EAI perspectives

Industrial energy efficiency can be thought of in two dimensions.

One, making processes more efficient - examples are plugging leaks, running machines & equipment at the optimal temperatures, capturing and using waste heat etc.

Two, making the equipment themselves more efficient - a furnace that requires less fuel to generate the same heat, a blower that needs less electricity for the same ventilation or cleaning, or a moulding machine that requires less power to create the same number of moulded components.

The latter category takes time - we are talking about changes right from the top of the equipment value chain - but making processes efficient is relatively easier. And digital will play a disproportionate role in driving industrial process efficiencies in the short and medium terms.

As India continues to make many industrial and consumer end use equipment smart - and this includes utility end devices such as smart meters - the ability for software combined with IoT to extract these data, analyze them and assist stakeholders change their usage patterns and behaviours will continue to gain pace.

Such IT/digital assisted energy efficiency enhancements can be both sustainable and scalable. Startups such as SustLabs, by being relatively early movers in this field can utilize their knowledge and experience in many related commercial and industrial domains as the need for usage efficiencies for both energy and resources becomes more critical.

Team EAI wishes SustLabs the very best!