Ways to Manage Electricity in Manufacturing
All homes and businesses use energy to operate. It goes without saying that these buildings need electricity to run their appliances, machines, lights, and other features. This is especially true in manufacturing. In fact, manufacturers use excess energy where they face high costs and high electrical outputs. That’s why every manufacturer must know these ways to manage electricity in manufacturing. You’ll save time, money, and resources for your facility.
Conduct an Energy Audit
Before you implement any energy-saving techniques, you must first learn what the current energy consumption is. This requires an energy audit on your facility. An energy audit will show exactly how much electricity your facility uses on an average day so you can see how to adjust accordingly. Energy audits also show any discrepancies between machines.
Schedule Machinery Use
Once you finish the energy audit, you can implement any appropriate changes. One of these main changes likely comes from your machinery use. Still, you can schedule the machine’s energy consumption for around the busiest usage times. Similarly, you can also schedule shut-down and start-up periods for machinery. This includes motors, lights, heaters, and vents. Deactivating these units will reduce energy usage and save on electrical costs. Consider installing an electrical control panel for equal power distribution throughout the facility. With conductors, transformers, and many other components, these control panels ensure your motors, lights, and electronics do not use more energy than needed during their peak usage times.
Perform Preventative Maintenance
Additionally, older motors and equipment need more energy than new ones, so perform regular preventative maintenance to ensure your machinery is new and working properly. Periodic maintenance, like cleaning motors and air compressors and inspecting fans, belts, and bearings will reduce energy consumption and voltage imbalances.
Check the HVAC System
Lastly, conduct an audit on your HVAC system. These are responsible for the air quality on a production floor and consume over half the energy in each facility. The system design, operation, and maintenance of an HVAC system are important to maintain energy costs. You can reduce this through a demand-control ventilation (DCV) system. DCVs regulate outdoor air intake based on the facility’s carbon dioxide. Ultimately, they reduce the need to heat or cool outside air. This is important to avoid constant temperature changes and keep a stable internal temperature.
