Projects and results
Energy benchmark for an Idaho printing plant
- Client
- A custom printing manufacturer in Idaho
- My role
- I walked the plant, built the benchmark and the tariff analysis, and wrote the report.
- Timeline and attribution
- Pathline Foundry (2026)
- Scope
- Site walkthrough | Peer benchmark | Idaho Power tariff analysis | No-cost measures
Evidence label: Identified Savings
- 38% to 52%
- of the bill estimated to be demand charges
- $2,406 to $4,210
- a year for each 10% off the monthly peak, nothing bought
- 254
- printing plants in the peer benchmark
How the work ran
- 01
Walkthrough
Equipment, heating, controls, and operating hours, recorded on site
- 02
Peers
Set against 254 printing plants in the DOE assessment database
- 03
Estimate
Annual use estimated from peer intensity per dollar of sales
- 04
Tariff
Priced on Idaho Power's Schedule 9, where demand is billed apart from energy
- 05
Measures
Three things to try that cost nothing, led by the morning start-up
The situation
- Facility and context
- A multi-process custom printing plant in Idaho, on Idaho Power's Schedule 9 general service rate, in a leased building it plans to buy.
- Problem or decision
- Energy costs had grown with the business, and the landlord holds the utility account, so there were no bills to start from. The owner wanted to know where the money was likely going and what to try first.
- Baseline and data used
- A site walkthrough, the plant's own cost and sales figures, and every printing plant in the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Center database, 254 in all, as the peer set. With no meter data available, annual use was estimated from the peers' energy per dollar of sales.
Approach
- Finding
- The morning start-up is likely the biggest lever: the highest 15 minutes of the month sets the demand charge, and demand charges are estimated at 38% to 52% of the bill. The plant also sells more per square foot than 76% of its peers, so a comparison on floor area alone would understate it.
- Recommended action
- Stagger the morning start of the presses, flash units, and dryer; put a setback thermostat on the gas heat; and lower the air compressor's cut-out pressure. None of the three needs equipment bought. Twelve months of Idaho Power usage history, released by the landlord, would turn the estimates into measured numbers.
- Investment and incentive
- None for the three measures. Idaho Power's Energy Management offerings can pay for tune-up work once the savings are verified, and Idaho Power incentives for work at the planned building purchase need pre-approval before anything starts.
Results
- Expected or verified value
- Each 10% taken off the monthly peak could be worth about $2,406 to $4,210 a year, with nothing bought. These are estimates from peer plants and the published Idaho Power tariff, not meter readings.
Share of the bill that is demand charges
Lower estimate38% demand charges
Higher estimate52% demand charges
- Demand charges
- Energy
Impact
- Implementation status
- Screening benchmark delivered: report issued in September 2026.
- What happened next
- The report sets out four ways forward, starting with planning how the shop starts its day; the choice is the owner's.
Client not named; described only by industry and state. Figures from Pathline Foundry's benchmark report, September 2026.
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