SANDERSVILLE, GA – Recently, a team of four engineering students from the Georgia Tech Industrial Assessment Center, led by Director Dr. Comas Haynes and Assistant Director Sinan Sinharoy, performed an energy assessment for Trojan Battery’s AGM/Deep Cycle Lead Acid Battery manufacturing facility in Sandersville, Georgia. The team conducted a comprehensive walk-through of the 291,000 square foot facility, during which time they interviewed facility personnel about operational and maintenance practices in the facility, generated several recommendation ideas, and deployed data loggers to take measurements. The team’s final report proposed 9 recommendations with estimated electricity and natural gas savings of 10.9% and 6.5%, respectively, and total projected cost savings of almost $300,000 per year.
One unique recommendation promoted to the facility was the reduction of the lead pot temperatures for lead grid-casting. This proposal would not impact the process but would significantly improve energy performance due to reduced electrical heater cycling. Other recommendations included the installation of oven exhaust stack insulation, compressed air leak repairs, and a dust collection control system with variable speed drives.
One of the facility’s best practices involves the recycling of a large amount of water used to thermally manage the battery charging process. This conservation practice minimizes the facility’s annual water consumption and cost.