MANAGING PLANT ENERGY CONSUMPTION.

Calma Co. , a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric, recently automated its two-building, 350,000 sq ft Milpitas, CA, complex with a Facility Management System (FMS). The new system provides microprocessor-based monitoring and control over mechanical equipment and electrical systems, gives each employee a tool for automatically regulating his own environment, and lowers life-cycle operating costs by reducing unnecessary energy consumption and equipment maintenance. Preliminary figures indicate that electrical use declined 21 percent, and gas consumption is down about 80 percent, compared with a similar period a year ago when manual controls were used.