Energy Optimisation Solutions
Is your company spending a fortune on electricity? Has the energy crisis left your business with sky-high utility bills? While we can't escape paying our energy bills every month, there are energy optimisation solutions which can significantly lower your utility bills. Even if you're busy or on a tight budget, there are several ways to be more conscious of your consumption and prevent unnecessary spending. Being more energy-efficient means having more money for important things! Below are 7 ways to optimise your energy (without spending a fortune!).
What is energy optimisation?
Energy optimisation refers to using — and avoidance of — energy in the built environment to optimise benefits to the climate and people. We're talking about a three-legged stool in terms of resources:
- Energy Efficiency: Increasing energy savings in existing structures.
- Demand Response: Reducing energy use at times when electricity prices are high by joining a demand side response programme.
- Switching Fuels: Stop using fossil fuels and switch to electricity.
It’s time to reimagine energy efficiency
Energy efficiency has been a reliable method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering power bills for decades. However, everyone defers to commercial LED Lighting , solar arrays, industrial heat pumps , etc., when it comes to energy efficiency. These can often be very costly. There are other ways to improve energy efficiency without spending a fortune.
If the world wants to prevent the worst effects of climate change, we must radically modify our methods. To usher in a new era of energy optimisation, here are seven ways to save energy without breaking the budget.
1. Do real-time energy tracking
Is it easy to determine how much energy your facility consumes? What about the amount of energy used by each specific equipment or process? Despite being one of the most expensive sectors, power is seldom thoroughly controlled and handled by manufacturers.
Embedded energy monitoring may offer real-time production and energy use data, allowing for a proactive energy reduction strategy. For example, if you discover that a system consumed 30 kW one day and 60 kW the next, you might investigate further to see why.
Implement a system that gives you real-time access to energy data so you can ask and answer the right questions and take action. You may direct your optimisation efforts accordingly if you can identify which equipment, processes, and plants use the most energy. Decarbonisation management softwares, such as CoolPlanetOS , can help with this.
2. Perform routine maintenance
Preventative maintenance is the proactive scheduling of maintenance work to avoid failures and defects. Predictive maintenance takes it a step further by predicting when you should perform maintenance based on real-time and historical data from equipment.
If your facility takes a reactive approach to maintenance, you'll end up paying more in energy bills and repairs. Equipment may be operating inefficiently for an extended period before a breakdown occurs, implying that energy losses will quickly mount up. Instead, use preventive or predictive maintenance to ensure that equipment operates at peak efficiency.
With either strategy, you may spend maintenance time optimising the performance and longevity of your equipment, resulting in enhanced energy efficiency and significant savings.
3. Lower your energy use
Reducing the amount of energy wasted in your electrical systems is critical to lowering your energy use. You may realise the most significant savings by identifying equipment that consumes more power than required.
This energy loss is often manifested as heat. When a machine produces excessive heat, there is a chance to improve energy efficiency.
4. Examine the air compressor for leaks
Massive quantities of energy consumption and waste are attributed to industrial air compressors . Some are poorly planned, while others are neglected. According to the Compressed Air and Gas Institute, poorly maintained air compressors lose up to $3.2 billion in energy expenses in the United States each year.
However, if you don't have a reliable system for detecting leaks, boosting the efficiency of your compressors might be like looking for a needle in a haystack. This was the problem that one of our clients was facing. A single leak might cost your company $500 or more each year. If you have several leaks, your air compressors effectively steal money from your operations budget.
5. Make use of waste heat
If you are unable to decrease waste heat, it may be reused. Waste heat recovery systems enable you to catch and utilise surplus heat from process heating for cogeneration. They are also a concrete means of reducing pollution, which aids in environmental sustainability initiatives.
6. Recycle water
Reusing water is an excellent method to reduce usage and waste, not to mention costs (of either procuring water or treating it for regulatory compliance). Much of the water lost in manufacturing is far cleaner than it was, to begin with, and it may still be suitable for use in another process. Purified water from the last rinse of equipment, for example, might be excellent for pre-rinsing other equipment or circulation in cooling towers.
7. Daylighting
The utilisation of windows and skylights to get as much natural light into your space as possible is referred to as daylight. It's an excellent method to save energy since, if you have energy-efficient windows for daylighting, you may lower your demand for heating and cooling.
Overhangs may maintain a space at a comfortable temperature while also keeping it well-illuminated by preventing too much direct sunlight from entering.
- Adding mirrors to your space and replacing walls with glass blocks are other options to improve natural light and lessen the need for powered lighting.
- If you're on a tight budget, just cleaning your windows can lead to increased energy efficiency.
How CoolPlanet Can Help You with Energy Optimisation
You have a factory, commerical building, or process to run. You don't have time, resources, or expertise to focus on energy savings even though you know they are there. Your most important job is to ensure the production or process target is being met.
We can provide your company with energy optimisation software (CoolPlanetOS) and the expertise to go with it. Our energy analysts understand that you can't separate process from consumption and can work with you to deliver meaningful savings. Our software allows you to compile and analyse your energy data in real-time and make it visible to all stakeholders. Our engineering and process team offer will help you find and implement savings opportunities and monitor the savings found.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today!
