Xcel Targeting Business Energy Efficiency
with Natural Gas Programs

May 20th, 2009
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Reported by CEN Staff

DENVER - Xcel Energy announces several new business energy efficiency programs in Colorado for natural gas customers. Over the next two years, these programs will help the company reduce natural gas use by more than 7.2 million therms, enough to serve approximately 9,000 homes for a year.

The natural gas programs launched this month include offerings for boilers, furnaces, recommissioning and custom programs.

“Xcel Energy has launched one of the most aggressive energy efficiency programs in the nation, and we will continue to bring innovative offerings to our Colorado customers,” said Riley Hill, regional vice president of Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company. “Investment in energy efficiency is the most beneficial and economic way to in effect add new generation to our system, and to better use our precious natural gas resources.”

Xcel Energy will spend $63 million in 2009 and $80 million in 2010 as it seeks to reduce customer demand for electricity and natural gas in Colorado. The programs could save consumers up to $450 million in 2009-2010. Xcel Energy will file an updated Colorado DSM plan in 2010.

This is the first time Xcel Energy is offering business customers natural-gas conservation rebates and should be welcome news for businesses focused on cutting costs in these tight times.

Included in the offerings this month for natural gas customers:

♦ Boiler Rebates: Effective immediately, business customers can earn rebates for new, energy-efficient hot-water boilers as well as improvements made to existing boilers and even boiler tune-ups. For example, a boiler tune-up can earn a rebate for 25% of the cost up to $250.  Even optional equipment add-ons like outdoor-air reset controls or modulating burner controls can earn rebates and offer substantial savings and fast paybacks.

♦ Custom Gas Rebates: Natural-gas savings for steam boilers, industrial boilers or processes, or unique projects the lower natural-gas use can qualify for Custom Efficiency natural-gas rebates. All custom rebates require preapproval prior to purchase and installation.

♦ Recommissioning: Recommissioning helps optimize HVAC equipment operations, fine-tune time of day schedules, improve indoor air quality, suggest new and advanced equipment control strategies and reduce equipment wear and tear. Many improvements are low- and no-projects that save you money. Xcel Energy helps fund Recommissioning studies and offers rebates for capital improvements.

♦ Furnace Rebates: Xcel Energy provides rebates for businesses who install natural-gas furnaces, helping customers receive significant savings. 

♦ Engineering Assistance Study: Co-funding is available for businesses who need help analyzing options and quantifying savings and rebate opportunities for natural-gas conservation projects. It’s perfect for customers who have a large project in mind but need help building the business case for funding or need extra analysis of the savings potential.

For more information on Xcel Energy’s new and existing business DSM programs, go to xcelenergy.com/rebates and select the program you wish to explore from the list on the left.

Filed Under: ARCHIVES • Efficiency

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There Are 5 Responses So Far. »

  1. Pingback by IPAMS Wildcatter Weekly » Blog Archive » Wildcatter Weekly, May 21, 2009 on 21 May 2009:

    [...] Xcel Energy announces several new business energy efficiency programs in Colorado for natural gas customers. Over the next two years, these programs will help the company reduce natural gas use by more than 7.2 million therms, enough to serve approximately 9,000 homes for a year. The natural gas programs launched this month include offerings for boilers, furnaces, recommissioning and custom programs. (Colorado Energy News) [...]

  2. Comment by Sid Abma on 28 June 2009:

    There are a couple of ways to increase natural gas energy efficiency. The most efficient method is to recover as much energy as possible from the waste exhaust gases. The technology of condensing flue gas heat recovery can increase the appliances efficiency to over 90%. Exhaust gas temperatures leaving the boiler room can be well below 100 degrees. Not much wasted energy then.
    The DOE states that for every decatherm of energy recovered and utilized back in the facility 118 lbs of CO2 will NOT be emitted into the atmosphere. Industrial facilities, watch these lbs turn into tons in a hurry.

  3. Comment by cogas on 29 June 2009:

    Sid; Excellent point. Whereas measuring CO2 from emissions may not be the most accurate, and the GHG link is at least “iffy” in the eyes of some, the financial gain involved in using heat from otherwise exhausted hot gases is real. Natural gas lends itself to heat transfer easily and relatively inexpensively because it is essentially clean before combustion, forgetting for the moment that the EPA has listed it as a pollutant, whereas heat recovery from coal is not a profitable venture yet. In the old days (1970s)
    when woodstoves were making a comeback, these heat exchangers caused problems with combustible buildups in the flues. Not going to occur to any great degree with a fuel that oxidizes to H2O and CO2. Over-simplified, but the point is made. Our state and federal governments seem to have missed this point. We can increase efficiency to the extent that we conserve fuel, which pleases all involved. Conservation yields the results everyone is seeking; reduced dependency on foreign energy sources, reduced emissions, and the benefits of a fuel with an excellent long term outlook which allows recapture of invested capital.

  4. Pingback by Wildcatter Weekly, May 21, 2009 | Official web site of IPAMS: Independent Association of Mountain States on 3 July 2009:

    [...] Xcel Energy announces several new business energy efficiency programs in Colorado for natural gas customers. Over the next two years, these programs will help the company reduce natural gas use by more than 7.2 million therms, enough to serve approximately 9,000 homes for a year. The natural gas programs launched this month include offerings for boilers, furnaces, recommissioning and custom programs. (Colorado Energy News) [...]

  5. Comment by Sid Abma on 8 August 2009:

    Reply to cogas
    The 118 lbs per million BTU’s recovered from the exhaust of natural gas appliances is not based on the exhaust, but measured on BTU’s recovered from the exhaust.
    The BTU’s in the exhaust were headed up the chimney destined for the atmosphere as wasted energy.
    We measure the CO2/lbs NOT emitted based on BTU’s recovered and utilized back in the facility. If this energy is recovered and not utilized, there is no emission gains.
    If an industrial natural gas boiler consumes aprox. 46 mmbtu/hr and there is a 475 F stack temperature. If the waste energy is recovered and this flue gas temperature is reduced to aprox. 60F and aprox. 7,500,000 btu’s are recovered per hour, we calculate that aprox. 875 lbs of CO2 would not have been emitted into the atmosphere, as long as this recovered energy was utilized back in the facility where it was consumed.
    Our goal is to help companies increase their natural gas energy efficiency, and at the same time reduce their CO2 emissions.
    In this example, this company would also be creating almost 400 gallons of water per hour out of these cooled flue gases. We hope that this water can also be a benefit to the company, reducing it’s water consumption.

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