For chemical industry project leaders and operations and maintenance teams, energy management is no longer just a sustainability initiative. It is a direct lever for reducing operating costs, improving reliability, and increasing competitiveness.

In the article Driving Down Energy Intensity Through Energy Management Systems, Don Fregelette explains how modern Energy Management Systems (EMS) help plants move beyond simply collecting energy data to continuously optimize energy use across the facility.

Why Energy Management Systems Matter

Energy costs often represent a significant portion of operating expenses in chemical plants. A well-developed EMS can reduce a facility’s Energy Intensity Index by 5% to 8% by connecting measurement, analytics, control, and decision-making into a continuous improvement loop.

Rather than functioning as a standalone software package, an EMS integrates instrumentation, control systems, communications infrastructure, analytics, and operational workflows to provide both plant-wide visibility and unit-level performance metrics. This enables organizations to identify inefficiencies, prioritize improvement opportunities, and quantify their financial impact.

What an Effective EMS Delivers

The article highlights several practical benefits of a mature EMS:

• Real-time visibility into energy consumption and utility system performance.
• Benchmarking tools that compare actual performance against design expectations and best-performing operations.
• Analytics that identify energy losses, equipment degradation, and optimization opportunities.
• Decision-support capabilities that help operations and maintenance teams prioritize corrective actions based on business value.
• Faster identification and implementation of efficiency improvements.

One example highlighted a specialty chemical producer that reduced energy costs by 2.6% using operational analytics to predict process degradation and improve planning decisions.

Fired Heater Optimization: A Practical Example

Fired heaters and boilers are among the largest energy consumers in refining and petrochemical facilities. The article demonstrates how improved measurement and control strategies can help facilities move away from conservative operating practices that sacrifice efficiency for stability.

By implementing:

• Mass-based fuel measurement
• Real-time fuel energy calculations
• Oxygen and carbon monoxide monitoring
• Feedforward air-fuel ratio control

…operators gain a much clearer view of combustion performance and can safely operate closer to optimal conditions.

The article describes how one facility identified a heater operating 3% to 5% below achievable efficiency because the existing control strategy did not adequately address fuel composition changes. Improved visibility through an EMS helped quantify the opportunity and justify corrective action.

Building the Business Case

One of the most valuable themes for project, operations, and maintenance leaders is the importance of quantifying economic impact.

The article shares examples of organizations using structured assessments, advanced process control, real-time optimization, and EMS deployments to deliver measurable business results. One polyolefins complex reduced steam system losses, saving approximately $5 million annually and contributing to more than $30 million in operating expense reductions over four years. Another producer implemented projects that delivered approximately $15 million in annual benefits while significantly reducing emissions.

Looking Ahead

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are extending EMS capabilities from monitoring and advisory functions toward more adaptive optimization. Future applications are expected to incorporate dynamic energy pricing, cross-unit optimization, and scheduling decisions that align energy-intensive activities with forecasted conditions and resource availability.

Next Step

For chemical industry project managers, plant managers, operations leaders, maintenance managers, and energy teams, this article provides practical insight into how modern Energy Management Systems can reduce energy intensity, improve asset performance, strengthen reliability, and deliver measurable financial returns.

Read the full article to learn how leading chemical and petrochemical producers are using measurement, analytics, advanced control, and optimization technologies to turn energy management into a competitive advantage. Visit the Measurement Instrumentation for the Chemical Industry section on Emerson.com to learn more ways to optimize production and improve safety, reliability, and sustainability in chemical operations using advanced measurement technologies.