Energy Management to Reduce Your Consumption and Costs
What is Energy Management?
Energy Management is a strategic approach focused on enhancing the energy performance of an organization or industrial site.
Las empresas e industrias hoy en día enfrentan importantes desafíos:
- Mantener su competitividad (especialmente en un contexto de inflación con volatilidad en los precios de la energía) mediante el control de sus costos.
- Reduce their environmental footprint (whether due to regulatory obligations or to meet consumer expectations) through the decarbonization of the company’s activities, including upstream (raw materials, suppliers, and logistics) and downstream (logistics, usage, and recycling) processes.
Implementing an Energy Management system at an industrial site fits perfectly within this dynamic: reducing energy consumption and limiting water usage, which leads to a reduction in the site’s CO2 emissions and a decrease in utility bills.
For industries, there are two approaches to Energy Management: at the production site level or at the group level.
On-Site Energy Management
The implementation of Energy Management on-site presents an opportunity to understand, analyze, and optimize energy and water consumption across various industrial equipment. Here’s how the system is implemented in practice:
- Implementation of a Standard Energy Monitoring System:
- Develop a Metering Plan to Determine Instrumentation Levels and Monitorable Energies:
- Map Water and Energy Consumption, Define Energy Uses, and Establish Associated Performance Indicators (IPE or KPI) –
(Note: IPEs should take influencing factors into account) - Create a Routine for Monitoring and Analyzing IPEs to Identify Anomalies or Deviations
- Conduct Audits and Other Specific, One-Time Missions:
- Regulatory Energy Audit: This is a very basic audit that can be useful for mapping out energy consumption (~€7,000 for a medium-sized plant).
- Energy Audit: This type of audit is useful for analyzing in detail the energy utilities, understanding the link between utilities and processes, and initiating the development of a factory master plan (~€17,000 for a medium-sized plant).
- Detailed Audit: This type of audit is very thorough and is usually conducted within a specific scope. It is highly useful for structuring a future project.
- Measurement Plan: This is an assessment of the measurement instruments and other data sources that can be useful for tracking water and energy consumption. This type of mission also helps define the necessary measurement points to advance energy management.
- Carbon Footprint Assessment (Scope 1 2): Simplified analysis of CO2 emissions based on the plant’s energy consumption.
- Comprehensive Carbon Footprint (Scope 1, 2, and 3): A very detailed analysis that considers the entire value chain (upstream and downstream). It is often associated with a life cycle assessment (LCA).
- Energy Supply Contractualization:
- Energy supply contracts have a direct impact on costs and CO2 emissions. Therefore, it is important to define:
- the factory’s consumption profile and its evolution over the next three years.
- site strategy: decarbonized energy, fixed or variable pricing, etc.
- Establishment of contracts and ongoing negotiations.
- Monitoring market prices to identify pricing trends
- Energy supply contracts have a direct impact on costs and CO2 emissions. Therefore, it is important to define:
- Managing projects to reduce water and energy consumption:
- Projects can be of several types:
- Projects requiring complex work with the involvement of external companies.
- Projects requiring simple work. Some factories can handle these projects internally (e.g., installing a variable speed drive, a counting instrument, etc.).
- Projects focused on optimizing controls with modifications to setpoints or the implementation of more sophisticated automation.
- Behavioral projects requiring a change in operators’ handling of equipment or production lines.
- Monitoring maintenance operations is also important for maintaining equipment performance over time.
Having an Energy Management approach is an excellent start, but to truly maximize benefits and achieve sustainable energy performance, it is relevant to implement an Energy Management System (EMS) in accordance with the ISO 50001 standard. This standard provides a structured framework to help organizations integrate energy efficiency into their management practices, whether they choose to pursue official certification or not. The ISO 50001 EMS is based on several key elements:
- Energy Policy:
The first step in implementing an EMS is defining a clear energy policy. This policy should reflect the management’s commitment to continually improving the organization’s energy performance. It should include general objectives and be aligned with the company’s other policies, such as those related to social and environmental responsibility.
- Energy Resources Team:
To ensure the effective operation of the EMS, it is essential to establish a dedicated energy management team. This team should consist of members with technical expertise, project management skills, and knowledge of the organization’s processes.
Energy monitoring and energy audits should help set achievable performance targets for each KPI, with a detailed action plan based on available resources (budget, time, etc.).
- Monitoring and Continuous Improvement:
Once the EMS is implemented, the energy team must establish template documents and team routines to maintain constant monitoring of energy performance. This includes regular monitoring of KPIs, proactive detection of anomalies in water and energy consumption, effective deployment of the developed action plan, and systematic verification of the achievement of set objectives. In the case of non-compliance or insufficient performance, corrective actions must be quickly implemented to address the identified anomalies. This monitoring and adjustment process ensures continuous improvement in the organization’s energy performance.
- Annual Review and Adjustment of the Action Plan:
Each year, a review meeting is organized to evaluate the deployment of the energy action plan and the performance achieved. This meeting allows for checking whether the objectives have been met, analyzing the management of detected anomalies to ensure they have all been properly addressed or closed, and defining a new action plan with updated targets. This process also includes updating the overall plant master plan or the energy efficiency plan, ensuring that the long-term energy strategy remains aligned with the organization’s goals.
For the effective operation of an EMS within a plant or organization, it is essential to establish training and awareness plans for the teams regarding the Energy Management strategy. Internal and external reporting are also effective ways to highlight developments and engage all collaborators in a virtuous company project!
Case Study: Dametis Supports the Agromousquetaires Group at Various Sites, Including Laiterie Saint-Père (LSP)
In terms of results, the on-site support led to savings of over the course of a year:
- The equivalent of 120 tons of CO2
- €120,000 in energy expenses
Energy Management at the Group Level
It is essential for each industrial site to implement an energy management system (EnMS) to improve its energy performance. However, for an industrial group with multiple sites, it is crucial to adopt a centralized approach to avoid fragmented efforts and maximize synergies between sites. Unlike the local approach to energy management, group-level energy management focuses on the consistency of actions and strategic alignment. Here are the key actions to be taken:
- Definición de los Indicadores de Rendimiento Energético (IPE) para la elaboración de informes y benchmarks: Utilities such as water and energy, as well as industrial processes, are often similar within a group. However, different sites frequently use different Energy Performance Indicators (EPIs). By standardizing EPIs across the group, it becomes possible to structure reporting consistently, facilitating comparisons and benchmarks. This standardization allows for easier identification of performance gaps and the deployment of effective corrective actions.
- Methodological Framework for Site Energy Management: To facilitate energy management at the group level, it is relevant to adopt a unified methodology for all sites. This includes using standardized routines, tools, and documents. A unified approach not only simplifies management but also helps create a common energy culture, accelerates the adoption of best practices, and ensures continuous improvement in energy performance across all sites.
- Establishment of Technological Guidelines: Factories often face technical recommendations from local actors, which can lead to heterogeneous and sometimes biased technological choices. By establishing technological guidelines at the group level, these risks are mitigated by ensuring uniformity in equipment and solutions. This technical consistency enhances better control of installations and facilitates the technical management of factories, while strengthening the overall energy performance of the group.
- Technological Monitoring to Stay at the Forefront of Best Practices: Technology evolves rapidly, and it is crucial for an industrial group to stay informed about innovations and best practices in energy management. Continuous technological monitoring allows for the detection of new energy optimization opportunities and the rapid integration of emerging technologies across the group’s sites.
- Challenging Site Action Plans and Consolidating a Global Action Plan: To ensure that local initiatives align with the group’s overall strategy, it is necessary to regularly challenge the site action plans. This approach ensures that the actions taken are in line with the group’s decarbonization roadmap. Consolidating local action plans into a global plan guarantees a harmonized approach with clear and measurable objectives at the group level.
- Facilitating Workgroups and Sharing Best Practices: Connecting energy teams from different factories is crucial for creating a knowledge-sharing dynamic. Organizing workgroups not only helps disseminate best practices but also creates tailored technical resources, thereby enhancing the skills of teams at each site. This facilitation fosters a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement within the group, which is essential for achieving ambitious energy goals.
Concrete Example: Dametis also supports Fleury Michon in its group-level Energy Management.
Here are the actions implemented:
- Modeling (digital twin) of equipment (utilities and processes)
- Monitoring of energy performance KPIs
- Categorization of sites
- Comparison of different sites with similar production
- Monitoring of action plans to advise on prioritization
- Monitoring site developments
Implementation of an EMOS
In the industry, setting up an effective energy management system is a complex and time-consuming task. To simplify and optimize this process, many companies turn to specialized software solutions. While a software EMS (Energy Management Software) can track energy consumption, provide KPI reporting, and perform basic analyses, it often remains limited to these functions. In contrast, an EMOS (Energy Management and Optimization Software) goes well beyond simple reporting.
An EMOS is a powerful and comprehensive tool that integrates the operational needs of all business units within a company regarding water and energy management. It offers a wide range of specific functionalities, such as advanced modeling of equipment on an industrial site, energy procurement, load shedding, cost accounting, and collaborative applications that enable teamwork. Unlike an EMS, which primarily focuses on data visualization, an EMOS includes advanced analytical tools that not only detect anomalies but also propose optimized solutions to achieve the best possible energy and environmental performance. Additionally, the EMOS standardizes indicators and working methodologies across different sites, facilitating collaborative management aligned with a global decarbonization strategy.
Ultimately, effective on-site energy management requires the implementation of an Energy Management and Optimization System (EMOS) software. This tool not only collects and presents data but also provides integrated expertise and practical solutions to simplify energy management, enable informed decision-making, and facilitate the implementation of corrective actions in compliance with ISO 50001 standards.
