Strategies to drive down energy costs

With businesses around the world facing new pressure from the cost of energy and demands related to climate change, a new report from the Energy Efficiency Movement says improving industrial energy efficiency is the fastest and most effective way for businesses to cut energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Energy Efficiency Movement, a global forum of about 200 organizations sharing ideas, best practices and commitments to create a more energy-efficient world, says businesses can take 10 actions right now to improve their energy efficiency, reduce energy costs and lower emissions. The actions focus on mature, widely available technology solutions that will deliver rapid results and ROI – and they’re capable of being deployed at scale, the global forum says. 

“Energy efficiency is a win-win for companies and the climate,” says Kevin Lane, senior program manager of energy efficiency at the International Energy Agency (IEA). “While industry needs to address climate change on all fronts – such as increasing use of renewable energy, investing in low-carbon processes and developing circular business models – energy efficiency stands out as the business-focused opportunity with the best near-term prospects for emission reductions. 

Real-world actions

According to IEA, industry is the world’s largest consumer of electricity, natural gas and coal, accounting for 42 percent of total electricity demand. This is equal to more than 34 exajoules of energy. 

The iron, steel, chemical and petrochemical industries are the largest consumers of energy among the world’s top five energy-consuming countries – China, the U.S., India, Russia and Japan. 

Among the organizations interviewed for the Energy Efficiency Movement report was ABB.

“There are energy-efficiency solutions available that can help industry mitigate climate change and drive down energy costs, without compromising performance and productivity,” says Tarak Mehta, president of the motion business area at ABB. “With recent technology advances in energy efficiency, the improvement potential in industry is significant and readily available.”

Some of the recommendations made in the report range from carrying out energy audits to right-sizing industrial machines that are often too big for the job at hand and waste energy. Moving data from on-site servers and into the cloud could help save around 90 percent of the energy consumed by IT systems, the report says.

In addition, speeding up the transition from fossil fuels – electrifying industrial fleets, switching gas boilers to heat pumps or using well-maintained heat exchangers – offers efficiencies.

Other actions involve installing sensors and real-time digital energy monitoring to reveal the presence of so-called “ghost assets” that use power when on standby, unlike a digital twin that can simulate efficiency actions without interrupting production. Using smart building solutions to control power systems, lighting, blinds and heating, ventilation and air conditioning will also save energy in industrial facilities.

Ten sustainable actions

The 10 actions highlighted in the new Energy Efficiency Movement report, dubbed “The industrial energy efficiency playbook,” are as follows:

1. Audit operations for energy efficiency
2. Right-size industrial assets and processes
3. Bring connectivity to physical assets
4. Install high-efficiency motors
5. Use variable-speed drives
6. Electrify industrial fleets
7. Use efficient, well-maintained heat exchangers
8. Switch gas boilers to heat pumps
9. Deploy smart building management systems
10. Move data to the cloud