What is energy management, why changing the entire system is better than changing individual elements, and how an already efficient enterprise can start saving additional energy with an efficient energy management system? In this article, you will find answers to all these questions.
The active development of industry and the gradual reduction of non-renewable natural resources, and, as a result, their high cost, have led to the fact that energy efficiency in the world has long been mandatory for every company that wants to work in a modern way and make a profit. Therefore, implementing the standard of energy management systems in industry is important today. Its main goal is to organize the implementation of procedures for sustainable and efficient energy use in industry.
The energy management system is a part of the overall management system of the enterprise, which includes the organizational structure, management functions, duties and responsibilities, procedures, processes, and resources for the formation, implementation, and achievement of energy conservation policy goals. In addition, the energy management system of an agricultural enterprise is a complex of organizational, technical means, and software-methodological support, which together allows managing the production process in such a way that only the minimum necessary amount of fuel and energy resources is consumed for the production of a certain amount of products or services.
Among the tasks that are solved in the energy management system, it is appropriate to include the following:
Forming an energy management system following the ISO 50001 standard begins with defining an appropriate energy policy. However, most practitioners note the need to create favorable conditions at various levels, from local self-government bodies to the local community, for the development and implementation of the system since the successful implementation of any program and strategy is possible only with the support of a wide range of participants.
Energy management provides benefits on many levels: in addition to saving money due to optimization of consumption, the systems also ensure higher reliability of infrastructure and industrial enterprises by monitoring electrical networks and power quality. At the same time, systematic power monitoring increases awareness of energy consumption. When integrated into open cloud systems, such as MindSphere Internet of Things, the optimization increases even more. The energy management system provides a reliable basis for regular energy audits and an operational energy management system following the ISO 50001 and ISO 50003 standards for implementing, maintaining, and improving energy management systems.
The effect of implementing the energy-saving mechanism as a constantly operating system at the enterprise will, of course, be greater than implementing individual organizational or technological measures. However, this will be done under the condition that energy conservation becomes part of the overall management system of the enterprise, which regulates the processes of generation, transmission, and consumption of energy. The objectivity of making management decisions and adjusting the energy strategy depends on the effectiveness of the energy-saving mechanism.