Boilers

Christchurch specialty meats producer Verkerks is paying for a lot less energy after taking a fresh look at how it generates heat and processes waste.

By converting the boiler to burn tallow, a meat processing byproduct, Verkerks will likely cut their energy costs by $150,000 a year.

The boiler at the company's processing plant produces steam for heating the smoke houses and fermenting rooms, and water heating.

Until recently the boiler operated only on diesel, consuming around 7,000 litres - and thousands of dollars - every week.

Winemakers Pernod Ricard are set to cut their natural gas bill by $21,000 a year thanks to a new hot-water boiler at the company's Auckland wine-bottling plant.

The $55,000 Northvale boiler is used to heat water for cleaning the equipment at the plant. It is almost 12% more efficient than the steam boiler it replaced, and it is expected to reduce the amount of natural gas the company uses by 479,000 kWh a year.