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The Results Are in! The Wiser Factory Wins Schneider Sustainability Award for Its Gas and Electricity Reduction
We’re proud to share that our Wiser factory in Plymouth, UK has won the Schneider award for Winter Energy Efficiency for Best Production Site, following a catalogue of positive changes in on-site technology and working practices that resulted in a 5.9% saving in gas energy and a 9.5% saving in electricity for winter 2022/23 compared to the previous year. A huge congratulations to all Plymouth staff!
Our award-winning Energy Reduction Programme had three key objectives with the aim of reducing our carbon footprint:
- Energy reduction through education and day-to-day practices
- Switch gas use to green electricity usage to reduce CO2 footprint
- Introduction of more efficient equipment and services
Read on to learn more about the steps we took to meet these objectives and save gas and electricity last winter.
- E-STOP – What is it?
E-STOP stands for Energy – Save and Turn Off Power and is an education tool implemented on-site to remind staff to turn off machinery, lighting and other devices when not in use. Signs have been placed throughout the site as a prompt to help staff remember to support company energy saving efforts during their busy working day.
- New Energy Monitoring Technology
New sophisticated sensors and display screens monitor the energy usage of our production machinery, issuing alerts to staff if energy is being expended whilst the machine is not in active production.
- Heat Recycling
Two years ago we announced the installation of a new upgraded air compressor which drives much of our production machinery. It features variable output and saved 6% electricity. Now we've installed new ducting to recycle heat energy it creates into other production areas, allowing other heating equipment to be turned off to save energy.
- LED Lighting Project
Our project to convert all lighting to LED was completed, meaning all lighting in our production, warehouse and office areas are now powered by efficient and reliable LED technology.
- Smarter machinery time management
Use of production machinery that relies on the new compressor has been consolidated to certain days of the week, removing the need to have the compressor operating all the time.
What’s next for the Wiser factory?
In time for this winter 2023/24, we plan to install electric water heaters in the washrooms, making use of the 100% renewable electricity our site is powered, letting us turn off gas-fired boilers for 5 months of the year.
A huge congratulations to everyone at Drayton, the brand behind Wiser and part of the Schneider Electric global network, for the success of our Plymouth factory’s sustainability journey so far, another significant step towards our goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2025. Find out more about our journey to net zero emissions at Wiser About Sustainability.
Read more energy-saving tips and advice on the Wiser Blog.
Find out how you could save up to £575 a year with Wiser smart heating controls, and happy optimising!