	26,275
Install Tamper Resistant Programmable Plant Thermostat	$1,200	$13,911	84,067
Wire Heating Disconnects on 5 Bay Doors	$1,200	$7,893	47,699
Equipment Capacitors to Raise Power Factor	$11,285	$24,118	28,243

In the 2.5 years VeriForm has implemented energy and waste reduction programs we distilled our experience into “Golden Rules” for judging project effectiveness and for successful implementation:

Our downdraft systems use up to
66% less electricity versus competing designs.

Golden Rule 1:
Pick the Lowest Hanging Fruits First
Pick the fastest, cheapest and most rewarding programs to implement first. Look for pay backs in 1 year or less.

Golden Rule 2:
Wrestle Your Power Factor to Over 90
Check your electrical bill. If the Power Factor (PF) is less than 90, then your electrical costs are 20% higher than a 90 plus PF shop. Utility companies do not break out the extra cost of a poor PF on your bill but the main solution is to install capacitors at individual machines.

Golden Rule 3:
Replace HID lighting with T5 Lighting
T5 lights use 50% less electricity than HID lights, last 3-4 times longer and emit better light longer over their life.

Golden Rule 4:
Install Programmable Thermostats and Lock Them
A programmable thermostat can pay for itself within weeks. But lock the thermostats so that staff do not tamper with them.

Golden Rule 5:
Expand Your Projects to Include Waste
Projects like printing multiple pages per sheet and eliminating paper towels are not typical energy saving projects. But they save trees from being cut down and lower the costs associated with waste disposal.

Golden Rule 6:
Buy Equipment Based on Energy Usage
Choose efficient computers and production equipment. A more efficient motor will pay for itself within months.

Our projects at VeriForm have resulted in amazing savings. We never expected such quick paybacks and return on investments. I think most business owners feel saving money on electricity is a small savings but we have proven that you can increase your profitability tremendously. Despite our achievements, we expect to implement even more projects in the future. We definitely are not finished making VeriForm a cleaner and more efficient company.

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