The world, today, is facing an unparalleled set of problems, viz. climate change, environmental degradation and looming scarcity of fossil fuels. We stand at a chasm, almost at a steadily nearing threshold, where inconceivable chaos, calamities and devastation might become our lot.

Energy management is a serious subject of discussion today. Fossil fuels, that provide conventional sources of energy, are not only becoming depleted, but also their burning is worsening the problem of climate change.

In order to raise awareness among students regarding some of these issues, an invited talk on Integrated Energy Management Methodology was organized by IEEE-Industry Applications Society (IAS), Student Branch Chapter of the Amritapuri campus on October 16.

Mr. Jayakumar Nair, Principal Consultant, Sustenergy Foundation and Manager of Energy and Environment, The Associated Cement Companies Ltd., delivered the talk. This talk was the first event organized by the IEEE-IAS Chapter that started functioning on campus only in the first week of October.

IAS Chapters are meant to promote the advancement of the theory and practice of electrical and electronics engineering. They also focus on industry-related issues in energy conservation and environmental health and safety.

“Through proper energy management, we can save nearly 25%-30% of energy per day,’’ remarked Mr. Jayakumar.

Elaborating on a mathematical tool, Sustenergy Pyramid, he discussed how an integrated energy management methodology could help with energy conservation.

Energy audits, reengineering and in-house management, can all be supported through this tool, Mr. Jayakumar asserted.

“Organizations can optimize their specific energy utilization through continuous improvements, attaining maximum cost reduction. Management’s commitment and energy policy, energy budgeting and forecasting, duties and responsibilities of each personnel in the organization for ensuring effective management of energy conservation are some things we need to pay attention to,” explained Mr. Jayakumar.

He claimed that implementation of Sustenergy Pyramid has helped organizations realize a reduction of some 10-35% in energy consumption.

“The session helped us understand that implementing a systematic approach for energy conservation is not just for reduction in cost, but also for deriving the most out of conventional sources of energy, which most people currently use,” opined Shyam M.S., a second-year student of MTech (Power and Energy), after the talk.

November 7, 2012
School of Engineering, Amritapuri