Is Your Manufacturing Operation Using Too Much Energy?

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Manufacturing uses a lot of energy, which is bad news for your business for two reasons. Firstly, it costs you a lot of money and the higher your overheads are, the lower your profit margins are. Secondly, it’s not good for the environment and, as a business owner, you have a responsibility to reduce your impact on the planet. If you want your business to thrive in the future, it’s important that you make some changes to your manufacturing operation to make it more eco-friendly. These are the best ways to cut energy usage in your manufacturing operation. 

 

Conduct An Energy Audit 

Before you can make any changes, you need to know where all of the energy is being used. If you conduct an energy audit, you can identify any areas where there is a lot of energy wastage, and work out which machines are using the most energy. Consider energy use from all sources, like lighting and computers, for example, not just manufacturing equipment. Once you have completed your audit and identified problem areas, you can start making some changes to save energy. 

Power Distribution 

One of the best ways to save energy is to switch from a centralized system to a power distribution system. When you increase distribution efficiency, you also improve power management and cut energy usage. Get in touch with a company like Gescan Power Distribution Solutions and they will be able to help you with distribution and automation systems that will improve energy usage. By making this single change to your manufacturing operation, you can make a big difference. 

Upgrade Equipment 

Outdated equipment is likely to be very inefficient and it uses a huge amount of energy, so if you want to cut energy usage, you need to consider some upgrades. Businesses often make do with old equipment and avoid upgrading it because they are worried about the expense. However, if you add up the money that you waste in energy costs over the years, you will see that updating your equipment is one of the best ways to cut manufacturing costs long term. You don’t always need to buy a brand new model and you could even consider second hand machinery. As long as you buy something that is more energy efficient than your current equipment, you will make a lot of energy savings. 

Update Cooling and Heating Systems 

Although the manufacturing equipment uses a lot of power, the air conditioning and heating systems in a large building often account for around 20% to 40% of the total energy usage of the building. Older air conditioning units and heaters are very inefficient, so if you haven’t updated them for a while, you will definitely be at the higher end of this scale. It’s important that your employees are comfortable in the working environment, so you need to update your cooling and heating systems so you can cut energy usage and still maintain a comfortable temperature in the building. 

 

If you implement these changes, you can cut energy usage in your manufacturing operation, saving you money and reducing your impact on the environment at the same time.