Elliott Ajose, Regional Sales & Technical Manager for Chauvin Arnoux UK, highlights the most common inefficiencies found in industrial installations today and discusses the instruments available to engineers and maintenance staff to identify and address these issues.
Monitoring energy consumption is no longer an option but a necessity for those looking to reduce spending and operational costs, especially with electricity prices continuously rising.
Tracking power usage in a facility can help identify hidden inefficiencies that impact both operational and environmental quality. It can pinpoint reasons for higher-than-expected energy costs and reveal underlying causes of frequent equipment repairs and replacements.
Studies by the Carbon Trust indicate that energy savings of up to 20% can be achieved by replacing inefficient equipment and implementing energy-efficient measures such as installing variable-speed drives for fans, pumps, and motor-driven systems. Additionally, a British Gas survey of smart meters across 6,000 UK SMEs found that “out-of-hours” electricity usage accounted for 46% of total consumption. This was due to lighting, heating, and IT equipment being left on in unoccupied offices, as well as car park lighting operating around the clock.
Office equipment plays a significant role in energy consumption. Simply turning off non-essential equipment at the end of the day can result in 12% energy savings. Moreover, leaving office equipment on standby during weekends and bank holidays can cost an average SME up to £6,000 per year.
While many businesses have already benefited from switching to LED lighting, further savings can be achieved through occupancy sensors, which can cut electricity use by an additional 30%. Using daylight sensors or photocells to adjust artificial lighting based on natural light availability can lead to another 40% reduction in electricity consumption.
Beyond efficiency measures, 50% of UK industrial facilities still suffer from poor Power Factor and load balancing. Power Factor measures how efficiently electrical power is used, while load balancing ensures an even distribution of electrical loads across the three supply phases. Both factors contribute significantly to increased energy losses and higher consumption.
Identifying and addressing these inefficiencies requires a Power and Energy Logger (PEL). Whether troubleshooting specific problems or proactively optimising power distribution, PELs should be as essential to a building maintenance technician as a multimeter or thermometer.
Modern PELs are compact, lightweight electronic instruments designed to collect electrical data efficiently. They can be temporarily installed in distribution panels or various locations within a facility without interrupting the mains supply or shutting down operations. This makes them invaluable for ongoing monitoring and energy audits.
PELs are highly versatile, capable of monitoring specific equipment or entire departments. They use Rogowski coil current sensors that loop around conductors, and magnetic voltage probes that attach to MCB screw heads, ensuring a completely non-intrusive installation. Importantly, PELs can be installed by a qualified electrician without requiring them to switch off the power.
PELs gather and log critical electrical parameters such as three-phase current, voltage, power, and energy consumption over customisable periods ranging from seconds to months. Advanced models, such as the Chauvin Arnoux PEL113, also measure Power Factor, Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), and individual current and voltage harmonic levels, storing millions of data points accessible locally or remotely via USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or internet connections.
Once local monitoring is complete, some PELs can be semi-permanently installed inside cabinets at the main supply point. They can be self-powered from the installation itself and, when connected to a local network, allow continuous monitoring with configurable alarms for immediate issue detection.
For businesses requiring permanent energy monitoring, retrofitting older installations with panel-mounted equipment often involves costly downtime and extensive modifications. Instead, semi-permanently installing a PEL can be a cost-effective alternative, offering real-time monitoring from a PC. This enables businesses to track energy usage, Power Factor, and harmonic content over time while setting up alerts for potential issues.
A well-implemented PEL solution provides an efficient and flexible approach to energy management, helping businesses reduce costs and improve operational efficiency. To learn more about optimising electricity consumption and cutting expenses, visit https://cauk.tv/
This article appeared in the March 2025 issue of Energy Manager magazine. Subscribe here.