Key Aspects About Electricity Consumption

Different consumers, different requirements

Consumers have requirements that rarely fit exactly to predictions and even to previous patterns, as there is always some variability due to activity, external or internal factors. This is why electricity consumption control is, most of the time, a best-effort attempt.

Business activity specificities

It is essential to know and monitor how frequently large appliances are being used. Electric ovens, cooking machines, boilers, space heaters, have the highest energy consumption. They may be required to work at different temperatures and for different amounts of time. Keep in mind that a higher temperature and a long operation means a high consumption. For a business centered on selling food, the whole food production chain may have to be studied to determine what could be done quicker or with less heating. Sometimes, there may not be easy solutions that would not compromise quality, variation or appeal.

In the case of office activities, especially for mid-sized areas, computers, servers and auxiliary equipment have a very large impact on electricity consumption. Distance working and non-standard schedules requires all computers to be turned on, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and this creates a constant important electricity demand. Making sure that employees willingly turn off their computers or there is a policy that is imposed by the administration may have a major effect.

It has to be determined if employee flexibility is required or is an advantage. At other times, this may simply not be an option as is the case for some support services or solution providers. Having a single computer that may service multiple users can also be a working solution in certain situations. It is more costly to maintain a multiple concurent user access system, but it may be cheaper than to have separate systems.

In the case of workshops or other activities, there may be specific energy requirements that are highly dependent on client demand and have very few optimization possibility without resorting to replacing current equipment with more modern and energy efficient appliances. Such an approach may or may not be feasible.

Computers, laptops, printers, multifunction devices

Using computers, printers and other data processing equipment is unavoidable in our modern life. However, most devices require small amount of electricity to work, particularly if they are small-sized. Keep in mind that multiple devices that are powered on at roughly the same time may have a certain impact on electricity consumption. Laptops always consume less than desktops so for activities that are not particularly processing demanding, they may be better suited for daytime work.

Printers and multifunction devices should be given special attention. While inkjet printers are usually low powered devices, with a power rating that is less than 50 Watts, some larger copiers, printers and multifunction devices, particularly laser ones, can have very large instantaneous power loads and this will be translated into high consumption for high volume activities. However, high printing volume devices are rarely anything else but the laser type. Keep in mind that the ink-paper fusing process is the main consumption culprit. There are also other printers such as thermal transfer or 3D ones that also have quite an important contribution to electricity consumption

Cooling and heating demands

Space heating and cooling may require considerable amounts of electricity. It may be helpful to establish specific temperature ranges at which appliances are turned on an off to maintain comfort. This will have a very large impact, particularly in summer. Permanent monitoring of temperature and humidity is essential to asess how to maintain it in an acceptable range.

Water heating that depends on tap water also evolves throught a year. Since tap water is cooler in winter, boilers are requiring more electricity to heat the water to the same temperature than during summer. Also, in summer, hotter water may be less desirable to work with, so a lower temperature can be sufficient. All these situations have to be carefully studied. It is not as effective to just use the "eco" function for certain devices, since it will just provide a lower service, in this case water temperature and electricity consumption, that may not be satisfactory for most purposes.

Lighting

Ensuring a properly lit indoor or outdoor used to require significant energy consumption. This may still be the case for very old installations but retrofits or modern systems are rarely high consumers. The higher the area that has to be light and the more intense light is, the higher the electricity demand and energy consumption will get. Lighting systems tend to not require high investments for modernization purposes but some specialized systems may still command a high price, so it is advisable to understand the current situation.

Energy Conservation