Smart Energy Monitoring: Manufacturers

The Energy Crisis and the Threat to
Manufacturing Businesses Globally

It is a well-known fact that, on the whole, manufacturing is one of the most energy-intensive industries globally, relying on often continuous energy use.

In the US, manufacturing accounts for the largest share of annual industrial energy consumption – a whopping 81% – and the figures are largely similar in other countries across the globe.

The recent energy crisis has threatened the survival of a vast number of manufacturing businesses – over 60% in the UK as of September 2022, according to Make UK – with many considering cutting production and jobs or shutting down altogether due to increasing costs.

Why Should Investing in Energy Monitoring Solutions Be a Priority?

THE PROBLEM

Relying on estimates is costly and ineffective – if you’re a manufacturer looking to save on the cost of energy, now is the time to invest in energy monitoring equipment to suit your facilities.

THE SOLUTION

The solution to minimising the impact of rising energy costs is to have an awareness of how exactly energy is being used across different facilities, allowing manufacturers to make necessary changes.

Energy monitoring equipment offers detailed insights into individual energy sources and users, recording energy consumption and performance that can be monitored against factors that influence it.

How Can Energy Monitoring Systems Help Manufacturers?

Energy monitoring solutions include smart electricity and gas monitoring equipment, automatic meter reading, sub-metering, electricity load balancing and peak power output.

In practice, energy monitoring equipment can help manufacturers:

Identify relevant performance trends and energy discrepancies
Find and alter harmful/costly energy consumption trends
Compare daily and hourly energy use profiles
Identify load balancing supply imbalances
Establish whether peak shaving is necessary, and help avoid penalties due to exceeding the maximum amount allocated
Become aware of whether machinery is using more energy than it should
Discover whether pieces of equipment are in use when they are not strictly needed
Help predict whether system maintenance is required, and when equipment is about to reach the end of its lifespan
Determine whether the energy systems used are being employed appropriately, or whether adjustments should be made

Enhanced Compliance with Environmental Regulations

In the current climate, nothing is more important than managing one’s carbon footprint to ensure compliance with existing and upcoming environmental regulations.

Energy monitoring systems can facilitate compliance with a number of regulations for manufacturers, as well as carbon-reduction initiatives, including:

Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) - with minimum standards set to increase to EPC B ratings by 2030
The Climate Change Levy (CCL)
ISO’s ISO 50001 Energy Management Certification
The Carbon Trust Standard
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme

What Do the Numbers Show?

Proper energy management of systems in manufacturing facilities is key to improved energy efficiency, and therefore building cost savings.

To put things into perspective: a business that wastes around 46% of the energy it uses within a 24-hour period could lose 34% of its annual profit, and unplanned system downtime can cost industrial manufacturers up to $50 billion per year.

But with access to proper data, even small changes can make a big difference.

Smarter Technologies’ energy monitoring systems have helped our clients generate significant savings

Helping a large manufacturing group reduce total gas consumption by 40% and decrease energy consumption by 50% by installing smart electricity and gas monitoring equipment in its factory. The organisation noticed gas being utilised on a day when there was no activity on site, as well as faulty equipment, significant issues that would have remained undiscovered had it not been for this technology being implemented.

Saving a large UK bakery just under £5,000 in annual savings, by helping it understand its load balancing opportunities. Energy consumption data collected by Smarter Technologies’ systems immediately showed that its electricity load was imbalanced, costing the bakery a large sum of additional money every year.

The Benefits of Smart Energy Monitoring
Energy Use for Manufacturers

Reducing energy costs

Improving operational efficiency

Increasing facility performance

Benchmarking energy use

Better decision-making

Minimising equipment failure and unplanned downtime

Meeting ESG commitments

Reducing carbon emissions

Improving investment value

Enhanced compliance with environmental regulations

How Smarter Technologies’ Solutions Can Help Manufacturers

Ultimately, having energy consumption data at your fingertips is the only way to create effective opportunities to cut energy costs. Our energy monitoring systems offer easy-toread data thanks to SmarterView, a cloud-based platform that offers a complete, bespoke view of your data with real-time insights, which can be accessed from any smart device.

IF YOU ARE A BUILDING OWNER LOOKING TO INVEST IN FUTURE-PROOF SMART BUILDING SOLUTIONS, THEN GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR TEAM.

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Energy Monitoring Solutions for Manufacturers

The Energy Crisis and the Threat to Manufacturing Businesses Globally