The Client
The Client is the UK’s leading provider of wall, roof, and landscaping innovations, offering over 1,000 products across brick, roof, paver, facade, and blocks. Committed to sustainability, the company sought to reduce energy consumption across its energy-intensive operations with multiple manufacturing sites.
Challenges
The company faced several key challenges:
Sustainability Goals: Integrating sustainability into the core company strategy by reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Energy Management: Managing a multi-million pound annual utility spend across multiple sites, making it essential to identify and implement energy-saving measures.
Data Accuracy: Achieving accurate, real-time data monitoring for effective energy management and decision-making.
Solution
To address these challenges, the company implemented a comprehensive energy monitoring system with support from Elcomponent. The solution included:
- 300+ Meters: Installation and commissioning of more than 300 meters for electricity, water, gas, and heat across 12 sites in the UK.
- Real-time Data: Real-time data collection and monitoring via a cloud-based data platform.
- Flexible, Robust System: A multi-site capable energy monitoring system tailored to the specific needs of each factory.
- Turn-key Solution: A complete solution including installation, metering individual loads, on-site data logging, and a cloud-based software package.
The Elcomponent system was designed to monitor and verify energy-saving projects, allowing the company to analyse energy usage across its entire portfolio efficiently.
Implementation Process
The installation of the Energy Monitoring System followed a structured approach:
- Assessment and Planning: Initial assessment to identify critical areas for metering and develop a detailed installation plan.
- Installation and Commissioning: Installation of meters and integration with the cloud-based data platform, ensuring real-time data collection and logging.
- Training and Integration: Training on-site personnel to use the monitoring system and integrating it with existing operational systems.
- Real-time Monitoring: Enabling continuous, real-time monitoring of energy usage across all sites.
Business Impact
The implementation of the Energy Monitoring System had a significant positive impact on the company’s operations:
- Energy Savings: Enabled identification and implementation of energy-saving measures, such as upgrading air compressors to variable output, which resulted in verified savings of £9,000 and 65 tonnes of CO2 annually on a single compressor.
- Cost Reduction: Improved control over energy expenditure, allowing for reinvestment in efficient and innovative manufacturing processes.
- Operational Efficiency: Real-time data and monitoring facilitated better energy management and supported the company’s sustainability goals.