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We are living in a world where annual energy consumption is on a steady rise and is projected to spike in the following decades. Considering the growth of the global population and heavy reliance on electronic devices on a daily basis, such a development is not unexpected. The real problem here, however, is that these demands are mostly covered by fossil fuels – a finite resource that contributes to climate change and releases a large number of pollutants. Of course, this problem can be successfully addressed but in order for change to take hold, it has to come from the top. So, let us take a look at a couple of ways various industries can reduce energy consumption and get this ball moving.
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A shift toward renewable energy
Switching to renewable resources does not exactly lower the global energy consumption but rather puts it on a far more stable foundation. But, the other benefits make this shift more than worthwhile. The green energy industry has a positive influence on lowering energy costs, cuts the global environmental impact, and contributes to the economy by creating new job opportunities. All these things are part of the same green global movement and share the same goals with the topic at hand – eco-friendly economy and sustainable society.
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Government-mandated energy audits
If we take the United States as the prime example of a developed country, we can see that the current state of industry-scale energy efficiency is pretty poor. For instance, in 2013, the efficiency was only 42%. In other words, 58% of the energy used in the industrial sector went to waste. Although things improved slightly in the following years, there is still a lot of room for improvement. A series of government-mandated and sponsored energy audits would help companies identify where their facilities are leaking and suggest possible upgrades.
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Using more efficient equipment
Still, even without these audits, we can all agree that something as simple as replacing the obsolete equipment with more efficient upgrades can help the industrial sector considerably ramp up the efficiency numbers. It is important to underline that these measures are industry-agnostic. Take, for instance, the oil and gas industry that was always considered to be a part of the problem rather than the solution. Using quality oilfield equipment can drastically cut the energy consumption of these facilities and allow the O&G companies to contribute to this cause.
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Smarter scheduling
Some industrial equipment inherently uses more energy than other pieces of hardware (energy audits we mentioned above could help with identifying these pieces of equipment). Moving the operation of these machines outside peak hours could drastically lower the utility bills of the whole industrial sector. However, in order to produce real savings, the companies will have to find a way to cut the number of operational hours, introduce a greater level of automation, eliminate idling, and avoid simultaneous machinery power-ups that cause energy spikes and increase consumption.
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Lowering the non-essential consumption
What do we mean by “non-essential?” Well, the energy spent on the equipment that is not playing an active role in the industrial processes. For instance, air conditioning and heating are producing suitable work conditions for humans but they are not essential for industrial production. Be that as it may, a recent survey showed that these two systems use 20-40% of the energy consumption of an average building. These numbers are translatable to the industrial sector as well. Once again, the solution to the problem lies in proper maintenance and more efficient equipment.
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Training the workforce
Last but not least, we have to briefly mention the human factor. Without it, all the things we have mentioned above will remain nothing more than wishful thinking. So, the companies should put a conscious effort to train their employees to use the industrial equipment in a more efficient manner and take better care of the maintenance. However, these measures should not be restricted to production processes. The workers should also be encouraged to turn the lights off when not necessary, maximize the natural airflow, etc. Pooled savings produced by these small touches should not be neglected.
These six simple measures are far from the complete pictures but they should give you some general idea of how the industrial sector can lower its energy consumption and thus contribute to the fight for a more sustainable society. The day we are going to make a complete shift to clean renewable resources is nearing but it’s still pretty far away. In the meantime, proper management of the available resources is probably the best thing we can do for our planet.
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