What`s Happening at EASI
Transcription
What`s Happening at EASI
Energy Automation Systems, Inc. January & February 2004 What’s Happening at EASI Inside this issue: By: Dr. Paul Bleiweis, President I thought I would take this opportunity to update all of our Affiliates on some new, exciting things that have been recently implemented by EASI. I also wanted to update all of you on some recent staff changes. Finally, we had our first Affiliate Advisory Council meeting and I wanted to briefly describe the meeting. As you know, over the past few years, EASI has implemented a number of new programs and modified some older ones to assist our Affiliates in making your businesses more successful. All of you know how great the Help Desk has been; the savings verification program; the ESP program; the OSP program; etc. In April, we will begin offering the first in a series of Continuing Education classes for our Affiliates or your designees. The first class to be offered is Project Management. This class will be primarily taught by Vince Marshall, one of our best new hires in many years (see more on Vince below). It will be given here, in Hendersonville, on April 21-23rd, 2004 (MondayWednesday). It will focus on practical applications and solutions to program management issues that will help your EASI business and EASI installations run more smoothly, leading to higher profits. It will be very interactive and you will receive a number of aids that you will be able to take home with you and use in your business. The second Continuing Education class will be given in mid-May (probably May 17th 19th , 2004) and will focus on Sales and Marketing. It will differ quite a bit from the sales and marketing you received in Dealer training. It will stress real-world situations that you have or will face and how to more effectively make appointments, sell surveys, and close system sales. Bill Thiessen will be responsible for the class but will employ a number of other individuals and resources to help him. The third class, Product Applications, will be taught by Bob Depalo and his staff. It will provide the “whys” and “hows” of specifying and installing all of the EASI products that we offer. The class will be given in June of this year and will also be 3 days in length. Continued on page 2 Selling Your EASI Dealership 3 World Business Review 4 Tradeshow Success 6 EASI University Continuing Education 7 Welcome Vince Marshall 8 Letters to the Editor 8 Project Management Training 9 Tracking Down that Pesky First Sale 11 Using FreeKW 12 The ‘Plug ‘n’ Play’ MicroLiner 18 EASI ON AIR EASI will be appearing in a panel discussion on Alexander Haig's “World Business Review (WBR).” The panel members are (from left to right) Joseph Merlo, Alexander Haig, Dr. Paul Bleiweis and Vince Marshall . The filming for the show was successfully completed on January 21st 2004 and was in response to your request for increased national advertising during the Affiliate Open Forum. This program will be a great promotional tool for you and footage material will be available to use for prospecting and sales purposes. For more on this story please turn to page 4. Page 2 What’s Happening at EASI By: Dr. Paul Bleiweis Continued from page 1 The nominal fee for each of these three day classes is $1,500 per class per person. As discussed in the first Affiliate Open forum in October 2003, we will be discounting the class fees for all Affiliates who attend the first courses offered this year. The fee per class per person for those who wish to attend will be $750.00. This does not include your hotel. A “sign up” e-mail will be sent out to all of our Affiliates shortly for the Project Management class. Sign up early, as space will be limited. As many of you know, we have had some staff changes over the past few months. Carol Machado sold her house and moved to Indiana to be with her children. Everyone at EASI will miss Carol and we know that you will as well. Matt Deck was hired a few months ago as our IT Supervisor. Matt is an IT specialist, has an AA degree in Electronic Engineering and is currently completing his BS degree in Database Technologies. Matt has been a superb addition to our staff. He is in charge of all of our networks, websites, and other IT needs. He has also helped many of our Affiliates with their IT problems and needs. Matt can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]. As mentioned above, we recently were very lucky in hiring Vince Marshall as Director of Corporate Projects. Vince will provide Affiliates with sales and technical support; project management help; and general assistance in developing new, strategic business relationships with companies that can augment EASI’s core offerings. Vince was a Navy engineer for a number of years. He mostly recently worked at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), one of the largest utilities in the world, as a senior project manager. One of his duties was to teach project management to TVA engineers. He also performed energy surveys and audits and made energy conservation recommendations to TVA customers. Vince has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA. Vince can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]. Brenda Bleichner was recently hired and will be working as an Administrative Assistant in our Front Office. Kathy Harris will be assuming many of Carol’s duties and Brenda will pick up Kathy’s previous duties plus help Joelle with EPAC. Brenda can be reached via e-mail at [email protected] In a related development, Philip Rastocny, our ex-COO, has been added to our OSP list. Philip, as many o f you know, is a degreed electrical engineer and a degreed project manager. He will be available to our Affiliates, through the OSP program, to support your technical and project management needs. Philip can be reached at (615) 451- 7773 or via email at [email protected] . Philip is a great resource for all of you. Finally, we had our first Affiliate Advisory Council meeting a few weeks ago. From my perspective, it went very well. I have asked the Council to put together a report which will be published in the next newsletter. We reviewed progress of the Top 10 (that’s really 9) recommendations made at the October Forum. I think everyone felt that EASI has made great progress in most areas and will be able to complete many of these items in short order. One area that we have worked on very diligently is the area of public relations. We have almost completed the overdue marketing video. We were sidetracked by something that Joe and I feel will be hugely valuable to all of you. Joe, Vince, and I recently filmed a segment of “World Business Review” hosted by Alexander Haig. I am sure all of you know of Mr. Haig. It was a terrific experience and we focused on what EASI does, how we do it, and how it can benefit your customers. It will be aired in 6 weeks or so on CNBC, MSNBC, Public TV, BRAVO, TECH TV, and United Airlines in-flight TV. It is a 15 minute segment and we will also have the footage that can be used by us and you to show to your customers. One of the major benefits of a program like this is that General Haig will be sending out up to 1000 e-mails to a list of individuals and companies that we provide him, announcing the program. Alvin, in the next few days, will be soliciting your input (e-mail addresses) for any people or companies you want to view the show. It will be a great marketing tool, so start thinking about what customers or others you want to view this broadcast. Sadly, we regret the passing of two EASI Affiliates in January this year. The entire EASI staff wishes to express their sympathies to the families of Resty Jose and Steve Smith. Please accept our prayers and condolences. I think I have taken up more than my allotted space (Alvin may get mad at me). Continue your good work and please don’t hesitate to contact any of us with suggestions, problems, and, yes, even compliments. Page 3 Selling Your EASI Dealership By: Joseph C. Merlo, CEO Occasionally, I am asked by an Affiliate: Can I sell my Dealership? What are EASI’s policies concerning the sale of my business? Can I expect any help from EASI? How much should I ask for my business? What can the purchaser of my business expect from EASI? Will he be an outcast or an orphan? Okay, let’s talk about it. First, your EASI Dealership is an asset. It is no different than any other asset, for example, real estate. You can sell all, or part, of your Dealership, assign it, or pass it on to an heir. There are a number of reasons why a Dealer will sell his or her Dealership. It could be for health reasons, divorce, inactivity, retirement, or loss of interest. Sometimes, an Affiliate will sell part of their company and take on a partner. The partner may contribute capital, or a complimentary skill such as sales and marketing, business contacts, management experience, etc. The “Assignability” clause in your Dealership Agreement allows for the sale of all, or part, of your Dealership with EASI’s written consent, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. There are just a few reasonable requirements to gain our written consent. First, we need to know who will be representing us. We will require contact information and a brief description of the purchaser’s background or qualifications. Second, if someone new will be representing us, he must complete the new Affiliate training course before he conducts business. The training fee is currently $2,500, to be paid in advance by the purchaser or seller. The purchaser will pay for his travel and lodging. The seller should provide the purchaser all of the demonstration and test equipment, books, manuals, etc. that came with the original Dealership. There are no other transfer fees or costs. Upon completion of the training the purchaser will be entitled to the same services and support as the original Dealer and subject to the same terms and provisions of the original Dealership Agreement, whether it is Entry Level or Full. Finally, the purchaser should be someone resulting from the Affiliate’s own efforts and not have had any previous contact with EASI concerning the purchase of a Dealership. If an Affiliate wishes to sell his business, EASI will help in any reasonable way. A great deal of expense and effort has gone into recruiting, training, and working with each Affiliate. It’s our desire for EVERY Affiliate to be fully productive. If an Affiliate cannot, or will not, work his business it is in our mutual best interest to help sell the business to someone who is able to grow it. The best prospective buyers are usually people who have had some exposure to your business. It may be an associate or employee, a customer, a local contractor, or anyone that has, at some time, expressed an interest in your business. Advertising your business for sale in the Business Opportunity section of a city newspaper can be an economical way to find prospects. In any case, it will be your job to find prospective buyers. You should conduct preliminary conversations or meetings, perform a demonstration, direct the prospect to your, or our, web site, etc. If you request, we will send him an information package similar to the one you received. At some point, he will usually want to speak to someone at EASI. Most often, it will be me or Paul. We are glad to do it and will work just as hard for you as we would for EASI. If your buyer wants to visit EASI, we’ll arrange an appointment. Just let us know how we can help. We will not speak to your prospect while you’re in negotiations unless you ask. When pricing your business you should consider what value, in addition to the Dealership, you are including. For example, your customer base, pending proposals, tangible property such as equipment, office furniture, fixtures, vehicles, etc. If you are selling just your Dealership, then you will probably have to price it substantially lower than EASI’s current price. If you’ve thought about selling your business because you’ve been inactive for a while why not consider returning for a “refresher” course. The training course is continually evolving. You will gain fresh ideas, replenish your enthusiasm, and perhaps get a much needed “kick in the pants.” New success stories are being written every day. If someone else can do it, why not you? Page 4 World Business Review By: Vince Marshall “Sit up straight. Don’t slouch. Keep your hands on the table and keep your attention on the person that is speaking. Don’t look at the cameras.” “Keep your answers short, under sixty seconds if possible.” “Mr. Merlo, that last answer was a bit too long. We need to do your last answer over again. Can you repeat that? Joe Merlo replied, “No.” These were some of the instructions given to Joe Merlo, Paul Bleiweis and me during taping of World Business Review with Alexander Haig on January 21 in Boca Raton, Florida. World Business Review (WBR) is a business information program that showcases new technologies from around the world. It is hosted by Mr. Haig and directed by Emmy Award winning Alan Levy. General Haig was very congenial and quite entertaining. Approaching 80 years old, the General, who likes to be called Al, shared stories of his past exploits and answered questions that we had. WBR is distributed on CNBC, Public TV, Bravo, Tech TV, United Airlines international flights and on Asia Television in Hong Kong. The show's format is a newsmagazine style and provides education about the latest topics, trends and issues in a variety of industries. WBR features On-Location field footage illustrating business strategies and technologies in their application along with commentary from leading corporate executives and industry experts. The On-Location filming was just completed in Tennessee and is set for early February. The show will then be edited and scheduled for broadcast approximately 30—45 days from now. We will provide broadcast dates and times to Affiliates as soon as the program is scheduled. Prior to worldwide airing, General Haig will send out 1,000 emails on behalf of EASI and our Affiliates. Please submit a list of emails for distribution to ensure notification is provided to interested parties to [email protected] . This program will also be a great long-term promotional tool for Dealers. CDs or DVDs will be available to use for prospecting and sales purposes. (continued on page 5) Page 5 World Business Review By: Vince Marshall (continued from page 4) Accomplishments of General Alexander Haig • • • • • • • • • • Secretary of State for Ronald Reagan Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command for President Gerald Ford Senior Military Advisor to Dr. Henry Kissinger White House Chief of Staff for President Nixon 4 Star General in Japan, Korea, Europe, & Vietnam Former President & COO of United Technologies Corp. Senior Advisor to United Technologies Corp. Board of Directors for America Online Board of Directors for MGM Gran Board of Directors for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. 5 Easy Steps to Access the EASI Message Board 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Go to the Affiliate Support Site www.easiworld.com On the menu on the left-hand side, go to Links On the Links page, click on EASI Message Board. You will then be directed to the MBA (Membership by Approval) page. On this page, you may either register for the Message Board (if you are not already a Member) or log into the Message Board (if you are already registered as a member). If you have any difficulty and would like us to walk you through this, please contact Alvin Juma at (615) 822-7251 ext. 237. Page 6 TradeShow Success By: Joe Dupee, EASI Affiliate, Dupee Group, Inc. Joe Dupée of the Dupée Group, Inc. feels he has beaten the record for number of demos done in a two day period! DGI Dupée Group, Inc. of Pennsylvania recently worked a trade show in their area with significant success. They received 50 qualified leads from the show and have done 12 walk through appointments. The two day trade show, which was held from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day, resulted in 50 leads which equates to 5 leads per hour. That is a lot more than ever received making cold calls! The trade show booth was set up to attract potential customers and it sure did the trick. We had people in the booth and people lined up in the aisles waiting to see the demonstration and to talk with us about how soon we could meet with them. Dupée Group, Inc. wishes to thank Matt Jones of Align Energy, Inc. of Arizona for the use of his graphics for the trade booth. This is how all EASI affiliates should work together. Because of Matt’s help, we were able to put together our trade show booth in a short amount of time. We felt it looked professional and helped promote EASI name recognition in our market place. Dupee Group, Inc. and Align Energy, Inc. will be working together on any leads that develop in Matt’s market place from this show. A Way to Clear Skepticism By: Barry Goslin After having done the demo, some customers still believe that the EasiLiner is just a magic box. To overcome this skepticism, I often offer to leave an EasiLiner with the instructions for installation and let the client have their electrician install the unit. I would then follow up with a visit to the facility and bring along the Fluke 43B Power Meter. With my Power Meter, I take measurements of the amperage drop, power factor improvement and harmonics. Once the client sees that this really does work, it often clears any doubts that he may have had about the EasiLiner reducing the kilowatt consumption. Sometimes it pays to invest a little money into your company so you can reap the benefits. Page 7 EASI University - Continuing Education By: Bill Thiessen EASI is pleased to announce the addition of three new training classes to follow our Affiliate training program. These classes will continue to equip you and your people for a successful business with EASI. Project Management: April 21st – 23 rd , 2004 This three day class is designed to give you a fuller understanding of how to implement an EASI project for optimized efficiency. Topics include how to lead a team, conduct information interviews, develop a work plan, how to estimate work, monitoring and controlling projects and much more. This is an excellent class to enhance your project management skills to make your jobs more profitable and efficient. This class will be taught by Vince Marshall, a former TVA Senior Project Manager, a Certified Energy Manager with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration. His knowledge and great sense of humor will keep you enthralled during the three days of training. Advanced Sales Training: May 17 th – 19 th, 2004 This class will take you or your sales rep one step further than EASI has gone before. It features hands on training with role play by Joe Merlo and Paul Bleiweis. You be the customer and have the experts show you why you need EASI. Handling objections, cold calling, prospecting, presenting Conditional Agreements and contracts, and closing the sale will be the major areas to be covered. Even if you have been to EASI sales training class before, you will find areas of improvement to meet your demanding questions about selling. Product Applications: June 14 th – 16 th . Products, products, products – how they work and how to install them! Bring your questions and find answers on what to do and what not to do during installation. An in-depth look at the products, the technology behind the products, and how to install them. This class will be good for EASI Affiliates, electricians and engineers alike. Bob Depalo, EASI’s Director of Engineering will be teaching this class. All three of these classes will be extremely worthwhile to all EASI Affiliates regardless of your stage of progression as an Affiliate. The nominal fee for each of these three day Continuing Education classes is $1500 per person. A 50% off certificate is available to all who attend the first set of classes. Contact Bill Thiessen ([email protected] or 615-822-7251, ext 229) to request your discount and make your reservations early, as classes will fill up fast. Page 8 Welcome Vince Marshall Vincent W. Marshall, EASI’s Director of Corporate Projects, is a Mechanical Engineer who received a Masters in Business Administration from Vanderbilt University. He is also a Certified Energy Manager with twenty years of experience in the energy industry. Vince began his career with eleven years active duty service as a U.S. Navy Engineer, was honorably discharged, then worked in the private sector providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy savings to his clients. He was recruited from a small energy consulting company by The Tennessee Valley Authority in 1999. While a Senior Project Manager at TVA, he implemented Energy Savings Performance Contracts on their behalf, including a four year quest to help the State of Tennessee lower energy costs. As a result, in December of 2002, a final tri-party contract was signed by the State, Nashville Electric Service and TVA. This long term effort created savings of approximately $1 million per year ($80,000 per month) on the Andrew and Rachel Jackson buildings in downtown Nashville. Vince’s knowledge and experience prior to and during his tenure with the Tennessee Valley Authority gives EASI an advantage unmatched by any other energy consulting firm. Hands on experience with TVA rates and contracts, negotiation strategies, and an inside working knowledge of the entire energy industry is highly advantageous to the EASI’s client base. This advantage begins with the creation of immediate savings via rates and tariffs and continues with guidance and selection of the appropriate energy saving products available in the marketplace, implementation of those products in conjunction with operational savings and ultimately, an energy conservation state-of-mind which will continue to produce savings for the company. Letters to the Editor Alvin, This is just a quick note to thank you for bringing the IRS Section 179 implications to my attention. We recently sold a small customer, and the only reason we got the sale was directly related to this accelerated depreciation. When we first quoted them a price of $19,271.09 with a 37.2 month payback, they told us that they needed to think about it. After giving them two weeks, I called and they told me that the ROI just wasn't attractive enough for them to buy the system. During that conversation, I told them that our project would qualify for consideration under the revisions to IRS section 179, and that I would work up the numbers for them. When I presented the attached table to them the next week, they signed the contract. I understand that this is a very small sale, but it is one that we wouldn't have made without showing them the current tax advantages available to them. I now use this type of table every time I submit a contract to a prospect. Thanks again for your help. Dan Stehlin Hi Joey! Hope your flight went well! Thank you so much for spending valuable time with us and helping us put together our first EASI audit. We certainly appreciated your spirit and look forward to the venture ahead with this project. Please thank your wife and family for allowing us to have you with us for the last few days, as I know how important and valuable family time is! Please tell them we could not do this without your assistance so, not only are you supporting your family, you are also helping another family in Canada and we thank you and them for the sharing extending that gift to us. I certainly hope the pictures you took turn out so family & friends can see the great wildlife that roams the streets of Jasper. I hope you had a wonderful experience in the majestic Rocky Mountains of Western Canada. It would be great if your family could come to the Rocky Mountains this summer and see God’s handiwork for themselves, as I know they will find nature's beauty breathtaking. They say people are put in our lives for a reason. You and yours will always be welcome to come to visit (and fish) and enjoy some relaxing time in the mountains of Canada - always remember the sound of snowflakes hitting your cheek up at Pyramid Lake. That relaxing silence was the balancing of our hectic lives - its God’s way of peacefully recharging our bodies and souls. Thank you again! Dave Stayko Page 9 Project Management Training By: Vince Marshall Beginning in April, EASI will offer a three day Project Management training course for Affiliates. This course will offer an indepth approach to all aspects of Project Management and is designed to help Affiliates become more productive and efficient while managing multiple, complex projects. Some of the major topics to be covered are: Day One a.) Core Concepts of Project Management • Why it is important to be good at Project management • Functions of the Project Manager b.) Leading and Directing Project Teams c.) How to Conduct Information Interviews • Interview Checklist General and technical questions • Consolidating information after the interview d.) Developing the Work Plan for your Project • Work Breakdown Structure • Templates e.) Defining Task Interdependencies and Creating Network Logic Diagrams • Types of Network Diagrams • Critical paths Day Two a.) How to Estimate Work • Plan parameters and guidelines • Estimating Risk • Variances and causes of variations • Improving estimates b.) How to Produce an Integrated Project Plan • Parts of a project plan • Spreadsheets • Scheduling and planning • Resources and budgetary constraints • Process control • Assessing risk c.) Monitoring and Controlling Projects • Gathering and keeping support form project sponsor • Methods of Project control • Conducting meetings • Tracking progress • Labor hours and cost reporting • Project manager as a gatekeeper • Managing scope changes (continued on page 10) Page 10 Project Management Training (Continued from page 9) d.) Closing Projects • Project Closure • Project endings • Acceptance by customer • Lessons learned • Performance reports • Releasing staff • Summary Day Three a.) Microsoft Project • • • Basic use Gantt Charts Producing useful reports b.) Simulated EASI Project • Selling customer • Free kW scheduling and applications • Receiving permission and check for a Detailed Energy Study (DES) • Scheduling DES with customer and contractor • Interviewing DES contractor ( This can be done in advance) • Interviewing electrical contractors • Creating actual contracts with vendors for your job • Negotiating terms and conditions with vendors • Presenting DES results to customer • Getting commitment and check for equipment • Scheduling and completing Pre install survey • Who has risk if equipment is ordered incorrectly? • Minimizing risk • Receiving order and storing equipment • Scheduling install around customer’s timeframe and production • Estimating install time • Creating MS Project file for this project and providing customer with Gantt chart • Keeping customer in the loop during install • Job site security • Job site cleanliness • Contractor/vendor oversight and guidance • Help from EASI home office • Completing install • Testing and acceptance • Measurement and verification after the install • Letter of recommendation and leads for new projects This course is designed to prepare an Affiliate for most predictable issues that may arise during a typical EASI project installatiotion. While each job will always be different, there are similarities on all equipment installations that will occur over and over again. We want to provide the most assistance possible to help each Affiliate to succeed. Tracking Down that Pesky First Sale By: Chuck Lindley, EASI Affiliate, American Power Solutions Page 11 You say that pesky first EASI sale isn't so EASI. Well, you're probably correct, but sometimes that First Sale might be looking you right in the eye without you knowing it. Let me tell you a little story of how my First Sale came about. Let me first qualify this story by saying, after purchasing an EASI dealership, I did what was necessary for me (as a nonelectrical person with a sales background) and downloaded every EASI form, article, letter, bought all of the needed EASI catalogs, purchased a Falex Lubricity Testing Machine and literally drove Merlo and the rest of the EASI staff crazy with questions on the dynamics of electricity and how the EASI products interacted with these dynamics. Finally, after reading every article for the thousandth time, it took hold and I was ready to start selling this business. I went about the task of signing a number of acquaintances to Bird Dog contracts, to use their clients for my initial presentations. I had everything organized and my potential clients ranked based on their electricity bills and number of total facilities within their organization. Then one afternoon, while playing golf with friends, I overheard my cart riding partner talking with someone on his cell phone. I heard the word 'manufacturing facility' in the conversation and after the call ended, I asked my buddy about the manufacturing facility. Not knowing what he actually did, he explained that he was a meat broker (not just a golfer) and the person on the other end of the phone was a large sausage manufacturer who's products he brokered. This was the start of an interesting chain of events that led to our First Sale. The following day I met with my golf buddy (Burk) and his business partner (Fred) to explain the workings of my EASI business. They were impressed, assured me that they had plenty of clients who could use my service, signed the Independent Rep. contracts and were off and running. The sequence of events that followed were pretty interesting and prove that this First Sale can come from any direction, but you must be prepared to track it to it's den. The Sequence • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Golfing buddy (Burk) catches my ear during a cell phone conversation and after a verbal exchange on what it is that we both do, shows an interest in my EASI business as a Rep. Introduction of his partner (Fred) who has additional contacts and signs on as a Rep. as well. Fred sets up appointment to meet with chain of supermarkets that he sells products to. Meet with Fred at local restaurant to discuss strategy before supermarket meeting. Fred sees a friend at the restaurant (Lew) and we explain our motive for our supermarket meeting. Lew mentions that his former company used a great deal of electricity and that he would be happy to assist in a meeting. A few days later Lew makes a call and we set up a meeting with the plant manager of his former manufacturing facility. That facility manager is very impressed with our EASI system and calls a sister facility manager, just down the road, and tells him to take a look at what we have as well. After an impressive presentation the plant manager explains that they are in the process of adding much needed equipment to their facility, as was the first facility that we visited, and until that equipment is installed and up and running I should take a look at their extruding facility, which uses even more power then these two manufacturing plants. He calls the extruding company manager and we make an appointment to visit that facility A presentation to him and his facility electrical engineer was very positive but he needed some time to discuss it with his corporate executives. The facility and the plant manager are extremely busy and I couldn't get in touch with him for a response, so after a few weeks I thought it was time to call in my big gun,,,LEW. We meet with Lew at his favorite pub and tell him about our meetings and although impressed we could not get back with the extruding plant manager. LEW, who ran this corporation before retirement, asked for my cell phone. One call to Jamey (the extruding company mgr.) and we were heading off for a lunch meeting. I eventually sold the project and we're now in the early stages of treating the other 20 facilities owned by this corporation The beginning of our First Sale trail started with an overheard cell phone call on the golf course, and ended in EASI riches. Each Trail to Success will be a little different, some may be longer than mine, others will be shorter, but they are out there. Recognizing your trail, getting yourself on it, taking along the right supplies for the journey, then venturing on down this trail will be one of the Keys to finding your EASI riches. Page 12 Using FREEKW By: Philip Rastocny, EASI Affiliate, Grasslands Corporation The FreeKW software is very helpful in making and closing sales, but I have personally found that it is highly misunderstood. After working with Alvin Juma for hours at a time, here is a brief explanation on exactly how to determine what number to put in where. For this explanation, we will use a hypothetical example of a 5-story government building (2 stories above plus 3 stories of underground parking and offices) whose posted hours of operation on the door are 8:00-4:30, Monday through Friday. It has a monthly bill of $30,000 and an average consumption of 500,000 kWh per month, no existing PF correction, 4-6 segments, over 500’ wire runs, and only one meter. The motor inventory is described below. The first thing you need to determine before filling out the form is the number of hours per week the client actually occupies the building (larger than the number of business hours) and the actual time that the motors in the building are in use (most likely much smaller than the hours the building is occupied). The instructions below show where these two values are used in the FreeKW program but the load mix percentages (the first number entries on the FreeKW form) require knowledge of these numbers. The Equipment (motor) load is easily determined by the data you recorded in your walk-through form. The other load percentages are entered by your best observed estimates for that facility. You already know the kWh usage per month so knowing how many kWh the motors themselves use easily determines this percentage. To do this, you add up the AVERAGE HP for each motor range (0-2, etc.) and multiply this value by the actual time the motors are in use. Then multiply this number by 4.3 (number of weeks in a month) to get the percentage. An example of this is shown below: HP Range Average No. of Motors Calculation Results 0—2 1 6 1*6= 6 3—10 6.5 10 6.5 * 10 = 65 10—24 17 0 17*0 = 0 25—50 37.5 10 37.5 * 10 = 375 50—99 75 0 75 * 0 = 0 100—499 300 0 300 * 0 = 0 500—999 750 0 750 * 0 = 0 Total 446 So in this example the total average HP is 446. Now we multiply this number by the actual time the motors are in use. As described in step 3a below, we have figured this to be 30 hours. So the calculation is 446*30=13,380. Then, we multiply these results by 4.3 so the calculation is: 13,380*4.3=57,534. Next, we divide this number by the average monthly consumption (here 500,000kWh) and we obtain the percentage of kWh that the motors use (Equipment %). So the calculation is: 57,534/500,000=0.115 or 11.5% . Now with this information, you can start filling out the FreeKW form knowing that the motor load percentage is about 11.5%. All other percentages should be adjusted around this number. You should ask the client if they know precisely what their load mix is. Some will have the answer off the top of their head and others will have to think about it. But most will know so use their data and know that the figure determined above is an excellent starting place if they do not. 1. Enter your basic customer information on the first page and then click on SUBMIT. Page 13 Using FreeKW By: Philip Rastocny (continued from page 12) 2. Enter your load mix percentages and fixed data from your walk-through and any insight obtained from your client on the second page. From our observations and the quick Equipment % calculation explained earlier, we estimated the values as Lighting=40%, A/C=28.5%, Refrigeration=0%, Equipment=11.5%, and Resistive=20%. Then click SUBMIT. Page 14 Using FREEKW By: Philip Rastocny (continued from page 13) 3. The three fields in the Average hours of operation per week section can be figured out as follows: a. Hours per Week in Production Areas. This is the actual time all motors listed in the Equipment Loads sections are in use during the week (for Office areas see point 3b. below), here 60. So in our example of this local government building, these motors are estimated by the client to be in use only half of the time, or 30. Clients usually say that their motors are in use all of the time of operation but this is rarely true. Most motors, like blowers and compressors, regularly cycle on and off. Some shut down while operations end and others continue to cycle even though no one is present. Elevator motors are used only as the load is lifted (gravity is used for descent) and then for only a brief interval. Ask the client once he/she understands this cycling issue and use this value here. b. Hours per Week in Office Areas. This value is how many hours per week does your client actually occupy the building. You must remember that this is not the same as the posted business hours since people will come in early and leave late. In this example, if we assume an 8.5-hour day, 5 days per week as posted on the door, we would get a number of 42.5 hours. But this is wrong. After discussing this issue with the client, we found that people are actually present for closer to 12 hours per day for a correct value of 60. c. Hours per Week in Warehouse/Storage Areas. Total hours of operating hours of the warehouse or storage areas (here 0). After discussing this issue with the client, you may find that people are actually present longer than the posted operating hours of business. Again, talk to the client and use that value. 4. Equipment Loads. Transfer the data from your walk-through sheet into this area. This data determines the equipment load percentage as described at the beginning of this article. Note that equipment loads are those motors that run everything except A/C or refrigeration. Air exhaust motors are part of the equipment load but all motors associated with the A/C or Refrigeration system – such as A/C compressors, chiller pumps, and blower (VAV) motors – are not. Do not duplicate motors between sections. If you do, there will be too many motors listed for the kWh used by the building. Page 15 FREEKW By: Philip Rastocny (continued from page 14) 5. Synchronous Motors. If there are any synchronous motors, enter them here. Note that synchronous motors are not the same as variable speed drives, variable frequency drives, or DC motors. Synchronous motors use the line frequency (50 or 60Hz) to control the speed of the motor. Ask your client if they use any synchronous motors, if you do not know for certain. 6. If you filled out this FreeKW form as described here, a familiar-to-some error message results after pressing SUBMIT that cryptically explains that our load mix estimation is not quite right. So what went wrong? What do you do now to fix this? Read on… 7. Clicking on the OK box inside the error message returns us to the load mix page. Here we already know that two of these entries are correct (i.e., the Equipment=11.5% and the Refrigeration=0%). So the other three were somehow wrong (i.e., too much reactive load for the 500,000 kWh we specified). It is typical to underestimate the Resistive load in a facility. So our job becomes deciding which of the two remaining loads were incorrectly estimated: the Lighting or the A/C? In our walk-through, we observed that there were more lights than A/C so if we take a little from both and add that to the resistive load, we should be OK. Let’s change the A/C load to 23% (-2%), the Lighting load to 38% (-2%), and the Resistive load to 27.5% (+4%) and try it again. Page 16 FREEKW By: Philip Rastocny (continued from page 15) Clicking SUBMIT on this page and changing nothing on the next page yields the following good results. So what was done wrong? Nothing really. Inexperienced eyes can be deceived by the actual conditions of a building. Learning how to judge a load mix accurately just comes with time. One day you will be able to intuitively estimate a load mix and even project savings while walking around that will be quite close to the FreeKW results. Suggestion Box [email protected] Page 17 CLASSROOM SOLUTION PER STUDENT PRICING Courses for Affiliates: • • Attend at any local New Horizons Center* Must be purchased and scheduled through National Center of contact – Nashville Any desktop application class – per day………………...…… $ 150.00 US** * Includes centers in North America and Canada. ** Pricing varies outside North America and Canada. Contact Nashville center for special pricing. WEB BASED SOLUTION PER STUDENT PRICING Microsoft Office Pack includes: • • • • • • • • Access Excel Frontpage Outlook Powerpoint Publisher Word 24x7 access via the Internet One year, Online Anytime, unlimited access subscription.… $ 150.00 US** Special foreign language libraries available. Contact Randy Lawyer of the Nashville Center for details.. PURCHASE CONTACT NEW HORIZONS COMPUTER LEARNING CENTER - NASHVILLE To take advantage of these special discounts on computer training and to schedule at a New Horizons Computer Learning Center in your area, please contact Randy Lawyer of the Nashville Center: Randy Lawyer (615) 850-5919 direct (615) 251-6925 fax Page 18 145 Anderson Lane Hendersonville, TN 37075 Email: [email protected] Staff Contact Information Name: Title: Joseph Merlo Chief Executive Officer Paul Bleiweis President Elaine Gilbert Director of Finance Joelle Frasca Director of Administration / EPAC Kathy Harris Administrative Assistant Brenda Bleichner Administrative Assistant Matthew Deck IT Supervisor Vince Marshall Director of Corporate Projects Bill Thiessen Director of Sales and Training Development Bob Depalo Director of Engineering John Medina Affiliate Support Manager Tyler Bloomfield Manufacturing Support Specialist Herb Stewart Mechanical Assembler Christian Santana Mechanical Assembler Alvin Juma Director of Affiliate Support / Help Desk The ‘Plug ‘n’ Play’ MicroLiner: Phone/Extension E-Mail: (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) (615) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 822-7250, x 223 822-7251, x 232 822-7250, x 239 822-7251, x 248 822-7250, x 221 822-7250, x 228 822-7251 x 289 822-7251, x 290 822-7251, x 229 822-7251, x 236 822-7251, x 225 822-7250 822-7250 822-7250 822-7251, x 237 By Bob Depalo You asked for it at the open forum, and now you have it. The “Plug & Play” Microliner has arrived. All 1000 series Microliners are now available with a molded CSA listed cord along with plastic shock preventive cap. Just mount the Microliner to the machine to be treated and plug it directly into the shared wall socket along with the machine plug. It’s that EASI! ORDER PROCEDURES A brief reminder on equipment ordering procedures. Once the order has been processed by Joelle, it will be sent to our manufacturing facility. You will then be contacted via e-mail with the expected shipping date and backorder information (if any). This will be followed by the tracking information once your order has been shipped. You may contact our R & D facility at [email protected] or (615) 230-8874 to inquire about the status of your order. Publisher: Editor: Alvin C. Juma Paul Bleiweis Contributors: Paul Bleiweis Joseph Merlo Bill Thiessen Bob Depalo Joe Dupee Barry Goslin Chuck Lindley Philip Rastocny Vince Marshall Alvin Juma © 2004 Energy Automation Systems, Inc.