Energy Management in Operational Functions
Energy is an integral part of today‟s modern life. It has become the blood of our day to day life. But it is not free. It comes at a monetary price but more than that it comes at environment cost too. It is very difficult to think about our modern life without energy. But the generation of energy requires natural resources which are depleting day by day. On the other side, use of energy is increasing exponentially. In developing nation like India, about 49% of total commercial energy is consumed in industries and utilities like Compressed Air, Air Conditioning, Steam, Hot water, Electrical systems, fuel, water system consumes substantial part of total energy in these industries.
The judicious and effective use of energy to maximize profits (that is, minimize costs) and enhance competitive positions is energy management. Therefore, any management activity that affects the use of energy falls under this definition. The primary objective of energy management is to maximize profit and minimize costs by optimizing energy procurement and utilization, throughout the organization to minimize energy costs without affecting production and quality and to minimize environmental effects.
There are many motivational forces for energy management presently acting on the industrial sector:
Competitiveness
Although energy cost may constitute a relatively small part of total operating cost, for many industries, it is one of the most manageable resources among labor and material. Reductions in energy consumption and thereby reducing energy cost are very vital for any industry to remain competitive.
Short Falls in power supplies
Due to limitations in power supply infrastructures, many industries face power supply problems in terms of reliability and quality of the power supply and increasing energy demand and industrialization have led to predictions of a serious supply shortfall.
Environmental Management Systems
In certain parts of the world, especially in Europe, ISO 14001 standard on environmental management is increasingly becoming a requirement for trade. Energy management is an important component of environmental management and waste reduction strategies, and features significantly in ISO14001.
Global Climate Change
The global climate is changing because of human activity, and that one of the major causes of climate change is the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG), principally CO2, into the atmosphere from the combustion of fossil fuels. Since fossil fuels, directly or indirectly, are important energy sources to industry, there is international pressure to reduce GHG emissions by reducing energy consumption.