Energy saving opportunities

In industrial applications, motors account for 60% of the energy consumed

A number of different measures can be adopted to save energy (see Fig. K7).

• Reduce energy use

These measures try to achieve the same results by consuming less (e.g. installing highly energy-efficient lights which provide the same quality of light but consume less energy) or reduce energy consumption by taking care to use no more energy than is strictly necessary (e.g. another method would be to have fewer lights in a room which is too brightly lit).

• Save energy

These measures reduce costs per unit rather than reducing the total amount of energy used. For example, day-time activities could be performed at night to in order to take advantage of cheaper rates. Similarly, work could be scheduled to avoid peak hours and demand response programmes.

• Energy reliability

As well as contributing to operational efficiency by avoiding lost production, these measures avoid the energy losses associated with frequent restarts and the extra work generated when batches of products go to waste.

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Fig. K7: An overall strategy for energy management

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Everyone immediately thinks of equipment for transforming energy (motors, lighting/heating devices) when considering areas where savings can be made. Less obvious, perhaps, are the potential savings offered by the various control devices and programmes associated with this type of equipment.