Utility prices are rising and businesses are looking for new ways to save

In 2022, significant increases in electricity and gas prices will affect almost all sectors of the economy. How can you effectively optimize your company’s utility consumption using the currently available tools and technologies?

WHAT SHOULD BUSINESS OWNERS DO TO OPTIMIZE THEIR ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION WITHOUT INCURRING SIGNIFICANT COSTS?

Apator: There are many solutions on the market that do not require large investments, specialized software, or special operating equipment. An excellent solution is gradual metering: initially metering the main power supply, and then based on the collected data, deciding whether to meter the remaining internal circuits, including critical machinery. The system that we have implemented on the market allows you to easily add new measuring devices. We have applied our system in our production plant in Ostaszewo, where we initially began with approximately 10 measurement points. Currently, we have over 100 electricity meters installed measuring all of our critical electrical circuits. It is important to prepare all electrical connections for meter installation during the design stage or prior to any renovations. Adapting electrical installations does not significantly affect the costs of construction/modernization, but it facilitates the future use of utility consumption monitoring systems. Using gradual metering, we begin with an analysis of energy needs and gradually shift to e.g. controlling the cost of work of individual lines, machines, or product batches.

HOW SHOULD A BUSINESS START THE PROCESS OF OPTIMIZING ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION?

Apator: We begin with analysing invoices for energy consumption followed by measuring electrical connections in the production plant, which will allow for real-time control of costs and automatic prevention of exceeding the contracted power or energy quality parameters. The next stage is, in the case of production plants, controlling electricity consumption in production processes in individual departments or as part of the production of specific batches of products.

WHAT ASPECTS AND FUNCTIONALITIES OF THE UTILITY CONSUMPTION DATA MONITORING SYSTEM TO PAY ATTENTION TO?

Apator: The data control system must allow clients to obtain analyses and reports that are comprehensible and concise. Therefore, good cooperation at the implementation stage is vital – we can offer the client specific, tailored solutions. Our advantage is providing a comprehensive solution: hardware (meters and reading systems) as well as systems for analyses and reports.

HOW CAN MONITORING SYSTEMS IMPROVE POWER QUALITY?

Apator: Our solution enables this type of analysis based on state-of-the-art meters with built-in power quality measurement and control functions and a proprietary solution for active control of selected parameters (e.g. contracted power, power factor, detection of voltage decays and dips, etc.).

WHAT DOES THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE TOOLS LOOK LIKE?

Apator: We actively participate in our client’s measurement system commissioning process so we select hardware solutions to avoid switching off power circuits (where possible, of course). In other cases, we apply scheduled breaks in the business’s work time to continue implementation.

IS THERE ANYTHING NEW THAT APATOR GROUP HAS TO OFFER IN THE AREA OF IMPROVING UTILITY CONSUMPTION EFFICIENCY?

Apator: For today’s businesses, it is important to not only optimize electricity, but also gas consumption. We have also developed a gas consumption functionality for our new system. Our system also allows for the detailed allocation of costs to production lines or even subsequent product batches. We provide measurement infrastructure, modern device communication, as well as data collection and presentation. Two-way meter communication allows for the implementation of automated optimization control in further stages. Not only can utility consumption be reduced by around 15-20%, but also these additional benefits allow for the optimization of electricity and gas bills.

Commercial contact: ireneusz.wendelski@apator.com; +48 506 009 228

Author:

Apator

Last Updated on March 15, 2022 by Anastazja Lach