Energy Consumption in a Distributional Warehouse: A Practical Case Study for Different Warehouse Technologies

Abstract

Energy consumption by distribution warehouses has become an essential component of green warehousing and research on reducing the carbon footprint of supply chains. Energy consumption in warehousing is a complex and multilayered problem, which is generally considered in the literature in relation to its detailed components, not as part of comparative studies. In this article, the authors consider six cross-sectional variants of warehouse technology, from manual to fully automatic, and analyze the energy consumption of a warehouse in various configurations. A methodology for estimating storage space and determining energy consumption is proposed. The energy balance of the warehouse variants includes energy for material handling equipment operation, energy consumption for building maintenance (heating, cooling, lighting, etc.), and energy generated by the photovoltaic system on the roof. Then, the operational costs of the variants are estimated and, on their basis, an automation index is determined. The index allows for a comparative analysis of energy consumption and the mechanization and automation of a warehouse. It is shown that a significant part of the energy is spent on maintaining a warehouse building, especially in the case of facilities with a low degree of automation.

An Efficient Approach to Investigate the Tradeoff between Double Handling and Needed Capacity in Automated Distribution Centers

“…This is in addition to minimizing costs and travel time. Lewczuk et al [21] analyzed the energy consumption of a warehouse in various configurations. They presented a method for calculating energy consumption and predicting storage space for each configuration.…”

“…Therefore, simulation was used to define them. The previous equations from ( 1) to ( 14) and from ( 16) to (18) are included in the nonlinear integer model (OF defined in (19), and constraints defined in ( 15), ( 20), (21), and ( 22)). The results of the model are based on the values found using the shown formulas, except when there is a need for simulation for some variables.…”

The Issue of Operating Security Systems in Terms of the Impact of Electromagnetic Interference Generated Unintentionally

“…The impact of use [29], operation and power supply [30,31] conditions, including the impact of unfavorable external [32][33][34][35], and internal [36] environmental factors (e.g., low-frequency electromagnetic field) on electronic telematics [37][38][39][40] and security systems can be described through, e.g., a change in the intensity of damage to λ components making up a specific system [41,42]. Telematics and security systems and equipment operated in the container contain a large number of active and passive elements.…”

Reduction of the Information Gap Problem in Industry 4.0 Projects as a Way to Reduce Energy Consumption by the Industrial Sector

“…Green IT is an element of sustainable development and Industry 4.0 concerning the configuration of information processing systems that will soon gain dominance, especially in industry, such as the Internet of Things or blockchain [41]. It concerns the quality of decisions made as a function of knowledge about the mechanism of future investment and may translate into aspects of sustainable development such as energy consumption [42][43][44].…”