Specifically, with 8 energy saving measures, it has been estimated that the company will save about VND 1.4 billion, reduce the consumption of 134 kwh of electricity and 225 thousand tons of coal annually. Implementing all the solutions, the company needs to invest about VND 1.3 billion with the payback period of less than 1 year. The total energy reduction is 629 tons of CO2 equivalent.

Actual consumption

Types of energy for production of the company are mainly coal and electricity. In 2009, the company's cost of coal was nearly VND 3.4 billion and electricity cost was VND 426 million. To monitor and control the proportion of energy consumption to actual production, the company has installed a three price electronic gauge at the substation.

In addition to the good use of natural light to serve daytime production shifts, most of the workshops have installed 50W energy saving  compact  bulbs to replace high-voltage and incandescent bulbs. However, some areas are still using backward T10 fluorescent lamps.

Energy consumption is mainly concentrated in areas such as dryer, boiler system, air compressor system and dyeing machine. These areas have great potential to save energy costs and significantly contribute to reducing production costs.

Energy efficiency solutions

According to Mr Hoang Quan, expert of Hanoi Energy Efficiency Center, the energy efficiency measures proposed to Toan Thang textile company are various, including solutions which require no or low investment cost and solutions which require average investment cost and short payback period. For solutions which need high investment cost and have complex technical requirements, the audit team is willing to continue supporting the enterprise in order to bring the best performance.


According to the audit team, to reduce energy consumption for the whole plant, the company needs to prioritize the work of management, including fuel consumption management and the establishment of short and long term strategy for energy consumption of the company.

With the electrical system, the company should install six additional meters in six different areas. With the boiler system and heating network, the company should monitor the volume of coal consumption in each shift, each working day and month, towards monitoring the coal consumption of each boiler. According to calculations, the enhancement of energy consumption management will help reduce 2-5% of energy consumption or approximately VND 110 million per year.

Next, the installation of inverters for motors of dyeing machines has the potential to save VND 115 million or about 100 thousand kWh per year. Similarly, installing inverters to control the operation of air compressors, the company will have a chance to save VND 25 million by reducing the consumption of nearly 22 thousand kWh per year. According to initial calculations, the investment capital of these two measures is about VND 220 million and can be retrieved after 18 months.

The main type of energy consumed at the plant is coal, so the major cost reduction measures also focus on helping the plant use coal efficiently. According to experts, the potential to reduce fuel costs of Toan Thang Textile Co., Ltd is very great. For example, the areas of drying machine and metal stretching machine account for 30% of steam consumption of the plant, but the steam, after being used, is condensed (still at high temperature) and directly discharged outside. This not only causes heat waste but also affects the work environment. Recovering and taking advantage of condensed water at these two areas, the plant will reduce the consumption of 65 tons of coal per year, equivalent to reducing VND 140 million.


Especially, the company is using a coal furnace to provide heat for the process of bleaching, dyeing and drying products. The efficiency of the furnace is only about 55%, leading to high cost. Replacing two low efficiency fossil coal burning furnaces with the capacity of 1.5 tons per hour with an automatic fired grade style coal dust burning furnace with the capacity of 4 tons per hour will increase the efficiency of coal furnace to about 70-75 %, minimizing heat loss.

The new furnace uses coal dust, reducing monthly fuel costs. In terms of economic benefits, this solution can help the company save VND 966 million and reduce the consumption of over 100 tons of coal per year. This solution requires great investment cost of VND 850 million, but with the annual economy mentioned above, the company can retrieve the capital after only about 10 months.

Leaders of the company said that, before implementing energy audit, although being aware of the high energy consumption, they did not know where to start to reduce costs. With advice and a clear analysis of experts, the plant has found reliable energy efficiency measures. The factory is willing to invest to bring long term benefits while contributing to environmental protection.