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Energy Management for Small and Medium Sized Manufacturers

factory worker
DeBourgh manufacturing, locker welding

Finding energy savings starts by making energy management a priority.

Sustaining those savings and driving further reductions requires building energy management into your company’s culture.

ENERGY STAR can help you get started regardless of the size of your company.

Our small and medium manufacturer (SMM) resources are designed to help you:


Understand the Basics of Successful Energy Management


Why do some companies save more than others? One reason is how they approach energy management.

Companies that follow a few basic principles achieve greater savings.

If you are serious about reducing energy use, you can apply these principles and save!

worker in factory

Make energy a priority
Start saving energy by making it a priority for everyone in the company.

Assign responsibility
Someone has to be responsible for energy. Initially, this might be a designated energy champion. Over time, responsibility can be expanded to a team of people.

Set a goal
Goals create clear objectives for energy management activities. Need help? Take the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry and reduce your energy intensity by 10%.

Look beyond first cost
With energy efficiency, you get what you pay for. Recognize that energy-efficient equipment and products may cost more upfront but will save more money and energy in the long run.

Get with the program
Energy management is more than doing just a few energy projects. It is a commitment to manage energy as an on-going function of your business. Successful energy management sustains savings and integrates projects with:

  • Understanding energy use
  • Operations and maintenance
  • Behavioral changes
  • Tracking and benchmarking energy use
  • Communicating to employees

While all of this might seem like at lot, it’s really just a matter of scale.