More accurate information will make savings opportunities visible, even without new investments. Wenerate's monitoring solution has helped us understand the significant daily energy costs of a seemingly insignificant operational practice.

Zoltan Baranyak, Chief Energetic

"Since I noticed the daily energy demand of the unnecessary continuous operation of the extraction system with the Wenerate software, we have saved an average of 200 kWh per day. That alone saves us between £2.5 and £3 million per year!"

The site is an advanced manufacturing company in the construction sector, with experienced professionals skilled in both production management and maintenance. The company also supplies international markets and their products are in competition with similar products from neighbouring countries, and it is of paramount importance for them to exploit all existing competitive advantages in the fierce construction product competition.

How can we be more competitive, where else can we save energy?

The company's main problem was that, although production management on each production line could be tracked using digital tools to reduce the number of stoppages and stoppages, the energy costs associated with each product remained invisible. Moreover, the lack of data prevented a reasonable prioritisation of possible energy saving and energy efficiency interventions.

Wenerate's solution was selected from international competitors, mainly due to its clear software interface and web platform independence. Among other things, the integration of gas meter data into the system was also an additional requirement.

Solution, results, savings

The deployment of the sub-metering system was followed by a period of intensive monitoring after the Wenerate software was implemented in the company. One of the original objectives, to show unit costs related to the products manufactured, was easily mastered by the company's staff. It was during this period that the new sub-meters made the factory operators aware that the central extraction system, which was only intended for intermittent operation, was being used by colleagues on the production line throughout the shift. Of course, the operation of the extraction machine had been known before, but not its actual energy demand.

"By introducing the intermittent use of the extraction system when it is really needed, we have saved around 200 kWh of electricity per working day. This represents an annual energy cost saving of €8,000/year."

Figure 1: Consumption analysis in the Wenerate software

This is just the beginning...

... as the savings described above are from energy savings, with metered energy efficiency investments to follow. The company has installed engines more than 15 years old and hundreds of metres of compressed air network - the potential for quick energy efficiency payback is still untapped.