Gap analysis of industrial energy management systems in Slovenia

Abstract

Industrial energy management systems, which comprise software solutions, upfront services, and ongoing monitoring and management, enable industrial companies to actively manage their energy consumption and energy procurement activities. Energy management systems are usually tailored to the specific industrial needs but may offer limited functionalities, mostly as a result of different identified gaps (process simplifications, improper measurement points, a lack of motivation, etc.). A survey was conducted in order to analyse the gaps and use of energy management systems in Slovenian industry. The results of the survey presented in this paper demonstrate that the use of energy management systems in industry is recognised as a potential competitive advantage by most of the addressed companies. Furthermore, motivation was highlighted as an important prerequisite for process and structural improvements and reported to be thus far insufficiently addressed. Furthermore, the importance of strong cooperation with actors at different levels of industry, namely the executive and shop floor levels, is addressed. In the conclusion, possibilities for new opportunities in the exploitation of energy efficiency through the use of industrial energy management systems are discussed.