In a never-ending pursuit of the European Union to minimize the CO2 emission into the environment sources of waste has been identified and classified with respect to their function and output. Power industry is being regarded as the area where measures of major efficiency improvement and control are required. For this purpose, German Engineering Society (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure) has issued a manual VDI 4610. The document describes methods of heat loss calculation for plane walls, spherical vessels, different types of ducts and pipes, both individually and combined, including calculation algorithms for thermal bridges. The manual also includes some illustrations of optimal insulation on abovementioned elements with regard to potential savings – a clear correlation between insulation costs and returns from heat loss minimization is drawn in comparison to steadily growing demand for energy in Germany. Using those graphs and formulas one can calculate heat losses for the whole complex and classify it from A (all elements are insulated properly) to G (insufficient or no insulation applied). In other words, the norm represents a set of principles designated for industrial companies, which if implemented will result in improved operational efficiency and controlled ecological footprint for the facility. Similar classification has been adopted in Poland but it concerns only residential and public buildings so far. Therefore, standardization of industrial complexes with regard to economic and ecological efficiency in Poland is only a matter of time.

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