9) d1c eric lange

Lange Transportation For the Environmentalists in the Audience: Working for a better future

Lange Transportation For the Business Professional: Controlling Your Operating Costs

Company profile     

Started in 1986 (2010 marks our 24th year) Family owned and operated hence the name “Lange” Provides specialized services in several areas Over 60 employees Continues to grow as a company

Company profile ď Ź

Specialized transportation and logistical services for the trade and consumer show industry as well as the medical equipment, store fixtures and other specialized handling products

Company profile ď Ź

Equipment rentals including: –

forklifts

Company profile 

Equipment rentals including: – –

forklifts golf carts

Company profile 

Equipment rentals including: – – –

forklifts golf carts pallet jacks

Company profile 

Equipment rentals including: – – – –

forklifts golf carts pallet jacks dollies

Company profile 

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In July 2006, Lange Transportation purchased a 30 year old building large enough to accommodate our current and future clients needs.

This building sits on 3 acres, with a footprint of the warehouse/office complex of 62,300 sq. ft. and the overall square footage of 70,000 sq.ft.

In August 2006, receipt of a $3,500 electrical bill for space that had yet to be occupied fully was cause for concern. The only occupants at the time were contractors cleaning the building.

We realized that we had purchased a 30 year old complex that was going to be an energy glutton.

How could we make things better ?

That’s when we started to hold company/staff meetings to look at different options to control & reduce our energy costs.

How could we make things better ?

As a company we had to ask a number of important questions: 1.

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How can we reduce our operating costs?

How can we improve the working environment for all employees and guests?

Can we reduce our overall use of fossil fuels?

Ideas that will help make Lange part of the solution

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Reduce what is being used Find items that are more efficient in doing the job Look for alternate methods of heating and cooling

Changes incorporated that helped make us at Lange part of the solution

Changes made that helped make us at Lange part of the solution  

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Building had 30 year old windows We replaced old windows with new windows that have better insulating value Provided increased security with shatterproof glass windows on the ground floor Replaced old steel doors with newer insulated doors with plexiglass windows Built-in proper bay surrounds were installed to better provide seals to exterior elements.

Existing heating and air-conditioning of the office and warehouse complex      

30 year old technology 4 heating units (large) 2 cooling units (large) Low efficiency on all old units Should be replaced due to age Consideration of Geo Thermal technology

What is Geothermal Energy?

46% of the energy created by the SUN is stored in the EARTH ď Ź

What is Geothermal Energy? 

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Thanks to this renewable energy from the sun the temperature 5-6 feet under ground is relatively constant year round at about 50˚F gaining one degree every 100ft.

Warmer than the outside air in the winter Cooler than the outside air in the summer

What is Geothermal Energy? ď Ź

This very stable temperature beneath your feet can be harnessed using a ground loop system and a heat pump to provide a free and renewable source of energy year round to provide 100% heating, 100% cooling and direct hot water production

How does it work – The Loop or Pipes 

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The building envelope, insulation, fresh air make up, lighting, etc. are critical to sizing the geothermal or any energy system correctly Through a series of GeoSmart underground green pipes a fluid is circulated to a heat pumps within the building.

The length of the loops is determined by the amount of energy required to heat and cool the building.

How does it work ? The Compressor ď Ź

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The compressor inside the heat pump very quickly compresses the fluid transforming it into its gas state.

This process of turning the liquid into gas increases the amount of heat available.

How does it work ? The Radiator or Fins

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The gas is then pumped through hundreds of very tiny fins (radiator) in the heat pump.

This allows for a very quick release of the heat into the surrounding air.

How does it work ? The Blower or Fan 

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The heat is removed by the air being forced across the fins.

A large capacity fan or blower is used to this.

As the gas cools it is returned to the loop so the process starts again .

How does it work ? 

To do a large building like the 70,000 square foot building at Lange, 28 holes were drilled to a depth of 366 feet per hole and over 2 miles of “GeoSmart” green earth tubes were used.

Hot water from the earth ď Ź

Now that Lange has a reliable heat source we can use it to provide plenty of hot water for the building without using any natural gas

No natural gas used in the building 

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Now that the geo thermal heat pumps are up and working we have removed all natural gas from the building The emissions offset for this installation was equivalent to planting 16 acres of trees or taking 48 cars off the road.

Lange is helping to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced.

Removal of natural gas from the building ď Ź

Went from having an estimated gas bill of $70,000/year to $0/year.

Further ideas that we had to reduce our energy use 

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High efficiency and lower wattage light bulbs are used in all fixtures Turning off all nonnecessary lights when not in use Re-designing office wiring so less lights are on one switch

Lighting ď Ź ď Ź

256 old light bulbs and 64 light fixtures were replaced.

These were all replaced with high efficiency light fixtures and bulbs.

Lighting Switches 

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Certain areas in the warehouse and office were equipped with Motion Sensors This ensured that lights only activated when someone walked into/out of a room These areas included: – – –

Bathrooms Kitchens storage areas

Lighting Switches 

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In the existing office area, one switch controlled up to as many as 10 light fixtures.

We have changed the circuitry so that light switch only controls the light that is needed in that area.

Further reducing our consumption

Day Lighting and Solatubes 

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In various areas of the office daylight tubes were added.

These tubes run from the roof through to the office ceiling.

This allows us to light up areas in the office with natural light as opposed to using any electricity.

Roof Insulation   

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The existing warehouse roof was in bad need of repair.

Should we replace with the same material?

We chose to replace with a “one” piece sprayed polyurethane membrane roofing system.

This increased our R value from R8 to R18 in the warehouse area.

Roof Insulation  

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The Office area roof was also in need of repair.

We used the same “one” piece sprayed polyurethane membrane roofing system.

Thicker foam was used to better help the HVAC in the office environment.

This increased our R value from R8 to R24 in the office area.

Reduction in kwhs (kilowatt hours) used ď Ź

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At the end of this project we have realized a reduction in our over-all energy consumption.

From 1300 kwh/day with very few people occupying the building to where we are today with over 60 people under one roof and 750 kwh/day

Energy savings ď Ź

With all of these items completed we have been able to reduce our overall energy consumption by 42% which is very substantial

Looking to the future 

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GeoThermal pay back: The initial investment will be paid back in approximately 8 1/2 years (using natural gas rates from September 2006) which equates to approximately $70,000 / year in savings.

Due the addition of the Geo thermal heat pumps Lange will prevent more than 158,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions being released into the atmosphere over the next 20 years The electrical renovations done throughout the building have resulted in a savings of approximately $20,000 / year (based on rates from January 2007) With all of these changes the working atmosphere for both the employees and labourers has also greatly improved. Comfort levels in both heating and air conditioning are consistant throughout.