Starting to measure: a plan for a small mill, and the limits of this course

Why measure first

Customers now ask for a global warming potential per cubic metre, an EPD or a share of renewable energy. Those numbers are built from a few energy flows a mill can measure itself. The portal's articles describe a nine-step start for a small mill, based on a Norwegian programme (2020) and Swedish indicator advice (2019). The steps below follow it.

1. Fix one reference unit. One cubic metre of sawn output at a stated moisture; also keep log intake volume to compute recovery.
2. Collect twelve months of bills and production counts. Electricity, diesel, boiler fuel, residues sold and burned.
3. Add meters on the big loads. Main supply, saw line, kiln fans, compressor.
4. Log every kiln batch. Volume, species, thickness, initial and final moisture, schedule, run time, heat reading.
5. Separate carriers. Electricity, fossil fuel and biomass (tonnes or loose m3 with moisture), converting with 3.6 MJ per kWh.
6. Pick two or three quick wins. Air leaks, idle fans, kiln sealing, steam traps.
7. Build a routine. A named person, a target, a short weekly review; awareness alone gave 2-5% in year one in Norway.
8. Then estimate carbon. Electricity kWh x grid factor plus fuel litres x fuel factor, divided by m3 produced, with official factors stated. Log supplier data are needed for A1 and A2. This is not an EPD and must not be marketed as one.
9. If customers demand an EPD, ask your trade association whether a sector EPD exists. Participation rules were not verified.

Worked examples

Specific electricity. A mill used 1,200,000 kWh last year and sawed 20,000 m3: 1,200,000 / 20,000 = 60 kWh/m3, inside the 53-67 kWh/m3 range of the Norwegian data (Europe; a different boundary may apply).

Electricity footprint. One Swedish declaration models production-mix electricity at 35.3 g CO2 eq per kWh. At 60 kWh/m3 this is 60 x 0.0353 = 2.1 kg CO2 eq per m3. A coal-heavy grid would give a very different value, so use the factor for your own grid and year.

Kiln batch. A batch evaporates 7,500 kg of water and the heat meter reads 13,500 kWh: 13,500 / 7,500 = 1.8 kWh/kg. Against the 1.6 kWh/kg reference this is (1.8 - 1.6) / 1.6 = 12.5% higher, a prompt to check sealing, venting and fan control. The reference is a theoretical figure; do not treat it as a target guaranteed to be reachable.

Unit conversion. 1,000 MJ of heat is 1,000 / 3.6 = 278 kWh.

Checklist before publishing any figure

• State unit, moisture and boundary next to every number.
• Say whether it is a measurement, an average or an own calculation.
• Keep fossil, biogenic and land-use terms separate.
• Do not call an internal estimate an EPD.
• Have an accredited verifier or consultant review any external claim.

Limits of this course

This course was drafted by AI and is based only on the portal's already fact-checked articles on sawmill residues, energy and carbon, kiln drying and yield. Treat it as an introduction, not as engineering, legal or accounting advice.

• Figures are regional: the cited studies come from Finland, Slovakia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Hungary and the EU27 (Europe), and from the USA, Canada and California (North America). Do not transfer them between regions or species.
• Several points were not verified in the articles and are not taught as facts: RED III Article 29 thresholds and national transposition, residue prices in EUR, GHG factors for residue combustion, and the IPCC 2019 product half-lives.
• Some source figures are inconsistent (board-foot conversions, some EPD biogenic values) or come from trade articles; the lessons say so where relevant.
• Own calculations in the lessons are illustrations with stated assumptions, not measurements.
• Check every figure against the original standard, the EPD, the directive text and your own contracts before using it for a bid, a claim or compliance.

Key points

• Start with one reference unit, twelve months of bills and production, and a few meters; log every kiln batch.
• Specific electricity = kWh / m3; kiln efficiency = kWh heat / kg water; carbon estimate = kWh x grid factor plus fuel x fuel factor, per m3.
• Convert units explicitly: 3.6 MJ per kWh.
• An internal carbon estimate is not an EPD and must not be marketed as one.
• This course is AI-drafted from the portal's articles: check figures against standards and contracts.