An Energy Conservation Program at a Large Cable Manufacturing Plant

The Atlanta Works is the largest telephone cable manufacturing plant in the world plus the manufacturing center for fiber optic cable for the Western Electric Company and exemplifies how an effective energy conservation program can work. This program, begun in 1974, has implemented projects ranging from simple to highly complex and spanned low cost to high expenditure budgets. Every aspect of energy conservation is considered with the objective of reducing energy costs. Uncertainties in the availability and costs of different fuels over the past several years have provided the impetus for creating an effective conservation program. This paper will show how the program has been implemented and what the results have been. Specific examples of energy conservation are discussed including such things as more efficient lighting, demand and enthalpy control