CircuiTree - July 2008 - (Page 35)

[ Environmentally Speaking ] By Fern Abrams Guest editor Sahar Osman-Sypher IPC Energy Benchmarking Survey: Energy Conservation Proves to Be Cost-Effective iven the recent ﬂurry of attention to energy use and its concurrent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, IPC conducted an Energy Benchmarking Survey to help the electronics industry proactively prepare to comply with potential GHG-curbing regulations (see January 2008 issue). As mandated by the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Law, EPA is poised to issue proposed regulations by September 2008 requiring companies to report their GHG emissions. The energy survey gave companies a starting point from which they could further evaluate their facilities’ energy consumption. Survey respondents came from the EMS, OEM, PCB, and component manufacturing sectors. More than 80 percent of the survey respondents indicated that their companies monitor energy use and cost. Fiftytwo percent have already completed speciﬁc energy reduction projects at their facilities, and 48 percent have energy-reduction projects in progress. These numbers indicate that the majority of electronics manufacturing facilities are actively engaged in employing energy conservation measures. The drive for companies to invest in energy-efﬁcient projects is likely due to the fact that reducing energy consumption is a win-win situation. Energy savings directly translate to increased proﬁt margins and reduced GHG emissions into the environment. The IPC Energy Survey provided companies with a valuable tool to gauge whether their facilities’ energy consumption was on par with similar facilities in the electronics industry. The survey data was normalized to ensure that different facilities participating in the survey could be compared to one another. (Normalization refers to the division of data from different facilities by a common variable allowing data sets to be compared on an equivalent basis. For example, the energy use of each facility was divided by the total square feet of the facility, which could then be compared across different sized facilities. By using factors such as number of employees, net sales, and the size of the facility, several data points for comparison can be established.) Contrary to our expectations, the survey ﬁndings indicated that there was no deﬁnitive relationship between the average temperatures at a facility’s location and energy use. Despite the West Coast’s temperate climate, facilities located in this region of the U.S. had the greatest energy usage per square foot, while facilities in the more extreme climates of the U.S. Northeast had lower energy usages per square foot. Perhaps due to the temperate climate of the West Coast, the buildings are not as well insulated and protected from the outdoor climate as their Northeastern counterparts. Facilities in extreme climates are more likely to be designed to prevent air leakage, leading to less use of energy to cool and heat the facilities. As shown in Figure 1, the survey ﬁndings indicate that facilities in the PCB sector tend to have greater energy usage per square foot than any other sector. The EMS and EMS/component sectors have the lowest energy use per square foot. This difference in energy usage may be due in part to the different processes and operations that are conducted in a PCB versus an EMS plant. The survey data also 0 .9 0 0 .8 0 0 .7 0 0 .6 0 0 .5 0 0 .4 0 0 .3 0 0 .2 0 0 .1 0 A L Z 3 5 I K P Q U W X Y 1 2 B C J M N V D E F G H O R S 4 T F a c i li ti e s Component EMS EMS/Component EMS/PCB PCB Other Figure 1 Energy Usage Versus Type of Facility showed that a greater percentage of the PCB plants’ sales revenues are expended on energy costs when compared to their EMS counterparts. Because the PCB sector spends the greatest percentage of its net sales on energy costs, this sector of the industry is likely to be the hardest hit by rising energy costs. To avoid cutting into a company’s bottom line, facilities may want to minimize their energy use and concurrent GHG emissions. An important ﬁrst step in reducing a facility’s energy consumption is to understand the activities contributing to its energy use. By creating an emissions inventory, a facility can estimate future trends and determine opportunities for energy reductions. Voluntary programs, such as EPA’s Climate Leaders, help businesses create an inventory of their emissions, set aggressive reduction goals, and receive EPA recognition as corporate environmental leaders for accomplishments. Through the Climate Leaders program, EPA provides up to 80 hours of technical assistance to each business as it completes its GHG inventory. The program Web site, www.epa.gov/stateply/index.html, also provides a glimpse into how some businesses have achieved their GHG emissions reduction targets. This was the ﬁrst year that IPC conducted an energy survey. The survey was developed by the IPC Environment, Health, and Safety Steering Committee. In offering the survey, IPC hoped to assist its members in identifying energy efﬁciency opportunities that would lead to improved environmental performance and increased proﬁts. The Energy Benchmarking Survey and survey results are an IPC member beneﬁt. Survey results are only available to participating facilities. For more information, please contact Sahar Osman-Sypher at saharosman-sypher@ipc.org or 703-522-0225. ■ Fern Abrams is IPC’s director of government relations and environmental policy. She is based in Washington, D.C. Fern can be reached by phone at 703-522-0225 or by email at FernAbrams@ipc.org. Sahar Osman-Sypher is EH&S project manager for IPC. circuitree.com • July 2008 35 http://www.epa.gov/stateply/index.html http://circuitree.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CircuiTree - July 2008

CircuiTree - July 2008 Contents My Line Industry Review Tech Talk Flexible Thinking Toward a PCB Production Floor Metric for Go/No Go Testing of Lossy High-Speed Transmission Lines Intelligent Design 20-Year Retrospective Ask the Flexperts Environmentally Speaking BPA Growth Curves Considering Design Variants to Maximize Process Efficiency Market Outlook Technical Product Spotlights Classified Ads Upcoming Events Ad Index

CircuiTree - July 2008

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