Industrial energy conservation measures (ECMs) are important components of efforts to reduce global energy consumption and carbon emissions. To aid in assessing water conservation co-benefits of ECMs applied to industrial steam systems, this study proposes a combined energy-water conservation metric that captures the cost of conserved energy and water (CCEW) for common steam system-related ECMs. The proposed metric utilizes a fundamentals-based steam system model coupled with US industrial energy audit data to estimate potential water savings for 21 common ECMs in US industrial plants. At an average water cost of $0.71/kL ($2.66/1000 gal.), improvements to steam distribution, steam vents, de-aerator operation, steam traps, and steam leaks, which correlate to a reduction in steam generation requirements, are shown to have a CCEW that is 0.22 $/GJ lower than the conventional cost of conserved (CCE) for these ECMs. Furthermore, improvements to boiler system blowdown, which correlate to a reduction in liquid water purged from the system, are shown to have a CCEW that is 0.83 $/GJ lower than the CCE for this ECM. The study results demonstrate how broader consideration of water savings can improve the economic case for industrial ECMs.

工业节能措施（ECM）是减少全球能源消耗和碳排放努力的重要组成部分。为了帮助评估应用于工业蒸汽系统的 ECM 的节水协同效益，本研究提出了一种节能节水综合指标，该指标可捕获常见蒸汽系统相关 ECM 的节能节水成本 (CCEW)。拟议的指标利用基于基本原理的蒸汽系统模型，结合美国工业能源审计数据来估算美国工厂 21 种常见 ECM 的潜在节水量。在平均水成本为 0.71 美元/千升（2.66 美元/1000 加仑）时，蒸汽分配、蒸汽喷口、除氧器操作、蒸汽疏水阀和蒸汽泄漏方面的改进（与蒸汽产生需求的减少相关）可以实现CCEW 比这些 ECM 的传统保守成本 (CCE) 低 0.22 $/GJ。此外，对锅炉系统排污的改进（与从系统中清除的液态水的减少相关）显示出 CCEW 比该 ECM 的 CCE 低 0.83 $/GJ。研究结果表明，更广泛地考虑节水可以改善工业 ECM 的经济情况。