Why You Need More Than One Electricity Meter in Your Industrial Complex

Many manufacturing plants rely on only one electricity meter that was installed by the utility company. Such manufacturers are losing the advantages that come with installing several meters within the manufacturing plant. This article discusses some of the advantages that would accrue to you if you installed several electricity meters within your manufacturing plant.

Accurate Quote Generation

Many manufacturers look at the cost of energy as an overhead that is paid for from the profits of the industrial complex. However, your industrial plant can become more competitive if you look at power as a component of the cost of producing a product. You can install a power meter so that the PLC (programmable logic controller) of each machine records how much power is consumed to produce each finished product. This information can be very helpful in enabling you to calculate the exact cost of making each product. Consequently, you will give clients quotations that reflect the actual cost of producing each item. In this way, your profit mark up will be protected from being wiped away by the cost of electricity.

Monitoring Machine Efficiency

An electric meter installed on each machine can help you to determine when the machine is no longer efficient. The decision to replace the machine can be based on how it is now consuming a higher amount of energy to produce a part in comparison to what it was consuming previously. The electricity consumption data can save you from staying long with equipment that is draining your resources through excessive energy consumption.

Energy Conservation

Meters installed at different points of the manufacturing floor can help to save energy when machines are not being used. For example, the PLC can be programmed to put equipment into idle mode when parts are in transit between different phases of fabrications. Such a step can be very useful after data from the meter reveals that a lot of energy is consumed when motors stay running as the equipment awaits the arrival of a part that is being conveyed to a subsequent workstation.

As you can see, there is a lot to be gained when you install several meters to measure the power consumed by different pieces of equipment in your manufacturing plant. You should therefore contact a Brisbane engineering firm to evaluate your manufacturing processes so that meters are installed at points where they will be very valuable in streamlining energy use in the manufacturing plant. 

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