How do you lower energy consumption without new machinery?

You reduce energy consumption most by increasing productivity (less energy per unit) and through direct measures such as shaving peak loads and reducing idling. A typical factory can save double-digit percentages without tying up capital in a completely new and expensive machinery fleet.

Energy has moved from a cost item far down the income statement to a topic of discussion in the management team's weekly meeting. Energy prices have risen and fluctuated sharply. Customers are placing stricter demands on climate data. CSRD reporting requires structured follow-up. And the EU's goal of halving energy consumption from 2005 levels by 2030 requires concrete action at every factory.

The usual reaction is to start looking at investments. New, more energy-efficient machines. Solar panels on the roof. Heat recovery. It all makes sense in the long run. But it is usually faster, cheaper, and more effective to start at the other end.

This guide explains how you can reduce energy consumption in an existing factory by addressing productivity and losses. We show why production and energy are more closely linked than most people think, which concrete measures yield the greatest effect, and how a platform for improvement works becomes the engine in the job.

How are productivity and energy consumption linked?

Productivity and energy consumption are closely linked. Every improvement in productivity is simultaneously an improvement in energy performance, as a stopped or slow machine rarely consumes zero energy. Most factories measure energy consumption monthly or quarterly, and the figure is reported to management and then stays there. It says little about what is actually happening in production.

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

Combine that with a typical OEE value. The industry average lies between 50 and 60%. This means that roughly 40 to 50% of machine time is not value-creating. Research from Chalmers University of Technology confirms the figure: in a typical factory, about 67% of the energy goes to value-creating work. The rest goes to downtime, changeovers, micro-stops, and speed losses, when production is not occurring, but the energy meter keeps ticking.

This is the hidden connection. Every improvement in productivity is simultaneously an improvement in energy performance. Fewer stops mean less idling. Faster changeovers mean less heating energy is wasted. Fewer quality losses mean that raw materials and energy are not used for products that are then discarded.

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

How much can a factory save?

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

The largest part does not come from new machines. It comes from utilising 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. Lowering energy consumption also reduces production costs per unit and strengthens competitiveness.

Which two methods lower energy consumption?

Two methods lower energy consumption and complement each other. The first is to produce more in the same amount of time, which reduces energy consumption per unit produced. The second is to lower consumption during operation through measures such as peak shaving and machine comparisons. Most factories need both.

Method 1: produce more in the same time

This is the greatest leverage and, at the same time, the least obvious. By raising OEE, you use every kWh to produce more units. Energy consumption per unit falls without you doing anything to reduce it.

An example: a line with OEE 55% is improved to 65%. You now produce 18% more in the same machine time while maintaining the same electricity consumption. The energy per unit drops immediately by the same percentage. Add to that the fact that you likely avoid an extra shift or a new investment in capacity, and that idle time decreases simultaneously.

The road there is a classic lean and OEE improvement. Identify the largest losses, prioritise, implement measures, measure, and iterate. This work is best driven by a platform where the whole team, from operator to production manager, works with the same data and the same loss categories.

Method 2: lower consumption during operation

The second path is about directly reducing the energy used in production. This becomes possible only when you actually measure, down to the machine level and under different operating conditions.

Some concrete measures that have an impact:

Peak shaving. If peak loads at the factory drive energy costs, you can reduce the bill by spreading energy-intensive processes over time. You do not move production in time; you distribute starts and heavy steps so that the peak drops.

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

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

Turn off what is not in use. Compressed air leaks, compressors running when nothing is used, and 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 incurs the highest idling cost, improvement efforts can be directed to where the value is highest.

Where do you start?

Start in five steps: create visibility through measurement, link energy to production, prioritise three to five concrete measures, 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. That is where a platform that connects OEE, quality, and energy data makes a difference.

Step 3: Prioritise three to five concrete measures. Not ten. Three. Choose based on which measurement is largest and what you can actually influence within a month. Drive them with clear responsibility and follow-up.

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

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

What does CSRD mean for energy work?

CSRD requires a growing number of companies to report energy and climate data in a structured, comparable manner over time. An OEE system that measures energy per unit produced provides the data quality that reporting demands.

Since 2024, CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) has included more and more companies. The threshold is that two of the following three criteria must be met: at least 250 employees, at least 40 million euros in turnover, and at least 20 million euros in balance sheet total. This means that the vast majority of medium-sized and large industrial companies in Sweden are currently covered or will be.

The practical requirement is to report energy and climate data in a structured, comparable manner over time and with sufficient granularity to be meaningful. Scope 1 (direct emissions), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy), and increasingly Scope 3 (value chain emissions).

For a factory, this means that random energy measurement is not enough. You need to be able to show consumption per machine, per line, and per article, linked to the produced units. You need to be able to show progress over time. And you need to be able to show which measures have yielded which results.

Add to that the Digital Product Passport, which will soon require unit-level traceability for selected industries. The factory that already has that data in place will be ahead when the requirements are activated.

Lifting energy in the same platform as OEE and quality is not just an improvement in work. It is preparation for the regulatory reality.

What should a good platform support do?

Good platform support should do four things: measure energy at the machine and line levels, show energy alongside production data, support daily work, 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 that the connection becomes natural.

Show energy alongside production. kWh, cost, and CO2e per produced unit, linked to articles and stop causes. Visualised on 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 should apply everywhere. Otherwise, development 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 together with 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 unit produced and become part of the 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 operation.

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

The platform currently supports approximately 300 factories. It is used from single 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 100 million euros in turnover, this corresponds to approximately 125,000 euros per year and 60 to 80 tons of CO2e.

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

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

How does CSRD connect with OEE work?
Closely. CSRD requires granular, comparable energy and climate data over time. An OEE system that also measures energy per produced unit, linked to articles and stop causes, provides the data quality and traceability that reporting requires. The factory that has this in place does not need to establish a separate reporting track.

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