Ways to Save Electricity (and Money) in Manufacturing

So, you’ve got a huge electrical bill and you'd really like ways to save electricity and money, but you don't know where to begin. There are some typical culprits for electrical waste in a manufacturing operation. How many of these does your facility have that could be burning a hole in your pocket?

Motors

Motors that lack sufficient monitoring and maintenance can lead to over-consumption. Some trouble areas for motors include:

Sizing

Incorrect sizing for motors can lead to a smaller motor working above its intended capacity or a larger motor using too much electricity for a job that could be accomplished by a much smaller motor. Both of these examples waste electricity.

Premium Efficiency

A simple ROI test can be done to determine if investing in an energy efficient motor would be fiscally advantageous for your operations (I’m willing to bet the answer will be yes). NRCAN offers CanMOST (Canadian Motor Selection Tool) which is a tool to help select the best motor for your equipment and its intended purpose.

Cleaning

How often are your motors cleaned? Many manufacturing facilities have dust-covered motors which may result in overheating due to the lack of air circulation through the motor during operation. Having a regularly cleaned motor will help extend its life-cycle and save your organization money down the road in repairs and replacements.

Lubrication

If motors are over or under-lubricated, it can not only cause them to run inefficiently, but it can also decrease the reliability of the equipment. Yes, over-lubrication is bad for your motor as well. Always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Alignment

Are the belts on your motors properly aligned? If the belts are not aligned properly, that will result in wear and tear on the belt, requiring more frequent replacement. An improperly aligned belt will also force your motor to consume more energy to overcome the friction created by the improper alignment.

Equipment Left Running

Would you leave your car running over-night while you slept in your warm, cozy bed? Didn’t think so. So why do so many manufacturing companies not follow this logic with their equipment?

Having equipment running during non-production periods (over-night, weekends, lunch breaks, etc) is simply wasting electricity and costing you money.

A simple calculation of how much energy is required during the start-up and shut-down stages of your equipment will provide guidance on which non-production periods make sense to turn off your equipment and save on energy.

If your operation has any of these common electrivors (machines eating up electricity) in your manufacturing process, you are likely experiencing electrical waste. Reducing your energy waste by even as little as 5-10% can result in huge fiscal savings.

Originally posted on RtTechSoftware.com.