Minimising Embodied Product Energy to support energy efficient manufacturing

Green sources of power generation and efficient management of energy demand are among the greatest challenges facing manufacturing businesses. A significant proportion of energy used in manufacturing is currently generated through fossil fuels. Therefore in the foreseeable future, the rationalisation of energy consumption still provides the greatest opportunity for the reduction of greenhouse gases. A novel approach to energy efficient manufacturing is proposed through modelling the detailed breakdown of energy required to produce a single product. This approach provides greater transparency on energy inefficiencies throughout a manufacturing system and enables a 20-50% reduction of energy consumption through combined improvements in production and product design. (C) 2010 CIRP.