Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Abstract

Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Among the recommendations presented in this study, the following are suggested for implementation at the Nordic level:  Designing a concept for an energy efficiency award campaign.  Developing a Nordic benchmarking tool on energy consumption levels and savings potential.  Reviewing existing calculation methods for energy saving potential and establishing a standard to be spread as best practice among financing institutions.  Developing a joint Nordic database for energy audit data-this could potentially be combined with the benchmarking tool. These measures would best support national level actors in each country to implement the Directive. The effective organisation of other measures between national organisations and municipal/regional/industry association levels will differ in each Nordic country. It is suggested that national energy agencies review the recommendations and outline a suggestion to be confirmed with relevant actors on the roles that each party should take, including who should carry responsibility for each recommendation. While this study has identified numerous barriers to implementing the Directive, the positive outcome is that many good practices already exist. Furthermore, all parties involved in this study, which also include those stakeholders key to implementing the recommendations, were motivated to improve energy efficiency among SMEs. The potential has been widely recognised, now it is just a question of taking action.

Energy Efficiency Management in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Current Situation, Case Studies and Best Practices

“…In our effort to characterize the identified SME sectors in terms of relative levels of energy-use-related key performance indicators, the following aspects were considered [13,57]: The relevant indicators are shown in Table 3. In order to identify the energy-intensive SME sectors which should be prioritized in improving their energy efficiency, it is crucial to have an indication of the final energy amounts they consume.…”

“…It is well known that energy efficiency is not of high priority within SMEs, and energy management tools are scarcely applied [57]. Energy efficiency improvement investments in SMEs are quite small.…”

An Advanced Decision Support Platform in Energy Management to Increase Energy Efficiency for Small and Medium Enterprises

“…On the other hand, some studies propose various approaches to minimize energy consumption. Some studies consider that a successful key for energy efficiency programs is the outreach of all SMEs personal: staff, employees, customers, guests [28], or energy audits [29,30]. However, the optimization of the operating parameters represents a no-cost strategy which can be implemented by SMEs to achieve real energy efficiency [31,32].…”

Eficiencia energética en sistemas eléctricos de micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas del sector de alimentos. Simulación para optimizar costos de consumo de energía eléctrica

“…En efecto, el consumo de energía en las MIPYMES es uno de los factores más influyentes en sus costos de producción, debido a que estas demandan energía en las diversas operaciones que realizan, tales como: trituración, molienda, centrifugado, filtración, cocción, esterilización, pasteurización, secado, deshidratación, liofilización, refrigeración, climatización, empaquetado, entre otros. De manera que, el ahorro energético en dichas operaciones cobra gran importancia para incrementar la productividad y competitividad de estas unidades económicas (Patterson, 1996;Calderón et al, 2011;Bröckl et al, 2014;Trianni et al, 2016;Madrigal et al, 2018). Sin embargo, las MIPYMES no cuentan con una estructura (personal y recursos financieros) centrado en la eficiencia energética de sus operaciones, aspecto que ocasiona la falta de aprovechamiento de estas oportunidades de ahorro energético (Giacone et al, 2008).…”