A report on energy consumption at Montana Furniture was the starting point for investments in energy optimisation. Montana needed better insight into where and for what they were using energy in the company to identify areas for optimisation and to reduce their consumption and CO2 footprint. 
 
Therefore, they had a report prepared on energy consumption, which identified several areas with high energy consumption and potential for optimisation. Not surprising for a company with many machines and thousands of square meters of production premises consuming several million-kilowatt hours per year. 

With the report in hand, they contacted ABB, together with their long-standing electrical installer Kemp & Lauritzen. ABB’s building automation specialist presented the company with a solution to record, visualize and control their energy consumption in offices and production areas.

The solution? An M-bus connects the company’s many energy meters, primarily from ventilation and compressors. The measurements are collected in a doGate that integrates open protocols, and actuators with time-controlled on/off functions that are programmed according to holiday plans and production rhythms are controlled via KNX among other things.  

Using the BMS visualisation, which displays data in real time, the company can now constantly monitor energy consumption. Consumption has become transparent, and monitoring helps to identify “energy thieves,” so that the company can intervene in the right places.

These insights have led to the following initiatives: 

• 800 luminaires have been replaced with LED.  

• Compressors have been replaced by new and more energy-efficient compressors equipped with the recovery of excess heat. 

• Employees have become more conscious of saving electricity e.g. by turning off computers and screens by the end of the day. Not least, the employees in production have shown an impressive effort in saving electricity, which contributes to a more sustainable production.