Manufacturing a solution for energy challenges

As the use of technology heightens for manufacturers, from their offices through to production and logistics, energy will continue to be a substantial cost, impacting business’s bottom line. Energy prices are continuing to rise due to factors including levies to fund sustainable energy in the future, and the cost of operating the grid, which rose more than 60% in the 5 years to 2019.

Sustainability pressures are also mounting, as consumers awareness of environmental matters grows, it forces organisations in all industries to consider the environmental implications of their operations in order to meet changing expectations. 

Technological developments have historically been a good way for businesses in manufacturing industries to improve efficiencies and be competitive in their market. However, the developments of Industry 4.0, the next phase in the digitization of the manufacturing sector according to McKinsey, will bring forward a significant transformation [2]. This includes; an increase in the use of big data and processing power; the expectation of analytics for business-intelligence capabilities; advancements to automated processes; and improvements in transferring digital instructions to the physical world, all of which is enabled through increased connectivity between assets. While these developments offer improvements to process efficiency and technical development, the heightened use of equipment will also increase demand and cost for electricity further.

Nevertheless, the energy intensive nature of Industry 4.0 can be balanced through intelligence and connectivity of assets, providing new ways for energy managers to optimise their use of energy and solve ongoing energy challenges. 

A smart solution

The first step is to identify the immediate opportunities that can provide sizeable reductions to electrical consumption, such as voltage optimisation and distribution transformers which can generate 8-10% and 1-3% savings respectively.

Voltage optimisation optimises electricity supplied from the National Grid which is generally higher than required for most equipment and appliances at around 240V. It cleanses, conditions and reduces voltage to an optimal level around 220V to offer a reliable method of reducing consumption and therefore costs and CO₂ emissions. Further benefits include reducing wear and tear to plant equipment caused by the excessive voltage supply alongside power quality improvements. The remote monitoring capabilities of leading voltage optimisation solutions enables savings to be monitored, and further efficiencies to be highlighted, such as the correction of poor power factor, as well as savings verification to be undertaken remotely giving peace of mind for investment.

For distribution transformers, Industry 4.0 gave advent to smart transformers such as Powerstar SO-LO which are super low loss due to their amorphous core which can provide instantaneous savings of up to 3% upon installation. Additionally, unlike traditional offline transformers, this new generation comes with integrated remote monitoring giving greater visibility of operation and performance enabling critical infrastructure for many manufacturers, to be visible 24/7 enabling preventative maintenance to be undertaken, therefore negating any potential issues or downtime.

Battery energy storage systems, such as Powerstar VIRTUE, provide benefits beyond consumption reduction, especially those that take full advantage of industry 4.0 by customising asset prioritisation through optimisation algorithms as part of a smart energy optimisation system (EOS). This includes demand side response (DSR) activities; maximisation of generation assets including renewable sources; and full Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) capabilities, ensuring that critical processes are protected from power failures. All of which provide significant benefits to carbon reductions and reduces reliance from the grid whilst offering power resilience and cost savings.

Whilst all these technologies offer benefits in isolation, when combined and co-ordinated, they can provide a smart grid to deliver the greatest efficiencies, cutting energy consumption and costs, reducing wear and tear, and providing power resilience. When a comprehensive and future focused strategy is implemented as part of a fully managed, bespoke manufactured service, such as that provided by Powerstar, manufacturers can be certain the solution meets their exact energy requirements, with the room to grow for a futureproof solution.

To learn more about achieving energy efficiency, flexibility, and power resilience through smart energy technologies visit www.powerstar.com