On a global scale, the Food and Beverage industry is facing more demand than ever before. But the complex requirements for food processing by nature require large levels of energy consumption, and the cost is only increasing.
Food production is at an all time high, and consumers are becoming increasingly expectant of availability, variety, and ease of access. The global population is growing, and food demand in turn will continue to rise exponentially in the next few years, so this problem is set to become more challenging. Like other forms of processing, the machinery required by businesses in this sector are culprits for consuming large quantities of energy – but it’s coming at a price. Particularly as electricity costs continue to rise worldwide, and the environment itself is impacted by inefficient energy practices, which are unsustainable long term.
In a sector which thrives on maintaining max productivity, energy efficiency is the smartest way to reduce costs without compromising on performance. In the Food and Beverage industry, motors are the most sensible place to start.
Motors can account up to 70% of electricity consumption in food processing
Like any form of manufacturing or processing, the Food and Beverage sector relies heavily on motors. Food processing in particular tends to have more complex requirements for those motors to cater for the vast variety of products, ranging from meat and dairy to baked goods and frozen options. Motors are needed for grinding, mixing, conveyors, labelling or packaging, blending, chopping and more. So it’s no surprise that motors can be the source of up to 70% of the electricity consumed in food processing.
As global populations grow, food demand could be expected to increase 60% by 2050. Current practice for the majority of businesses operating in this industry is not only extortionate in price, but it’s unsustainable on an environmental level. The Food and Beverage industry consumes around 30% of the world’s usable energy – businesses need to care about this.
Integra can reduce motor running costs by 40%
To understand why motors use such a disproportionate amount of a company’s energy consumption, we must first look at the core problem with most electric motors. It’s simple really – most typical motors don’t have the capacity to intelligently adjust the amount of power drawn to complete any given task. Instead, the maximum amount of energy is drawn, and what’s left over goes to waste.
Integra offers a solution to this by only drawing the optimal amount of energy required to perform each task, no more and no less. It works by converting the motor into its own load sensor, so only that what is needed is used. Productivity is at the heart of many processes; Integra will never compromise this. It works in real time, never interrupting workflow. When required, full load capability can still be drawn within a 50th of a second, but substantial savings of up to 40% can be achieved in partial loads.
By only using the amount of energy you need, you’ll immediately notice savings on your electricity bills. But Integra allows further savings through soft start features, which reduce wear and tear in terms of maintenance, and also decrease the chances of peak demand penalties.