How do you lower energy consumption without new machinery?

Higher OEE can reduce energy consumption per approved unit by increasing productivity, for example through fewer stops and less scrap. The effect depends on how energy consumption and production change and needs to be verified through measurement. Reduced idling can decrease energy use, while shaved peak loads can lower peak power costs without reducing total kWh.

Energy has gone from being a cost item far down the income statement to being on the executive management team's weekly meeting agenda. Energy prices have risen and fluctuated significantly. Customers are placing stricter demands on climate data. Production and energy data can provide supporting data for sustainability reporting. Which data and processes are required depends on the company's applicable reporting requirements.

The EU target is to reduce final energy consumption by 2030 by at least 11.7 percent compared to the projections for 2030 made in the 2020 EU reference scenario. This is a target for the EU as a whole, not an identical percentage requirement for every factory.

European Commission: energy efficiency targets for 2030

EU climate targets apply to greenhouse gas emissions. Net emissions are to be reduced by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990, and the EU is to be climate neutral by 2050 at the latest. Energy efficiency can contribute to these goals.

European Commission: European Climate Law

The usual reaction is to start looking at investments. New, more energy-efficient machines. Solar panels on the roof. Heat recovery. All of this makes sense in the long run. But it is usually faster, cheaper, and has a greater impact to start at the other end.

This guide walks through how you can lower energy consumption in an existing factory by working with productivity and waste. We show why production and energy are more closely linked than most people think, which concrete actions yield the greatest impact, and how a platform for continuous improvement becomes the engine of that work.

How are productivity and energy consumption linked?

Higher OEE can reduce energy use per approved unit, for example through fewer stops and less scrap. The effect depends on how energy consumption and production change and needs to be verified through measurement. Most factories measure energy consumption monthly or quarterly, and the figure is reported to management and stays there. It says very little about what is actually happening in production.

When we instead break down energy consumption and link it to production data, a different picture emerges. Measurements from various industries show that a stopped machine rarely draws zero power. Idling, ventilation, heating, auxiliary systems, control equipment, and compressed air consume energy even when nothing is being produced. Studies show that a machine on standby often draws between 20% and 80% of the energy it consumes during full operation. For certain types of equipment, the difference is even smaller.

Combine that with a typical OEE value. The industry average is between 50% and 60%. This means that roughly 40% to 50% of machine time is non-value-adding. Research from Chalmers University of Technology confirms this figure: in a typical factory, around 67% of the energy goes to value-adding work. The rest goes to downtime, changeovers, minor stops, and speed losses where production is not taking place, but the energy meter keeps running.

This is the hidden connection. Higher OEE can reduce energy consumption per approved unit, for example through fewer stops and less scrap. The effect depends on how energy consumption and production change and needs to be verified through measurement. Fewer stops mean less idling. Faster changeovers mean less heating energy goes to waste. Fewer quality losses mean that raw materials and energy are not used for products that are subsequently discarded.

This makes energy work part of the continuous improvement effort, not a parallel track. And it changes where the major savings are found.

How much can a factory save?

A factory with a turnover of 100 million euros can realistically save approximately 125,000 euros per year in energy costs, and reduce climate impact by 60 to 80 tonnes of CO2 equivalents through systematic work with losses and consumption. The example is based on a typical OEE level and typical energy intensity in manufacturing.

The largest part does not come from new machines. It comes from utilizing existing machines better. Less idling. Fewer changeovers with the same heating energy. Less scrap. Better interaction between operators, maintenance, and planning.

For a factory or production manager, this is a situation where profitability and sustainability point in exactly the same direction. What lowers energy consumption also lowers the production cost per unit and strengthens competitiveness.

How can production, energy use, and power costs be improved?

Two approaches complement each other: improving production and reducing energy use during operation. Follow both total energy consumption in kWh and kWh per approved unit. Shaving peak loads is a separate action that affects the highest simultaneous power in kW and can lower power costs, but does not automatically reduce total kWh.

Method 1: produce more in the same time

Higher OEE can reduce energy consumption per approved unit, for example through fewer stops and less scrap. The effect depends on how energy consumption and production change and needs to be verified through measurement.

If OEE increases from 55 to 65 percent, with unchanged planned production time, product mix, and ideal cycle time, the number of approved units increases by approximately 18.2 percent. If total energy use simultaneously remains unchanged, energy use per approved unit decreases by approximately 15.4 percent. The calculations are 65/55 - 1 and 1 - 55/65 respectively. Unchanged total energy use is an assumption in this example.

The path there is a classic lean and OEE improvement. Identify the largest losses, prioritize, implement actions, measure, and iterate. This work is best driven by a platform where the entire team, from operator to production supervisor, works with the same data and the same loss categories.

Method 2: reduce energy use and manage peak loads

The second path involves measuring energy use and power load under different operating conditions and choosing actions based on the results. Distinguish between actions that reduce total energy consumption in kWh and actions that shave peak loads in kW.

Some concrete actions that yield results:

Peak shaving. Shaving peak loads means reducing the highest simultaneous power load, measured in kW. This can lower power costs depending on electricity contracts and grid tariffs. It does not automatically mean that total energy consumption, measured in kWh, decreases.

Compare similar machines. Two machines with the same task can draw very different amounts of energy. In a pilot plant, one machine (called Msk16) drew 7 kW during normal operation, while the corresponding Msk14 drew 12 kW for the same type of work. The difference was only discovered when someone measured. There was a mechanical adjustment to be made, and consumption dropped.

Choose the right technology for the right job. Electric injection molding typically draws around 10 kWh per production cycle, while hydraulic injection molding draws 25 kWh. The difference is significant. For new investment decisions, this is one of the most important factors.

Turn off what is not in use. Compressed air leaks, compressors running when nothing is in use, ventilation running at maximum when half the factory is idle. This is not glamorous, but it yields quick results once it is made visible.

Link energy data to articles and stop causes. When you know which article consumes the most energy per unit, and which stop causes result in the highest idling cost, improvement work can be directed where the value is greatest.

Where do you start?

Start in five steps: create visibility through measurement, link energy to production, prioritize three to five concrete actions, make the work a routine in daily management, and report progress externally. The most common trap is wanting to do everything at once, which rarely works.

Step 1: create visibility. Before you can improve, you must measure. Current clamps on the largest machines and idle consumption are often enough to start. You do not need to measure every outlet in the factory.

Step 2: link energy to production. Energy in itself is just a number. Energy per produced unit, energy per stop, energy per shift, and energy per article are insights. This is where a platform that connects OEE data, quality data, and energy data makes a difference.

Step 3: prioritize three to five concrete actions. Not ten. Three. Choose based on what the measurement shows is largest, and what you can actually influence within a month. Drive them with clear ownership and follow-up.

Step 4: make it a routine. Bring up energy in the same forums where you discuss OEE and quality. Morning meetings. Weekly improvement meetings. Monthly follow-ups at the management level. Otherwise, it becomes a project that dies when someone changes jobs.

Step 5: report externally. Once data is available and progress is positive, use it. Towards customers. Towards management. In CSRD and sustainability reports. This is how energy work becomes commercial value, not just a cost reduction.

What does CSRD mean for energy work?

Production and energy data can provide supporting data for sustainability reporting. Which data and processes are required depends on the company's applicable reporting requirements.

Companies subject to CSRD report according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Which companies are covered, when reporting must begin, and what details are required must be assessed based on current regulations and the company's specific circumstances.

For a factory, energy data linked to production can provide valuable support. Measurement per machine, line, or article helps you identify energy losses and track the effect of improvements. However, this level of detail should not be described as a general requirement under CSRD.

By gathering energy, OEE, and quality in the same platform, you can use data both in daily improvement work and as supporting data for sustainability reporting. Production and energy data are part of the supporting information, but are not sufficient on their own to fulfill all reporting requirements.

Read more about current regulations on the European Commission website: sustainability reporting and CSRD.

What should a good platform support do?

A good platform support should do four things: measure energy at the machine and line level, display energy alongside production data, support daily work and not just reporting, and scale across multiple facilities with the same definition.

Measure at the right level. Per machine and per line, not just per factory. Ideally with the same platform that measures production and quality, so the connection becomes natural.

Show energy together with production. kWh, cost, and CO2e per produced unit, linked to articles and stop causes. Visualized in the same platform as other production data.

Support daily work, not just reporting. Energy data should be available in the meetings where decisions are made, not just in monthly reports to management.

Scale across sites. If you have multiple facilities, the same definition must apply everywhere. Otherwise, progress cannot be compared, and reporting becomes fragile.

How does Good Solutions work with energy?

The platform from Good Solutions has its own energy module that works alongside the other modules. Current clamps together with our IoT hardware measure consumption at the machine level, even on older equipment. The data is linked to production, articles, and stop causes, so that kWh, cost, and CO2e are visible per produced unit and become part of daily improvement work.

Because the platform is built to drive continuous improvements, not just measure, energy becomes one of several dimensions in the same work. It is the same morning meetings, the same loss analysis, the same operators, the same management. Energy is just another perspective on the same operations.

Results show that the link between productivity and energy is more than just theory. Barilla Wasa in Filipstad increased net production by 15% while reducing CO2 emissions by 28%. The improvement did not come from a single major investment, but from systematic work with losses, changeovers, and utilization rates. At Svenska Retursystem, similar results are seen: increased efficiency and at the same time reduced resource and CO2e consumption from circular packaging.

The platform currently supports 300+ factories. It is used from individual lines to multi-site corporations, handling both modern PLC-controlled machines and older equipment without modern interfaces.

Read more about how others have increased their factory productivity

FAQ

How much is it realistically possible to lower energy consumption without investing in new machines?
Experience from various industries shows that savings of 5 to 20% are fully possible by working systematically with losses, idling, and the connection between production and energy. For a typical factory with a turnover of 100 million euros, this corresponds to approximately 125,000 euros per year and 60 to 80 tonnes of CO2e.

Do we have to measure every machine to get started?
No. Start with the largest consumers, often 20% of the machines that account for 70 to 80% of the consumption. Once that data is in place and actions have been implemented, you can expand. The complete picture does not need to be clear before the first improvement is made.

What is the difference between measuring energy and working with energy?
Measuring energy produces a monthly report. Working with energy requires that data is linked to production, visible in daily operations, and used in the same improvement forums as OEE and quality. The difference in outcome is often significant.

How is CSRD linked to OEE work?
Production and energy data can provide supporting data for sustainability reporting. Which data and processes are required depends on the company's applicable reporting requirements.

Where do we start if we want to get started quickly?
Three things first. Identify the three largest energy consumers in the factory. Install measurement there. Connect the data to production and stop causes, so you can see where idling and losses cost the most. Within a month, you will have the basis to start prioritizing actions from there.