Energy Review – Where Do I start?

In your quest to be energy efficient you have started several initiatives in your company, written an energy policy and have designated energy champions…… but are you focusing in the right areas?

Most organisations are keen to get started on energy savings initiatives which is great, however many do not spend the time analysing where the largest uses actually are and which to tackle first. An objective review process which evaluates all energy uses and then prioritises which ones provide the best “bang per buck” when it comes to effort required, is essential.

The evaluation process should consider hard data alongside business needs, changing markets, opportunities for improvement and of course payback. Once all of these factors have been considered it should be possible to prioritise the energy uses which should be acted upon first. If you are a small company then these may be obvious but quite often in larger manufacturers it is the smaller ancillary energy uses such as VSD’s and fans which can provide the best and easiest savings opportunities. Energy use in the main production process has usually been the focus of attention for years and is quite often already optimised (but not always of course).

If you are considering implementing ISO 50001 (Energy Management Systems) then the energy review should be your first action and of course the energy review process should be conducted objectively and documented so that it can be repeated. For more information about implementing an Energy Management System or other energy saving scheme, please contact us for further details.

For a free energy management systems checklist please click here.

Paul Downing