4 tips to reduce energy costs in manufacturing

Manufacturing is a considerably energy-intensive sector, and saving high energy costs is a key focus area for energy firms from the start. While high amount of energy is required to keep vital processes going, a few simple measures like improving the accuracy of your power consumption measurement could help you identify and cut the wastage of energy in other areas of the plant. Newtek Electricals offers digital multifunction meters and current transformers that bring accuracy and ease to power measurement. Consider how accurate power measurement can lead you to discover other small measure that can make a big impact on your poser costs.

Measures to save energy costs in your manufacturing facility

Track your power consumption with digital meters

Digital multifunction meters measure power parameters continuously and display the data on their screens. Newtek Electricals provides multifunction meters that can display the exact costs of energy consumed, and also measure the key power quality parameters that might be causing a spike in your power consumption. The data from meters can be fed into computer systems and more insights can be generated on how to reduce power consumption in your facility. Explore the benefits of multifunction meters further in our blog here.

Shift to energy-efficient lighting

Using energy-efficient lighting at the facility can make a ton of difference. Modern LED bulbs produce the light equal to that of the halogens while using only a quarter of the energy required by the former. This has made LED bulbs a popular tool to save energy expanses. Also, consider switching off or eliminating lights in non essential areas. For instance, instead of putting a vending machine with a dedicated lightbulb in a remote corner, you could place it in a well-lit area and not use its own light.

Upgrade and maintain equipment

Maintaining your machines as well as other equipment regularly can save a lot of money. The industry does save energy with two practices: retro-commissioning, which is making adjustments to existing equipment to improve its performance and lower energy consumption, and retro-fitting, which involves replacing outdated parts of the equipment.
Modern multifunction meters have MODBUS port (RS485) which enables the meter to communicate data to PC, server or gateway which further makes it possible to put this data on Cloud. This data can then be viewed on apps or web browsers from any location. You could check the difference in power consumption by switching your equipment on and off You can now identify which machines consume more power and why. Accordingly, you know which machines and parts to replace.

Monitor your HVAC systems

According to veteran firms from the HVAC industry, air conditioning and heating can take up between 20% to 40% of a building’s total energy consumption. Older HVAC systems will typically consume more energy, and it would be wise to replace them at the right time. According to some reports, setting your temperature up to 25 degrees C can save up to 18% of energy.