The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water have recently released the following grant to increase awareness of energy efficiency opportunities and help business to save energy and reduce power bills. This grant aims to do this by assisting small and medium sized businesses to:

• Improve energy efficiency practices and increase the uptake of energy efficient technologies
• Assist small and medium businesses to manage their energy usage and costs
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The grant funding will pay between $10,000 and $25,000 to assist businesses with the following activities:

Energy audits and energy management

• Audit a system or facility to AS/NZS 3598
• Develop an energy management plan for your organisation
• Conduct an airtightness test in accordance with AS/NZS ISO 9972 to identify possible energy efficiency improvements
• Conduct an engineering feasibility study for an energy efficiency upgrade
• Assess the feasibility of an investment that would reduce your energy use

Energy monitoring

• Purchase and install equipment to meter, monitor and record energy use
• Short term hire of energy metering equipment
• Digitalise energy meters/sub meters or sensors relating to energy using processes
• Automatic fault detection for energy using equipment/processes
• Implement an energy data management system

Power supply

• Install power factor correction
• Install voltage optimisation
• Replace or expand switchboard or electricity distribution to facilitate electrification of equipment

Lighting

• Replace non-LED lights with LEDs
• Install automatic lighting control equipment

Heat Pumps

• Replace existing fossil fuel or inefficient electric powered equipment for heating, drying or cooling with a heat pump system equivalent

Process automation and controls

• Replace existing control equipment to reduce energy use or improve monitoring
• Optimise an energy using process based on sensors and meters
• Programming of controls and automation equipment
• Upgrade existing control equipment to enable energy efficiency
• Recommissioning of processes
• Remote monitoring equipment for agricultural water levels, stock or pasture condition and associated communications infrastructure
• Upgrades for other process control equipment that improves energy efficiency
• Install energy efficient controls for existing refrigeration equipment
• Compressed air control improvements that improve energy efficiency
• Upgrade or tune HVAC controls or Building Management System for improved energy efficiency
• Install temperature sensors on a heat exchanger
• Install and program new or replacement controllers, timers or sensors for existing air conditioning equipment
• Process optimisation - install sensors to improve control of hot water temperature
• Upgrade commercial refrigeration controls
• Install automatic controls or monitoring equipment that enable energy efficiency

Reconfigure/ Optimise Processes

• Reconfigure system to reduce the quantity, quality or pressure of air required
• Retooling to eliminate inappropriate uses of compressed air, replacing nozzles, re-installing solenoid valves closer to the actuator
• Replace an inefficient compressed air system with an energy efficient electric powered system
• Reconfigure process equipment to reduce heating needs
• Reconfigure process equipment to add heat recovery, solar pre-heat, or improve condensate return
• Reconfigure process equipment to use UV, ultrasonic or chemical cleaning or sterilisation as an alternative to hot water or steam
• Recover heat from refrigeration oil coolers, desuperheaters or condensers
• Reconfigure process equipment to reduce evaporation needs
• Reconfigure process equipment to reduce cooling needs
• Process optimisation - install pressure sensing equipment or flow control valves to reduce pump pressure
• Process optimisation - modify/replace nozzles or outlets to reduce hot water demand
• Install other heat recovery processes

Upgrades to motors, including for compressors, pumps, fans, conveyors, mixers and blowers

• Replace a motor with an electronically commutated motor
• Install a variable speed drive for any motor
• Replace a motor with a higher efficiency motor, or a lower power motor that is better matched to its duty point
• Replace a pump, fan, industrial blower, conveyor, compressor or industrial mixer with a more energy efficient equivalent

Building fabric upgrades

• Install external shading to protect windows from sunlight
• Install heavyweight or insulating blinds to replace existing lightweight window coverings (or where no coverings were previously installed)
• Install pelmets on windows that are fitted with heavyweight drapes or insulating blinds
• Replace windows with double or triple/glazed windows with thermally broken or uPVC frames
• Insulate roofs/ceilings
• Insulate walls
• Install weather stripping or exhaust dampers to reduce air leakage
• Install airtight seals on windows and/or doors
• Install draught proofing measures

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

• Replace an existing chiller used in an air conditioning system with a new chiller
• Replace an existing air conditioning compressor, condenser and/or indoor unit with more efficient equipment
• Replace an existing air conditioner with a new high efficiency unit
• Replace a HVAC compressor, boiler, space heating hot water heater, chiller or cooling tower with a higher efficiency unit
• Install or upgrade an economy cycle on an air conditioning unit
• Install carbon monoxide sensors or carbon dioxide sensors to control ventilation
• Replace air distribution equipment to facilitate fan energy savings
• Retrofit electronic expansion valves to HVAC compressor or chiller
• Replace a fossil fueled heater and/or cooler with a reverse cycle air-conditioner

Commercial refrigeration

• Replace an existing refrigerated display cabinet with a new high efficiency unit
• Replace a refrigeration compressor
• Install an automatic air purging and water purging for ammonia refrigeration systems
• Install night blinds, glass doors or lids, or rapid close doors on refrigerated spaces
• Upgrade insulation on a cool room or upgrade a cool room to be airtight
• Retrofit an electronic TX valve for a refrigeration compressor or chiller
• Install a (small) low-load chiller or refrigeration unit or a variable speed compressor for low loads, isolated loads or capacity modulation
• Replace an air-cooled refrigeration/chiller unit with a water cooled-unit
• Replace an existing liquid chiller, refrigerator, compressor or cool room with a higher efficiency unit
• Install automatic controls to switch off refrigeration fan when cold room door is open

Compressed Air Improvements

• Replace air compressor with higher efficiency unit or install variable capacity unit for trim control
• Reconfigure intake to use cooler or cleaner air
• Install economiser regulators
• Optimise compressed air storage

Water Heating

• Recover heat from cooling system or air compressor
• Upgrade insulation on hot water pipes, valves and fittings
• Install chemical sanitisation equipment to reduce hot water demand
• Replace an existing hot water system with a more efficient new heat pump or solar thermal hot water heater
• Replace an existing pool heater with a new heat pump or solar thermal pool heating system
• Install solar thermal preheat
• Replace an existing pool pump with a variable speed pump
• Provide a swimming pool cover to a currently uncovered heated pool

Other process heating, cooling, drying and pumping improvements

• Replace an existing liquid chilling package with a new high efficiency unit
• Replace an existing pump or fan with a higher efficiency pump or fan
• Install an oxygen trim system on a gas fired steam boiler
• Replace a burner on a gas fired steam boiler
• Install an economiser or condenser on a gas fired steam boiler
• Install a sensor-based blowdown control on a gas steam fired steam boiler
• Install a blowdown flash steam heat recovery system on a gas fired steam boiler
• Install a residual blowdown heat exchanger on gas fired steam boiler
• Convert a process from steam to hot water
• Replace a fossil fuel powered commercial kitchen oven, stove/cooktop, char grill, griddle, flat plate grill or deep fryer with an electric powered commercial kitchen equivalent
• Replace conventional heating or drying equipment with pulsed fluid bed drying, radiant infrared heating or drying, ohmic heating or drying, microwave heating or drying, induction heating or drying, radio frequency heating or drying
• Install low-load heating equipment for small loads, isolated loads or capacity modulation
• Improve the insulation or sealing of ovens or other heating equipment
• Install an oxygen trim control or modulating burner on a boiler
• Install a sensor-based blowdown control on a boiler
• Replace compressed air blowers with an electrically driven blower system
• Replace compressed air operated diaphragm pump with an electrically driven pump
• Install a small blower or pump to efficiently service low loads or isolated loads.
• Replace aerators or blowers with mixers or membrane aerated biofilm reactor
• Replace surface aerators or coarse aeration with fine bubble aeration
• Insulate pipework, fittings, or vessels containing hot or cold fluids
• Modify system to reduce pressure drops or the volume of fluid circulated
• Replace static spray nozzles with rotary spray nozzles or impact jet cleaning nozzles for tank cleaning
• Replace plate coolers
• Install or upgrade cooling towers to pre-cool product
• Install variable head pressure controller/sensors on refrigeration compressor
• Replace transfer pump with more efficient unit or lower pressure unit
• Install electronic control valves on chiller/compressor
• Install insulation, steam traps or other works to improve condensate recovery

If you are interested in applying for this grant, the eligibility criteria is shown below:

• Have a Australian Business Number
• Operate from one of the following entity types:
  • Company (incorporated in Australia)
  • Partnership
  • Sole Trader
  • Incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
• Businesses with a employee headcount from 1 to 199 employees averaged over any consecutive 12 month period since 1 July 2020.
• Businesses need to be trading for a minimum of 24 months

For further information and if you are interested in applying, please refer to the Business.gov.au.

If you would like further information in relation to the above grant funding program or would like assistance with the application, please contact Naomi Green on 07 4688 8400.