Our History of Energy Conservation Through Insulation

Feb 1, 2022 | Shannon Blog

For 40 years, I’ve been in the energy conservation business. I started as a technical representative, supporting a fabrication, manufacturing division; I also worked for a mechanical insulation distributor, contractor, and fabricator. These where the beginning days of blanket insulation technology, which was a new approach to insulating difficult, complex surfaces that required access for service, inspection, or repair. The concept for the technology was easy access. And with easy access came the benefits of using and reusing a one-time investment in blanket insulation technology – time and time again the technology paid for itself and more with each moment of access.

The most compelling slogan in our early trade show displays was “Energy Conservation Through Insulation.” It may seem hard to believe that energy savings, energy efficiency, sustainability and carbon reduction were commonplace, even back in 1981, but the impact of high energy costs are part of the history of energy use.

Imagine the world of energy conservation before the catch phrase sustainability.” I have spent my career saving energy for customers who pay attention to their energy use. The concept of energy savings and the practice of energy efficiency predates the “energy engineer” and certainly predates “sustainability.” Before then, “best practices” was the catch phrase, and a plant engineer, facility manager, CFO, project engineer, maintenance supervisor or manager simply paid close attention to energy costs.

That said, you can’t overstate the importance of “best practices.” In years past, “selling” the concept of a simple payback period was challenging. I remember a project development submittal in the Southern U.S. to a fish processing facility, damaged by Hurricane Katrina. We surveyed the steam system and proposed an insulation upgrade that generated a seven-month payback period. No kidding, seven months on a $275,000 project investment. The problem:  The customer could not justify the expense and could not see the benefit. To paraphrase the customer’s response, “We cannot afford to do it, it’s too expensive.” A whopping $6 million in lifetime savings could not be justified. So, selling energy savings was not always easy, even with potentially compelling results.

Shannon Global Energy Solutions has a true history of “Energy Conservation Through Insulation.” Approaching 34 years in the business, Shannon GES has designed, manufactured, installed, and commissioned over 700,000 blankets for the energy savings sector. To put things in perspective, our installed base represents a historical savings approaching $568 million in saved energy. A compelling half-billion dollars in energy, 1.8 million tons of CO2, and the equivalent of more than 200,000 homes heated annually, for FREE!

Energy Conservation Through Insulation:  A simple concept of removing and reusing insulation has evolved into a tangible, effective, compelling solution. Remove it, reuse it, and expect 15 years of continued savings year after year. Insulate surface conditions that are complex, problematic, and difficult to access. These are the many attributes of removable, reusable blanket insulation.

By far, the smartest energy program is energy not consumed!