Energy Saving Tips for Industries

In this article, we are going to discuss the energy saving tips for the manufacturing plant. We all know that it is very important to save energy and millions of dollars can be saved that have been spent on wasted energy.

For example, turning off unnecessary lighting and machinery when not in use, replacing the low-efficiency Motors with high-efficiency Motors, timely cleaning of equipment and machines, and many more.

Why there is a Need for Energy Saving?

Energy saving has become very important because of the following reasons:

• As we all know that there is advancement in the technology and we are using more and more gadgets nowadays. People are driving more vehicles compared to the past. So to meet this demand there is the consumption of electricity. An increase in the consumption of electricity causes more consumption of fossil fuels which increases the pollution in the environment.
• Some people are having an irresponsible attitude toward energy saving and it can be reflected in the high cost of their utility bills.
• If you talked about industries particularly, there is a lot of wastage like machines running idle, motor overload issues, air leakage, water leakage, and many more. This increases the cost of electricity bills and hence the cost of per unit product increases.

Energy Saving Tips

Now we will discuss the tips that we can follow to save energy.

Rectify Air leakages

In almost all plants, an air compressor is used to deliver the compressed air to the machine so that it could operate. Air compressor equipment uses a significant amount of power energy. So if there is even a small leak of air then there is increased cost and increased utility bill.

The cost of the compressed air leak can be calculated by the following formula:

Leak Cost/Year = Leak Rate (cubic feet per minute or cfm) x (kilowatts/cfm) x 8,760 hours x cost/kilowatt-hours (kWh)

To calculate the leak rate, equipment that can measure flow from the leak rate can be used.

In addition to rectifying the air leakages, we can also optimize the air compressors, if there are more than one or two compressors. Let us understand it by an example:

Suppose in a manufacturing plant there are two compressors and the whole plant is running in one shift and half the plant is running in the 2nd shift. So it needs to be checked If a single compressor is enough in the 2nd shift to make air requirements.

A study is also needed to check the compressor load and unload timing. If a compressor unloads most of the time, by doing the analysis, power and energy can be saved if the unloading time is decreased by optimizing the compressor usage.

Water Leakage

Another main aspect of the industry is water leakage. Water leakage not only has an impact on the water resources but also increases the cost of energy as the pump has to run more to deliver the required quantity of water.

Water leakage has some other drawbacks as well. The water leakage does corrosion and there will be a lot of moss if not cleaned regularly.

Equipment Running Idle

Sometimes in an industry, the equipment is running idle when not in use. In a particular industry, there is a break of 50 minutes. So if the power of that machine in that particular time made off, then there will be a huge savings of energy there but might be some slight delay in starting a machine again.

Switching off all the Fans Lights

One must switch off the lights fans in the industry or at their home because it saves a lost lot of power. Let us understand it by an example:

If there is an Air Conditioner which is of 600W runs for 1 hour then the cost of electricity will be

= $26 per year approximately (unit cost taken 12 cents per kWh)

There are many air conditioners running in the plant, so if we consider only 20 air conditioners. Then the saving would be $520 a year. Little things make a huge difference in the end.

Lighting Control Through Sensors

We can save a lot of energy by using lighting control through sensors. For example, most of the time lights are on in the washroom and in the office area. The office hours are generally 8 to 10 hours but the washroom lights remain on for the whole time even after office hours. So if we replace the lights with ultraviolent sensor-based lights, then it could run only when there is physical activity in that area and it will save a lot of power and reduces the waste of energy.

Power Factor

Power Factor is the ratio of what amount of power has been utilized for doing the useful work from the power that is supplied. As we know that most of the motors are induction motors that are used in the industry. The power supplied to an induction motor is used for the following two purposes

• Firstly, to do the useful work known as active power.
• Secondly, to maintain the magnetic field which is known as reactive power.

The reactive power should be minimum always as the increase in reactive power will reduce the power factor and in industry, Low-power factors cause penalties. Let us understand this by an example:

For example, two manufacturing industries’ power given by an electricity board has the following data:

​DATA	​INDUSTRY A​	​INDUSTRY B​
​​Power utilized	​​​10 MW	​​10 MW
​​Power factor (P.F)	​​0.5	​​0.8
​​Power required (MW/P.F)	​​20 MVA	​​12.5 MVA

​

As we can see that both of the industries have the same amount of power utilized which is 10MW that is being used for useful work. But due to the difference in the power factor which is 0.5 for industry ‘A’ and 0.8 for industry ‘B’. The power supplied by the electricity board changes and the industry has to pay higher because of the lower power factor.

Scheduled Maintenance of Machines

Proper maintenance schedule and the monitoring of the Loads of the Motors in an industry help increase the life of the equipment and control failure. For example, if the motor is very dusty then it will consume more power and it will be difficult for the motor to dissipate the heat energy.

If the heat energy will not get dissipate there are chances that the temperature of the motor will increase and that it will affect the insulation of the motor as well. That is why scheduled maintenance of Machines is necessary to prevent equipment failures and optimize energy.

HVAC

In almost every industry HVAC (heating ventilation and air condition) is used. Following steps need to be taken for the efficient use of the the HVAC

• Air Vents should be clear because it can saves a lot of power.
• The area where the AC is used should be properly sealed.
• Shaded Windows can be used because it can prevent heat loss.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are many other ways too for saving energy. Kindly comment down below, the energy saving tips so that other readers can read and follow the same to save energy.