Energy efficiency saves printers thousands

News Ltd’s Brisbane printing plant will save $71,000 in energy costs each year thanks to a new lighting system, energy efficiency project management company Mojarra revealed in yesterday’s Printing Industries Association of Australia webinar.

Mojarra says it also achieved yearly savings of $37,500 for Bright Print’s Wetherill Park and Newcastle facilities, and $42,955 for newspaper outfit MPD Printing – for a total investment of $69,566, minus an AusIndustry subsidy, for an ROI of within two years.

Mojarra chief executive Chris Hay says the News plant, which operates round-the-clock printing The Courier Mail, The Australian and other publications, had issues with its metal halide lamps cracking and even exploding in the publishing hall. Mojarra was called in to recommend the best OH&S and operating and energy efficiency saving solutions.

[Related: More newspaper news]

The company assessed the site and proposed replacing all 198 metal halide lamps (400W) with induction light fittings (200W), and adding a daylight harvesting control system to maintain the required lighting levels.

As well as the $71,000 in direct energy costs, Mojarra says News will also save more than $6,000 in maintenance costs, and will reduce its carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by more than 500 tonnes per year. The project began in January this year, and was completed in March.

Hays outlined the case study in Wednesday’s PIAA webinar on how printers can reduce their energy costs.

Hay says, “Every site is different. The best potential site for savings has poor quality power supply, hasn’t done any retrofitting, has long operating hours and reasonably intensive energy consumption – from that significant opportunities for savings can be identified.”

[Related: More PIAA news]

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