Many manufacturing businesses have a good understanding of their highest energy-consuming plant, but they may struggle to obtain a comprehensive understanding of their energy usage beyond that. Energy consumption of a single plant can provide valuable insight into a facility's overall energy profile, but it cannot provide a comprehensive picture. This limited perspective can hinder efforts to identify areas of waste and implement effective energy saving measures.

During the peak of the energy market crisis, many manufacturing businesses looked for ways to reduce their energy costs through efficiency measures. The main challenge in identifying energy saving opportunities is understanding where the waste is occurring and, in many cases, can be rectified without any cost to implement – meaning immediate savings.

Sub-metering offers a solution

Sub-metering is the installation of meters in addition to your primary billing meters. For energy intensive businesses such as manufacturers, installing sub-metering allows you to interrogate data at a process level, in close to real time, and focus on reduction where possible.

It can also be used to help quantify return on investment for energy reduction initiatives implemented. According to Gov.uk, low and no-cost actions can usually reduce energy costs by at least 10%. For many businesses a 20% cut in energy costs can represent the same bottom-line benefit as a 5% increase in sales.

Inspired PLC’s service starts with a survey and works with you to understand your full requirements before installation. We then arrange the supply and install of Elexon accredited submeters that comply with all government legislation and MID-approved standards. In order to evidence your levy exemption scheme (if applicable), your metering data must be accurate to within 2% of the actual usage. This is law and the MID-approved certification has been put in place to ensure meters are up to regulation.

Discover real-time energy consumption data with Circuit-Level Monitoring (CLM)

At a time when operational efficiency and reducing costs have never mattered more, turning energy from a commodity cost to a value-adding resource to protect your bottom line and gain a competitive advantage is essential.

As the name suggests, Circuit-Level Monitoring (CLM) goes behind the fiscal meter and allows users to monitor specific circuits within their site(s). Wireless sensors are fast to deploy, delivering within-day readings while the circuit meter data is captured every 10 seconds. This high sampling rate provides granular visibility into power usage, empowering informed decisions to address inefficiencies in operations, reduce energy bills, and redirect budgets towards increased production.

The rapid insights and predictive maintenance alerts provided by Inspired’s solution also enable you to address maintenance needs proactively so you can extend the life of your equipment and reduce the costs associated with unexpected breakdowns.

We engaged with Inspired during the energy crisis as our contract was due to expire with our previous energy supplier at the height of the war in Ukraine. We approached them for support on finding the best deal in the market place. It soon became apparent that Inspired could offer more and provide a full energy management service. This included an initial energy audit across both our sites to help identify energy cost savings and operational efficiencies. Inspired’s advice was written up in a report, which we used to implement changes and save money.

One of the biggest game changers for us was Circuit-level monitoring. We now have our assets which consume 80% of the site’s energy all tagged with the sensors. A user-friendly dashboard was created to allow us to track and monitor usage in the best possible way. Straightaway we found that certain machines were been left on out of working hours, drawing power for no benefit. We have used the reports for the dashboards to educate people and change the culture around waste.
Gary Owen
Group Finance, Omega Plastics Group

With great insight comes the power to build resilience against rising energy costs and demonstrate your commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions.

To make your operations more efficient and achieve your energy and sustainability goals, contact Inspired PLC today. Call us at 01772 689 250 or email [email protected] to discuss your strategy.

Watch this short, informative video showcasing Circuit Level Monitoring in action.