By: Wesley Govender - Digital Power Services at Schneider Electric

In the fast-paced and highly competitive Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, the efficiency and reliability of manufacturing processes are crucial; however, poor power quality can adversely affect the plant. Conducting a power quality audit within the high-volume and low-margin CPG manufacturing environment serves as a vital tool that assesses the condition of electricity flowing through a building’s electrical distribution system.

Poor power quality can cause equipment damage and unnecessary electricity charges, affecting the bottom line and plant availability. It also poses safety risks, such as increased fire hazards from overheating cables. Additionally, poor power quality can negatively impact power factor correction and other equipment, leading to serious damage and significant impacts on the plant.

As industries move towards green energy and environmental efficiency, it's also crucial to balance the benefits of modern devices with the need to maintain power quality. Modern equipment like LED lighting and Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) contribute to power quality issues due to their non-linear loads. While these devices enhance energy efficiency and automation, they introduce problems such as harmonics and power quality disturbances.

Ensuring the advantages of energy efficiency

Increased digitisation and the proliferation of these devices in factories can lead to issues that need to be managed. Monitoring and conducting power quality audits are essential to uncover and address these problems, ultimately ensuring that the advantages of energy-efficient technologies are realised without compromising power quality.

A power quality audit is not just a box-ticking exercise; it's a comprehensive evaluation that provides invaluable insights into the energy and power profile of a site. By conducting this audit, businesses can identify potential optimisation opportunities and uncover any lurking power quality issues that could undermine their efficiency efforts.

Think of the power quality audit as laying the foundation for a robust energy strategy. It forms the basis for further actions, such as implementing permanent monitoring solutions and analytics. These tools are essential for gaining long-term data and insights into the site's energy and power characteristics, enabling informed decision-making and continuous improvement.

In essence, a power quality audit is the first step towards a smarter, more efficient future. It ensures that energy efficiency initiatives are built on solid ground, paving the way for sustainable growth and operational excellence.

Mitigating the impact of harmonics

Power quality audits are also at the centre of CPG facilities’ efforts to mitigate the impact of harmonics, which is essential for two main reasons:

Firstly, there is the need for compliance with regulations. Even if a facility isn't currently experiencing problems from poor power quality, many organisations seek to align with initiatives aimed at carbon neutrality, ISO 50 001 accreditation and various ESG benefits. This entails ensuring that their processes do not negatively impact the surrounding electrical infrastructure. Compliance is not just about avoiding penalties; it is about contributing to a sustainable future and maintaining a positive reputation.

Secondly, there is a need to address active issues, such as unexplained production losses and other inefficiencies that can often be traced back to power quality problems. Awareness is the first step to resolving these challenges. This can be achieved through a power quality audit, a walkthrough, or by installing a monitoring system.

Companies like Schneider Electric offer hardware and software solutions that can monitor and quantify power quality on-site, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of any mitigating initiatives. 

Schneider Electric leverages the following activities and uses these tools or methodologies to conduct power quality audits for customers:

• Non-Intrusive Assessments: Using non-intrusive methods to evaluate the installed electrical equipment. This ensures minimal disruption to operations during the audit.
• Data Collection and Analysis: Collecting power quality data from the site and analysing it to determine its adequacy for making recommendations.
• Risk Identification: The audits focus on identifying technical risks and assessing the financial impact of the existing power quality strategy.
• Recommendations: Based on their findings, Schneider Electric provides detailed recommendations for modernisation, maintenance, and spare parts programmes.
• Tools and Expertise: Schneider Electric uses advanced diagnostic tools and software to measure and analyse power quality, ensuring accurate and actionable insights.

Ultimately, it all starts with awareness through power quality audits. Considering the abovementioned factors, the benefits of conducting power quality audits are clear and are a prudent route to take for businesses that want to improve efficiency, reliability and sustainability, ensuring they are well-prepared for the future.