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INDUSTRY NEWS
A. O. Smith’s Johnson City plant earns Energy Star certification
MIlWAukee — A. O. Smith’s water heater plant in Johnson City, Tenn., has become the first company facility — and one of the few facilities in Tennessee — to earn eNeRGY STAR®
certification. To qualify, a building’s energy ef-
On behalf of the EPA, David Doane (second from right), energy conservation specialist of Shoffner Kalthoff Mechanical Electrical Service of Knoxville, Tenn., and Don Horton (right), LEED AP sustainability coordinator of McCarty-Holsaple-McCarty Architects of Knoxville presented the ENERGY STAR ®
certification to Chuck Thornton (left), senior manufacturing engineer,
and the ENERGY STAR plaque to John Dreher, manager, manufacturing engi- neering at A. O. Smith – Johnson City for 2010.
ficiency must rank in the top 25% na- tionwide, compared with similar facilities. The rankings are based on the u.S. ePA’s national energy per- formance rating system. Johnson City received a rating of 82 on the 100- point eNeRGY STAR performance scale; a building that scores 75 or higher is eligible for the certification. According to director of opera-
tions Andy Demski, the 470,000- square-foot Johnson City facility did not originally set out to obtain the eNeRGY STAR certification. Instead, it was looking at long-term initiatives to reduce the building’s
•THE WHOLESALER® —MAY 2011
energy and water consumption. “We saw this as a strategic blue-
print to help steer projects toward a specific objective of improved effi- ciency and reducing the cost of en- ergy and water in the building,” he observed. “We already had an aggres- sive recycling program in place; this fits in under that umbrella.” The primary areas of focus in the
plant were lighting, heating, ventila- tion and water usage. The water heater facility’s ventilation system consists of a series of air make-up units that heat and cool the facility. In cooling mode, the make-up units and fans deliver fresh air from out- doors into the operation. The make- up units also have burners that allow the system to circulate heated air in cooler weather. The Johnson City team cus-
tomized a purchased software pack- age to automate the building’s ventilation system. A series of 17 temperature sensors throughout the building enable staff to monitor and control the system to deliver im- proved efficiency. The lighting system in the facility,
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including the office area, has received a major upgrade over the last several years. In the factory, the team in- stalled fixtures that last three times as
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“We saw this as a strategic blueprint to help steer projects toward a specific objective of improved efficiency and
reducing the cost of energy and water in the building.”
long as conventional lighting, require less maintenance and use less energy. The 400 overhead lights are con- nected to a lighting control system that monitors the entire overhead lighting system and reduces the num- ber of lights illuminated based on the operation’s work schedule. In the office area, Johnson City re-
duced the number of bulbs by 25%, installed more energy-efficient light- ing and installed motion sensors with timers. The sensors help reduce the amount of time lights are left on dur- ing off hours. Johnson City also has reduced
water consumption by installing “flushless” bathroom fixtures in the office area restrooms. Next year, the team plans to investigate using recy- cled graywater in most restrooms. Demski is aware that reducing en-
speedclean.com See contact information on page 102 • Be sure to visit
www.thewholesaler.com for web exclusive articles and videos! •
ergy consumption has indirect, posi- tive effects on the environment as well. “Reducing energy consumption also reduces greenhouse gas emis- sions [from power plants],” he noted. Visit
www.aosmith.com.
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