7 Best Practices For Energy Management In Manufacturing
Manufacturing is one of those areas that involve a lot of energy consumption. Hence, implementing energy management and energy conservation practices becomes more than a necessity. This helps reduce the pollution caused by the industry, reducing the carbon footprint caused by the industry. But it also helps bring in sustainable energy sources and optimal utilization of energy, which may become the best practice that others may follow.
While some facilities use on-site renewable energy generation to mitigate their energy costs, everyone could do other more minor basic things. This must be taken seriously because each employee must have this energy conservation mindset and management. Only then will the organization be able to achieve its goals.
Best Practices for Energy Management in Manufacturing Setup
Lighting
Lighting is the easiest way to conserve a significant amount of energy. Many people choose not to switch off the TVs, ACs, and lights when ut of a room. The amount of energy that one can save when switching off light may be small. But if you begin to compound these savings, they will surprise you.
It is fantastic to know that many people choose not to switch off lights and fans, assuming that the next person will do it. Probably companies must begin installing automatic lighting systems that can make adjustments based on whether the room is occupied or not.
Periodic Checking of AC
Sometimes, there might be problems/ruptures/leakages. These must be taken care of immediately as the cooling function will slow down, and more energy will be consumed than usual. This will also decrease the air quality. One must employ an agency like service master India trained to assess various air quality conditions.
Replace Existing Lights With Led Lights
The world faces unprecedented energy challenges, one of which is the issue of energy conservation. Replace existing lights with LED lights at the workplace can help in reducing electricity bills by 85%. Incandescent lights consume a lot of energy and do not have a constant life span.
LED lights surprisingly have a longer lifespan and only consume about a quarter of the energy required by incandescent lights. They emit the same light as halogen lamps and almost last 5-10 times longer. After replacing existing lights with LED ones at workplaces, the amount of electricity saved in a year can go up to 30 percent.
Install Shade Walls and Windows
In buildings and factories, heat can sometimes be felt despite sufficient air conditioning. This is due to the fact heat enters the building via unprotected windows. Improve workplace environment with shade walls, shades, and window film. They help control heat, glare, and UV light and improve visibility.
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A clean, comfortable, and healthy environment are conducive to everyone. Everyone needs to have a clean and comfortable workplace. It is also essential to make sure that the air in your workplace is clean – with the use of shade walls, curtains, blinds, and shades, you can help conserve energy and make sure that your employees are safe from solar radiation and heat workplace.
Insulation
Businesses and factories are major contributors to greenhouse gases. There must be measures taken to reduce the impact they have on the environment. Turn to professional insulation services to ensure no temperature fluctuation at the workplace.
One of the main reasons why insulation is needed, it acts as a barrier against temperature shift. Thus, insulation helps keep the room warmer in winter and slightly cooler in summer. Thus insulation will also help reduce the pressure on AC, thereby helping in improving their efficiency and reducing the stress on them.
Maintain Equipment
Energy management is not only about finding new ways to conserve energy. It is also about using energy in an optimized way. For instance, regular maintenance of devices can help know whether the device is performing in an optimized manner.
Installation of Automatic Doors
Automatic doors are now used in most malls, hospitals, institutions, and schools. The glass doors automatically open and close once the sensors detect you and then close once you get out. This is an excellent way of conserving energy, as this is a very effective way of protecting the buildings and the people living within them.
If there are cold rooms or refrigerators, it would be great to install automatic doors. It would help reduce the heat loss caused due to the constant opening and closing of the doors. To improve it further, one could also restrict access to these doors. That way, only people who genuinely need to use them have access.
Conclusion
Energy management is not about making drastic changes to your manufacturing environment. However, it is about making small and sustainable changes that help the organization and the environment in the longer run. Basic things like air conditioning and switching off the lights that may seem baby steps, in the beginning, will become the building blocks of your energy management roadmap, with overall integrated facility management.
Once the basics are in place, one can venture into more advanced practices like power factor correction and various energy monitoring solutions that are available in the market. These devices help monitor the power consumed, but they also help monitor the health of the devices. Thus, the gap in energy inefficiencies can be plugged at a very early stage.
Healthcare SME I Senior & Assisted Living I Facilities Management I International Business I Project Management I Quality Management I Audits I Accreditation I HSEQ I Sustainability I Training I Lead Assessor I 40under40
2yThanks for posting. Great read.