SUSTAINABILITY
RELATED SERVICE – BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Industrial Energy & Utility Submetering
The challenge
A manufacturing site with significant process, refrigeration and utility demand needed better visibility of where electricity, gas, water and other utilities were being consumed and where avoidable operating costs were occurring.
The challenge was not simply to collect more data. The site needed meaningful performance benchmarks linked to production, together with sufficient submetering to identify significant energy users, abnormal baseload and inefficient plant operation.
The objective was to turn utility data into practical operational decisions capable of reducing consumption and cost without relying solely on major capital investment.
At a glance
£240k+ Annual utility cost saving identified
~33% Reduction against benchmark utility cost
Current Stage Permanent Ongoing monitoring and optimisation
Virium’s approach
Virium developed a targeted monitoring and submetering strategy around the site's significant energy and utility users, establishing benchmarks for both overall site performance and individual process areas.
Consumption was assessed against appropriate operational metrics, including production, allowing inefficient operation and unnecessary baseload to be distinguished from genuine increases in manufacturing demand.
The monitoring was then converted into practical operating actions. This included engagement with site personnel, development of operating and shutdown procedures, and continued monitoring to verify savings and identify performance drift.
Measured results for business performance optimisation
The monitoring and submetering programme converted utility data into a business performance tool, linking energy and water consumption to production output and providing management and stakholders with clearer visibility of operating cost and plant efficiency.
Against the established benchmark, the programme delivered annual utility cost savings exceeding £240,000, equivalent to approximately 33% reduction in utility cost. The improvement was achieved through better control and optimisation of significant energy users, process demand and plant operating performance rather than simply reducing production or operating hours.
Ongoing monitoring allows performance to be assessed against production, helping the business identify emerging inefficiencies, understand cost per unit of output and determine where engineering or operational intervention will generate the greatest return.
The data also provides an evidence base projection for shareholder investment decisions allowing potential energy, water and process improvement projects to be prioritised according to measurable cost, performance and payback rather than assumptions.
What Virium is delivering
Virium's scope combines utility monitoring, engineering analysis and operational performance management to convert consumption data into measurable improvement.
Site-wide electricity, gas, water and effluent monitoring
Submetering of significant energy and process users
Utility benchmarking against production and operating conditions
Analysis of baseload, night and weekend consumption
Monitoring of refrigeration, compressed air and process loads
Monthly utility cost and carbon-performance reporting
Solar PV generation and grid-import performance monitoring
Development of practical operating and shutdown procedures
Identification and verification of energy-saving opportunities
Continuous monitoring to detect performance drift and rebound
