Saving Energy in Industry

Industrial energy saving needs both practical site changes and measured proof, because motors, compressors, heating, lighting and production schedules can dominate consumption.

Use this page for

Finding high-use circuits, machines and production periods.
Checking motors, compressors, heating, lighting and out-of-hours loads.
Benchmarking energy use against production, floor area or staffing.
Using data logging to confirm whether savings projects worked.

Recommended loggers

Logger	Best fit	Measures
EC-7VAR-RS Electrocorder EC-7VAR-RS Three Phase Voltage, Current & Power Factor Recorder	Best for full industrial energy audits where voltage, current, kW, kVA, kVAR, power factor and peak demand matter.	Three-phase voltage, current, power factor and energy.
EC-3A-RS Electrocorder EC-3A-RS Three Phase Current Recorder (400A/3kA)	Best for high-range three-phase current logging and feeder-load profiles.	Three-phase current only.
CT-3A-RS Electrocorder CT-3A-RS Three Phase Current Logger (60A/200A or 60A/400A)	Best for flexible three-phase current-only load surveys up to the selected range.	Three-phase current only.
AL-2VA Electrocorder AL-2VA Energy Logger for Domestic and Light Commercial Appliances	Useful for smaller appliances or local equipment checks within an industrial site.	Single appliance or socket-level energy use.

Lighting

Saving Energy in Industry using Electrocorder Electrical Data Recorders for Power Logging

Many industrial sites work during daylight hours, so there may be an opportunity to use more natural light. Legal lighting requirements still apply, but sites should check whether they have more artificial light than the work requires.

Remove unnecessary lamps or tubes, upgrade inefficient units, use natural light where practical, and replace incandescent or tungsten-filament lamps and inefficient spotlights with lower-energy alternatives.

One industrial example involved a metal-clad building where around 15% of the roof used glass-fibre roof lights. The roof lights had degraded and become dark. Replacing them and increasing roof-light coverage to around 30% halved the amount of electrical lighting needed.

Heating and building layout

Industrial heating can be difficult and expensive because many buildings have high roofs and large internal air volumes. Ask whether the premises can accommodate a lower internal ceiling, whether walls or roof insulation can be improved, and whether offices can be partitioned from production areas.

Fans may help circulate warm air near the roof. During cold periods, it may be possible to use and heat less of the factory. Occasional-use areas such as stock rooms and stores may be grouped together or heated minimally. Time switches and thermostatic control should be considered.

Historically, process efficiency has often dictated factory layout. If energy prices continue to rise, layouts may need to balance process efficiency with energy efficiency. The ideal is to improve energy performance without harming the process.

Motors, drives and power factor

Many industrial processes involve motors, and many businesses spend 80% to 90% of their electricity running them. Use high-efficiency motors where justified, avoid oversizing, and consider variable speed drives where motor speed can follow load demand.

Maintain motors and drive trains, especially bearings, and replace parts with good-quality components. Avoid running motors when they are not needed. Rewinding a motor can reduce efficiency by 1% to 2%.

Power factor can have a major effect on motor and distribution efficiency. A power factor of 0.7 can cause a motor to lose around 30% of output power. Poor power factor should be measured and corrected where appropriate.

Use bills, meter readings and logged data

Review electricity, gas, heating oil, petrol, diesel and water bills to understand the scale of energy spending. A pie chart of major business purchases can help show where energy sits compared with other costs.

Meter readings give a better time breakdown than bills. Read meters weekly or daily where possible. If a site has multiple meters, work with an electrician and a line diagram to understand which circuits and loads each meter covers.

Bills and meters provide an overview, but they do not normally show where the energy went. Published equipment ratings can be misleading if equipment is out of specification, runs more often than expected, or runs for longer than assumed. Data logging is needed to record what is really happening.

Diagram of how to utilise Electrical Data Loggers to undertake Energy Audits in Industrial Settings

A current logger can give a rough energy profile over a week. A voltage duty-cycle logger can show when a pump, fan, oil heating system or gas heating system is running. The fan or pump load may be small, but the heating energy it represents may be significant.

Benchmark industrial energy use

Useful industrial ratios include kWh per widget, kWh per m2 and kWh per employee. Each can be misleading alone, so compare them carefully.

For example, Producer A may use 10,000 kWh per annum with three employees and 500 widgets, giving 3,333 kWh per employee and 20 kWh per widget. Producer B may use 15,000 kWh with four employees and 1,500 widgets, giving 3,750 kWh per employee but only 10 kWh per widget. Producer B uses more total energy, but is more efficient per widget.

If competitor comparison is politically difficult, compare with similar non-competitive industries, neighbouring businesses, partners, or your own year-on-year figures. Also compare employee-to-widget ratios where relevant.

Assess needs, set targets and implement

Benchmarking may show a large difference between your usage and that of an industry, neighbour, partner or competitor. Company accounts may sometimes reveal energy costs in a full Profit and Loss account.

A practical starting target may be a 5% or 10% reduction over 6 to 12 months. Make an energy-saving plan, empower someone to implement it, and monitor progress.

Be aware of out-of-hours operation. If cleaners enter the site at 05:00 and turn on lighting, HVAC, escalators or vending machines, they may be spending thousands per year on your behalf. Check what actually runs when the site is empty and appoint someone responsible for analysing and controlling energy use.

Related guides and products

Energy Audit Loggers: for energy audits, load profiles, peak demand and before/after savings proof.
Load Survey and Current Loggers: for feeder checks, current logging, load surveys and capacity planning.
Power Factor and Three Phase Power Loggers: for kW, kVA, kVAR, power factor, peak demand and three-phase power analysis.
Voltage Problem Loggers: for high voltage, low voltage, voltage variation, dips and interruptions.
All application guides: choose an Electrocorder by the job or problem you need to investigate.

Relevant products:

EC-7VAR-RS: Electrocorder EC-7VAR-RS Three Phase Voltage, Current & Power Factor Recorder.
EC-3A-RS: Electrocorder EC-3A-RS Three Phase Current Recorder (400A/3kA).
CT-3A-RS: Electrocorder CT-3A-RS Three Phase Current Logger (60A/200A or 60A/400A).
AL-2VA: Electrocorder AL-2VA Energy Logger for Domestic and Light Commercial Appliances.