change. But a good manager will make the effort to work through these and properly assess the potential that change can unlock. Te same observation is true with new build.


Design teams will generally have established ways of working and may not welcome the further dimension to the project in trying to ‘sort out the energy before the machine is built’. Rationally they know it can be done and that it should be done, but it may be a new trick too far for some old dogs. Probably the most common objection to an energy saving initiative is that it will cost too much. However, this is often not the case. Most machines have a relatively sophisticated control system that can be re-programmed to help minimise energy consumption. A few well chosen sensors will say switch off empty conveyors, power down HMIs and lighting when there is nobody present, control temperatures to set levels, etc. Te good news is that many control technologies


have energy saving options readily available. SCADA and DCS software systems can easily integrate with operational and enterprise processes to provide energy data and control; PLCs can optimise the local processes and gain optimal energy requirements from management systems. In fact, usually the same control networks from the manufacturing cell through to complete factory can be


used to monitor and control energy with little or no extra cabling requirements Individual calculations would be needed, but extra equipment needed often pays back in energy saving in just a few months. Given that the life expectancy of automation equipment in the UK is over 12 years, substantial returns during the life of the machine can be expected. In our increasingly carbon-conscious world, it will soon become a common requirement in a client’s brief that defined energy targets are met. Until then there is a window of opportunity for a few years in which a competitive edge can be generated by designers offering an energy dimension as part of their proposal. And finally, let’s quantify savings we could


reasonably expect. Many public buildings have been retrofitted with Building Management Systems (BMSs) in recent years: a comprehensive study of their performance suggests that this leads to an average reduction in annual energy bills of around 15-20 per cent. In energy hungry industrial processes, a 20 per cent energy saving could be very significant to the overall bottom line of the entire business. It is reasonable to take this as a rule of thumb and say a plant or machine designed for energy efficiency will be one-fifth cheaper to own and run. Just look at how car engine efficiencies have changed the market, when the engineers got serious about energy performance. ●


Jeff Whiting is energy spokesman for Mitsubishi Electric’s Energy Centre, Hatfield, Herts, UK. www.mitsubishi-automation.co.uk


12 www.engineerlive.com


Fig. 2. Many control technologies have energy saving options readily available. SCADA and DCS software systems can easily integrate with operational and enterprise processes to provide energy data and control.


“Probably the most common objection to an energy saving initiative is that it will cost too much. However, this is often not the case.”


Jeff Whiting, Energy spokesman, Mitsubishi Electric’s Energy Centre.


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