As an implementation of the National Target Programme on Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Can Tho Energy Efficiency Centre in cooperation with Centre for Research and Development of Energy Efficiency (ENERTEAM) carried out energy auditing for a number of enterprises in the province of Can Tho. Tay Do Garment Joint Stock Company (located at Ninh Kieu District) was one of the chosen enterprises to conduct energy auditing in order to search for possible opportunities to save energy and bringing practical benefits to the company.

As one of Vietnam’s largest manufacturing enterprises of garment, Tay Do Garment Corporation has a designed capacity of 2.9 million products per year and its annual energy consumption has always been around two billion dong. So as to reduce power consumption and at the same time increase productivity, the company on its own initiative has invested on 40% of electronic sewing machines for the whole factory.

Furthermore, Tay Do Garment Joint Stock Company has carried out energy management according to the standards of the widely accepted ISO 9001 - 2000 quality regulation system. Accordingly, the data of energy consumption such as gasoline, electricity, water and a daily production output is recorded, which is then put into a full report. By doing this the energy consumption is strictly controlled while losses are significantly limited.

According to Mr. Le Hoang Viet, director of ENERTEAM, potential in power savings in building an energy regulation system in the company can be as much as 4% of the total power consumption, which will be equivalent to approximately 62 thousand kWh/year. However, in order to achieve such result, in addition to maintaining stability and strengthening production-related activities to increase output the factory still needs a lot of effort.

After conducting the energy audit, potential in energy saving at Tay Do Garment Joint Stock Company was determined to be about 266 million dong per year, equivalent to 231 thousand kwh. By implementing energy efficiency measures, each year the enterprise can reduce up to 144 tons of carbon dioxide emission.

The majority of light bulbs in the lighting system at the factory are T10-40W, the obsolete bulbs which consume a lot of power. In addition, due to the lack of regular maintenance, the bulbs are covered with a layer of dust which significantly reduces lighting efficiency. By replacing the entire T10 light bulb system with the T8 bulb with electronic ballast, the enterprise has to invest 122 million dong. The measure has a potential of saving about 48 million dong per year, equivalent to 38.6 thousand Kwh.

For the general lighting system, it is estimated that the factory can cut down 40% of the total lighting bulbs. This measure can help save more than 44 thousand kWh per year, equivalent to about 56 million dong. If this solution is used, the factory will only need to use 60% of the number of T10 – 40W bulbs to be replaced. In short, by using the combination of the aforementioned energy efficiency solutions for lighting, the enterprise will be able to save 83 million dong in power costs, equivalent to 67 thousand Kwh per year.

Energy consumption of the steam system at Tay Do Garment JSC has always been at a high level due to the characteristics of garment production.

Therefore, during the energy audit, energy specialists paid special attention to measures which could both restrict most unnecessary consumption and save the most energy. To limit heat loss the first measure being considered is carrying out maintenance of steam pipe system. Operating in about 300 days a year, it is estimated that the plant could save over 12 trillion Kwh per year or about 15 million dong. This solution is easily implemented yet can still bring great benefits, as the factory only needs to invest 4 million dong, having capital recovery after just three months.

By changing the way steam is generated, from using electricity to using heat from burning rice husks, the factory can save a significant amount of power.

In particular, currently power consumption for the boiler is about 163 thousand kWh per year equivalent to 200 million dong. Boilers using rice husk could at the same time save power cost and also save the investment costs of building a new substation. It is estimated that, using rice husk boiler the plant will be able to save 41.8 kWh per day. Cost of burning rice husk to make steam is only about 24 million dong per year, which enables the plant to save 180 million dong per year.

These above solutions again confirm that if some bold investments are made, enterprises will gain huge benefits. At Tay Do Garment Company, with the necessary investment is 262 million dong, only after a year, the business has fully recovered its initial capital. When implementing those measures, businesses should not only realize the immediate benefits but also the payback in the long run when a healthy work environment is created, building a sustainable future and promoting the brand for the business.