Energy is the invisible cost
Energy typically represents 5-15% of manufacturing cost, yet most factories manage it with monthly utility bills. They know total consumption but not where it goes. Which machines waste energy during idle time? Which compressors run at 60% efficiency? Which HVAC zones overcool empty areas? Without sub-metering, these questions have no answers.
IoT energy monitoring architecture
- Smart meters — sub-meters on major equipment, production lines, and utility systems
- Current transformers — non-invasive clamp-on sensors for existing circuits
- Edge gateways — aggregate meter data and push to the platform every 15-60 seconds
- Dashboard per zone — energy consumption by area, machine, shift, and product
- Anomaly alerts — automatic notification when consumption deviates from baseline
From monitoring to optimisation
Monitoring alone saves 5-10% by making waste visible. Active optimisation — shifting production to off-peak hours, sequencing startups to avoid demand peaks, and shutting down idle systems automatically — delivers another 10-15%. The platform correlates energy data with production schedules to identify the optimal operating pattern.
The cheapest kilowatt is the one you did not use. But first, you have to find it.