OK Industries

Print This Page

"BC Hydro offered us a tremendous opportunity to save electricity and improve operational efficiencies. They provided us with a solution to our problem and worked with us from start to finish to simplify the process. Initially, we had only planned on upgrading the Victoria plant, but when we saw the benefits, we decided to upgrade our other facilities."

— Buncy Sangha, President & CEO, OK Industries

The situation

OK Industries owns a number of asphalt paving companies on Vancouver Island, including Island Asphalt in Victoria, Tayco Paving in Cumberland and Campbell River, Duncan Paving in Duncan, OK Paving in Port McNeill, and part-owner of Haylock Bros. Paving in Parksville. To make asphalt, a thick oil is mixed with sand and rocks, then loaded into trucks to be delivered to the paving site. This oil is stored in large tanks and must be maintained at a temperature of 150°C (300°F) to ensure that it flows and mixes easily.

OK Industries' energy management staff pointed out to senior management that, although the insulation level in the tanks would have met industry standards back when they were made, it was no longer adequate. Staff noted that when it rained or snowed, the tanks were dry on the outside, while precipitation steamed off the surface, evidence that heat was escaping to the outside. As a result, the company had trouble maintaining the required oil temperature and was incurring high heating costs as well as extra costs to maintain heating equipment.

OK Industries, a Power Smart partner, turned to BC Hydro to discuss the potential costs and benefits of installing additional insulation on the tank at its Victoria facility. We determined that insulating the tank would cost $20,000 and would save 335,300 kilowatt hours (KWh) of electricity, or $13,000, each year.

The solution

Impressed with the potential energy and dollar savings, OK Industries proceeded to insulate the Victoria oil tank. The company was so pleased with the results, in terms of both energy savings and the ability to run heaters for shorter periods of time, that it decided to insulate the tanks at its other locations. OK Industries used Power Smart's financial incentives, totaling $12,775, to help offset the costs of insulating the Cumberland and Parksville oil tanks. In total, they insulated eight oil tanks at four facilities.

The benefits

More efficient operations. Less heating energy is needed to keep the oil at the required temperature and the temperature is easier to regulate.

Energy cost savings. The oil tank insulation project will save OK Industries a total of nearly 1,000,000 KWh of electricity or $40,000 worth of heating costs, each year.

Maintenance cost savings. Significant maintenance savings are expected as well because the heaters and associated switching equipment will need to operate only a fraction of the time they did before.

Reduced environmental impacts. Reduced energy consumption has positive environmental impacts through lower greenhouse gas emissions. The improved level of insulation means that less waste heat is escaping into the environment.