Resources

This PACIA energy+ portal has been designed to provide you with direct access to a comprehensive range of targeted and practical tools so that you can drive energy improvements and reduce costs in your business.

PACIA energy+ 5 Minute Guides

The PACIA energy+ 5 Minute Guides are exactly what their name suggests – practical guides that you can read in just five minutes. They are short, easy to understand, and focussed on energy efficiency opportunities relevant specifically to chemicals and plastics SMEs.

Use these Guides as you work through your energy plan, to help you take targeted action and achieve energy improvements across your business.

There are nine Guides in the PACIA energy+ program. Each 5 Minute Guide focuses on a particular subject or theme within one of the four program topics. The Guides provide you with specific information on that subject, why it could be relevant to your operations, and ways to tackle it within your business.

Below is the full suite of PACIA energy+ 5 Minute Guides, grouped according to the four program topics. The relevant 5 Minute Guides are also available on each of the four topic pages of this portal.

Topic 1: Energy purchasing and generation

Topic 2: Energy usage of existing equipment

5 Minute Guide 2.1 Process heating, hot water and steam systems [2.8MB]		5 Minute Guide 2.2 Compressed air systems [1.5MB]		5 Minute Guide 2.3 Motors, pumps and fans [1.5MB]

5 Minute Guide 2.4 Process operations and equipment [2.4MB]		5 Minute Guide 2.5 How to make existing industrial buildings more energy efficient [4.7MB]

Topic 3: Equipment replacement and consolidation

5 Minute Guide 3.1 Key considerations to maximise the energy efficiency of new equipment purchases [1.4MB]		5 Minute Guide 3.2 Upgrading your equipment and processes to improve energy efficiency [2.2MB]

Topic 4: Energy performance and productivity

5 Minute Guide 4.1 Energy consumption and productivity [2.9MB]

Energy Efficiency Handbooks and Guides for Chemicals and Plastics SMEs

The CEFIC Care+ program is a useful tool to assist with your energy efficiency efforts. The program was developed specifically for chemical SMEs in Europe, but is equally applicable to Australian chemicals and plastics SMEs.

There are three main elements to the program:

• The Energy Efficiency Best Practices Handbook outlines an approach to set up and work with your energy plan, which is consistent with the stepped process detailed on the “Your energy plan” [insert hyperlink to that page of the portal] page of the PACIA energy+ portal.
• The Energy Efficiency Self Audit Guide outlines how to establish systems for collecting and analysing your energy performance and identifying opportunities for improvement.
• The Self Audit Excel Sheets can be used in conjunction with the Self Audit Guide to gather and analyse your energy data using a ready-made template.

Click here to access all three elements of the Care+ program.

Deciphering the energy jargon

As you have no doubt already discovered, the world of energy efficiency uses many unique phrases, acronyms, units of measure and other jargon.

The PACIA energy+ Guide to Energy Jargon will help you decipher the code. It provides an explanation for the key terms used in relation to energy consumption, generation and efficiency. Coming soon.

Additional resources

The following external resources include a range of handbooks, best practice guides, websites, calculators and other information that relate specifically to the four topics of the PACIA energy+ program. They supplement the PACIA energy+ 5 Minute Guides and may be helpful as you progress through your energy plan.

All of the resources relevant to each of the PACIA energy+ topics are also available on that particular topic page.

• Understanding your energy charges: The Australian Energy Regulator has produced a fact sheet explaining what is behind the cost of electricity and natural gas.
  
  
• Making claims about green energy: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has guidelines for false and misleading statements, which can help you assess the strength of any environmental claims you might like to make, such as the use of green energy to power your business.
  
  
• Accounting and analysing your energy usage: The European Care+ program provides a comprehensive energy efficiency best practice handbook for SMEs in the chemicals and plastics industries. It includes information and techniques to analyse your energy bills.
  
  
• Heating systems:
• Sustainability Victoria has an Energy Efficiency Best Practice Guide for Steam, Hot Water and Process Heating Systems
• The Australian Government’s Energy Efficiency Exchange website provides further information on improving process heat, boilers and steam systems
• Compressed air systems:
• Sustainability Victoria has an Energy Efficiency Best Practice Guide for Compressed Air Systems
• Compressed Air Australasia provides information on how to calculate losses and size your compressed air system
• Motors, pumps and fans:
• The Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency provides a Motor Solutions Online package including checklists, detailed information on electric motors, pumps and fans, and case studies
• The Australian Government’s Energy Efficiency Exchange website provides further information on improving motors and motor systems and pumps and fans
• Sustainability Victoria has a detailed Energy Efficiency Best Practice Guide to Pumping Systems
• Cool roofs: Melbourne City Council’s 2011 Research Report provides further information
  
  
• Daylighting strategies: The National Institute of Building Sciences in U.S.A. has a guide to the implementation of ‘daylighting’ strategies
  
  
• Lighting upgrade options: For a full breakdown of the comparable costs savings for different upgrade options and improvement opportunities, refer to
• The Commonwealth Government’s Energy Efficiency Exchange website
• The Carbon Trust UK’s website
• The Carbon Trust UK’s overview guide
• All equipment: The European Care+ program provides a comprehensive energy efficiency best practice handbook for SMEs in the chemicals and plastics industries. It includes information and techniques to improve the energy efficiency of various equipment items
  
  
• Tax support for small investments: The Australian Tax Office provides information on small business instant asset tax write-offs, which may apply to purchases of new equipment such as pumps and compressors 
• Payback calculator: a number of these tools are available online, such as the WEG payback calculator for variable speed drives
  
  
• Building the business case: There are many resources available on the web to help you measure the payback, an important part of building the business case. One example is EPA Victoria’s Calculating the Payback guide
  
  
• Energy performance standards for equipment: The Australian Government’s E3 Equipment Energy Efficiency program sets out energy rating labels and standards for new equipment
  
  
• Measuring and tracking energy: The Australian Government has an Energy Savings Measurement Guide