Saving energy from the office walls to the plant floor

Spartan Controls saves power across Alberta facilities

Controlling energy costs

From office insulation to steam boilers, a leading Canadian provider of automation solutions is finding energy savings across its Alberta facilities.

Spartan Controls is the leading provider of automation, valves, measurement, process control, solutions and services in Western Canada. Named after the Spartans of ancient Greece, who were noted for their efficiency and organization, Spartan Controls has recently made their own advancements in efficiency – energy efficiency.

Seeking both power savings and new ways to minimize the impact of its operations on the environment, Spartan Controls joined the two-year Strategic Energy Management program in June 2019 at its Fort McMurray, Edmonton, Calgary, Whitecourt and Grande Prairie locations.

Strategic upgrades

After forming an energy team, Spartan Controls worked with program experts to perform energy assessments at its facilities and identify areas for energy conservation. Major upgrades to steam boilers were completed at three facilities, which reduced chemical use, energy consumption and operational costs. At its offices and warehouse space, Spartan Controls completed building and site infrastructure improvements that reduced its overall energy use per square foot. The upgrades included improved insulation, more energy efficient lighting fixtures, occupancy sensors and improvements to specific areas within buildings (such as reduced heat loads on server room cooling equipment at its Fort McMurray office).

At its Edmonton location, the building management system is receiving a complete overhaul, which will see new variable air volume controls and thermostats with built-in motion sensors. Spartan Controls is also adjusting its capital planning process to include budget considerations for additional energy-saving measures at applicable facilities. This includes using LED lights throughout common areas, as well as occupancy, motion and light sensors.

Impressive results

To date, they have reduced their electricity expenditures by $25,000, improving their bottom line and reducing their environmental impact. Together with several other new environmental initiatives, the company has saved over $40,000 annually in energy and maintenance expenditures (over 300,000 kilowatt hours per year, or 5 per cent).

“Being involved in the SEM program has been very worthwhile. The support of coaches like Komal Dhankhar Kalyan has been instrumental in helping Spartan Controls achieve additional energy savings and continue to reduce the footprint of our offices through a very structured approach.”

– Brian Van Vliet, Environment Solutions

An ongoing focus on employee engagement

Spartan Controls is in the process of implementing a behaviour-based campaign to raise awareness about the energy costs of lighting and plug loads with its staff. The campaign includes stickers with energy costs by the switch plates, internal competition and recognition for employees who are making a difference. Tracking real-time energy use to optimize performance and being proactive on maintenance activities will translate to further energy savings over time.