FEI trims energy costs by 67 percent

FEI Co. achieved a 67 percent energy savings by adopting energy improvements for its clean room air handlers.

Working with Energy Trust, which provided a $34,685 cash incentive ,and the state of Oregon, which provided a 35 percent Business Energy Tax Credit, FEI installed demand-controlled air handlers to reduce the flow of air by 50 percent when the company's clean rooms during many occupied hours and all unoccupied hours.

Using technology to calculate the average particle count, the ventilation system ramps up and down in stages in reaction to current air quality.

According to an Energy Trust press release, the improved ventilation is saving the company enough energy to power 63 homes per year.

Hillsboro-based FEI (NASDAQ: FEIC) manufactures electron microscopes.