17th to 23rd July 2021 is the United Kingdom’s national awareness week for all things net zero: As a world leader in sealing solutions for the fuel and chemical industries, KLINGER United Kingdom is heading for sustainable energy practices.
Eco-conscious customers are looking for environmentally responsible vendors and suppliers, turning their supply chains green from the top down. Nowadays a low carbon economy is no longer a bonus, but a necessity. So, in 2019, KLINGER United Kingdom began looking at their facility resource consumption with the help of their energy supplier.
Contacts mentioned in the article:
Alex Long, Maintenance Manager at KLINGER United Kingdom
Darren Brundle, Precision Engineer Machine Operator at KLINGER United Kingdom
Mathew Craggs, Technical Lead at KLINGER United Kingdom
Shannon Ward, Production at KLINGER United Kingdom
Elaina Paraschiv, Production at KLINGER United Kingdom
Jayne Heppleston, Winding Supervisor at KLINGER United Kingdom
Ramune Ralstelyte, Shopfloor Team at KLINGER United Kingdom
Energy management with ClearVue
The team, led by maintenance manager Alex Long, soon focused their attention on ClearVue, an energy management system run on IoT (internet of things). In 2020, during the pandemic, KLINGER fitted facility equipment with ClearVue sensors and began data collection to identify gaps in their energy procedures. “Trying to quantify energy usage is really difficult, because it isn’t linear all the time,” Alex Long explained.
What started as simply examining utility bills for gas and electric prices soon became a much more involved undertaking, as the team developed a plan to modify the facility’s compressed air systems, allowing them to reduce air leaks on site. Measuring and comparing machine metrics over time allowed the team to identify and eliminate this inefficiency, tightening the facility’s energy usage to make both economic and ecological improvements.
Did you know?
- The United Kingdom is the first major economy to pass a ‘net zero law’.
- The law’s target is to slash emissions by 78% by 2035 (compared to 1990 levels).
- It was passed by the end of June 2021.
Aiming at net zero emissions
„We began to look at energy usage in a different way. It’s more of an engineering and management way of looking at it, rather than a reduction way of looking at it. It’s allowing us to make better decisions.“
Alex Long, Maintenance Manager at KLINGER United Kingdom
With a cache of data now available for study, the maintenance team at KLINGER has clear cut proof of the efficiency of their new energy management system. Initial calculations show a 15% reduction in energy usage, from only the first level of facility changes. Upcoming work will decrease energy use even more, including guiding the team towards the most efficient equipment for future purchases.
“As KLINGER continues to expand their use of energy initiatives, customers can expect a leaner, more efficient process that reflects the company’s commitment to environmental protection”, describes Alex Long the way forward. Tailored solutions across the entire KLINGER system, from development to delivery, offer customers value while contributing to the collective effort to reach net zero emissions.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
When is Net Zero Week?
The government funded Net Zero Week is observed the week of 17th to 23rd July 2021 in the United Kingdom
Is net zero different than carbon neutral?
Carbon neutral calls for a business to offset emissions, so that the effect is cancelled out by an equal and opposite eco-friendly action. Net zero goes even further, reducing emissions to their lowest possible level through complete energy efficiency, before using offsetting to counteract any remaining effects.
How can my organization contribute to Net Zero Week?
Visit Net Zero Week for both business and consumer resources for lowering emissions!
