Vietnam is seeking ways to reduce energy consumption of industrial production by 10-50 percent by implementing the national energy efficiency and conservation program.

Huynh Kim Tuoc, the director of the Ho Chi Minh City Energy Conservation Center, said, "Industries in Vietnam still consume exorbitant amounts of energy due to inefficiency." Statistics show that the energy efficiency at thermoelectric plants in Vietnam is about 28-32 percent while in developed countries this number is about 40 percent.

The energy efficiency of industrial steam boiler furnaces in Vietnam is about 60 percent while the world's average is 80 percent. Moreover, the industrial energy intensity in Vietnam is 1.5-1.7 times higher than that of Thailand and Malaysia. The ratio of energy demand growth to GDP growth in Vietnam is two (world average is less than one). The energy consumption/US$1,000 of the GDP ratio in Vietnam is the equivalent of 600kg of oil (world average is 300kg).

Energy conservation efforts will help domestic companies considerably reduce their expenditures

The results of energy audits show that industrial energy use in Vietnam is wasteful due to unsuitable design, improper operations and ineffective management. Specifically, in the design process, domestic companies pay attention only to the cost of investment but not to energy expenses. They make inaccurate capacity estimates. Energy losses that are attributed to improper operation of equipment occur due to the lack of information about equipment, the use of unsuitable operating systems, low-load or no-load operation of equipment, and inadequate maintenance. In the field of management, domestic companies only focus on accelerating production and increasing output, but do not have any mechanism to monitor the use of energy.

Mr. Tuoc added, "If the above matters are resolved thoroughly, Vietnam can reduce industrial energy consumption considerably." Specifically, energy consumption in the cement industry can be reduced by 50 percent, in the ceramic industry by more than 30 percent, in the textile-garment industry by 30 percent, and in the steel industry by 20 percent. Efforts will be focused on reducing the amount of electricity consumed by equipment such as air conditioners, lighting systems, electric engines and transmission equipment as well as pumps, fans and air compressors.

Energy expenses account for 20-45 percent of total expenditure of a company in the domestic industrial sector. Therefore, energy conservation efforts will help domestic companies considerably reduce their expenditures.

To save energy, companies must first improve energy efficiency and use less energy in stages where it is less necessary. They must increase the capacity coefficient of electrical systems by replacing low-load engines with lower-capacity engines. In addition, companies must utilize natural light and use high-efficiency lighting equipment. Lighting systems must be operated automatically and maintained periodically.

To improve the energy efficiency of electrical engines, pumps and fans, companies can operate them at 65-100 percent of their rated capacity and reduce the time of low-load operation. These systems must also be maintained regularly.

To make steam boiler furnaces energy efficient, it is necessary to ensure the quality of water and increase the temperature of water to a suitable level. In addition, it is necessary to regulate the amount of discharged water. Steam traps must be installed to eliminate steam during the distribution process. Recovering waste steam and heat for reuse purposes is also an effective way to save energy.

Refrigeration equipment and air conditioners are among the most electricity-consuming kinds of products. Companies can use inverters and cold storage facilities to reduce the amount of electricity consumed by these kinds of equipment.

Similarly, inverters can be used to reduce voltage drops on the distribution network and lower the input temperature of air compressors to improve their energy efficiency.

By Lan Phuong - VEN