Why Checkmeter/Submeter Industrial Facilities?
With the industrial sector consuming more than one-third of all U.S. energy, it's easy to see why facilities are seeking ways to reduce energy costs without compromising production. Checkmetering & submetering solutions can help facility personnel zero in on the real costs and investements in their industrial processes. Meters allow electric, water, gas, steam, BTUs and other parameters to be easily factored into the facility energy profile for management. In addition to identifying poor performers by benchmarking energy levels at multiple facilities, meters can also be used to help identify other energy saving opportunities.
Facility Owners & Managers Benefits
As part of the facility energy picture, plant operators need accurate, real-time energy data to evaluate the performance of individual processes, pieces of equipment and departments. In any type of industrial facility whether process or discrete manufacturing, checkmeters are an extremely cost-effective way to chart energy usage, isolate specific processes that are not energy efficient and provide real-time evaluation of critical load-shedding activities.
Metering Applications
Demand Analysis & Load Control
Users are billed high kilowatt demand rates for an entire month or multiple months even if demand only occurs for a 15-30 minute period during a given month. The key to avoiding these exorbitant costs is to identify peaks in usage and proactively take steps to reduce those peaks. Graphic profiling of individual or aggregated loads will pinpoint peak usage areas or equipment. With this data manufacturers are able to employ load controlling devices to set high/low thresholds, control loads and reduce energy costs.
Production Run Allocation
Checkmetering and submetering allows manufacturers to identify exact energy costs by production line, production run, individual piece of equipment or the entire facility. This data enables manufacturers to accurately allocate energy costs to individual products or customers, avoiding estimation errors while increasing profitability. For manufacturers that product multiple products, this data is key for creating accurate costing models and profitable price levels.
Department Allocation
Manufacturing facilities often have more than production areas within their facility; accounting, testing, quality control or maintenance departments. Monitoring energy usage of non-production departments allows businesses to drill down on energy usage to identify how, when and where energy is being used. In addition to separating production from other departments, businesses can allocate energy costs to these individual departments, ensuring accurate budgeting and increased energy efficiency.
Equipment Maintenance Programs
As the cost of doing business increases and budgets are more constrained, it is more important than ever to avoid production interruptions and costly equipment replacement. Submeters can be installed on key pieces of equipment to monitor usage and identify potential failures. This allows facility managers to take proactive steps to schedule repairs before equipment fails, thus avoiding costly and unexpected downtimes.