Improving Energy Efficiency in Warehouses and Distribution Centers

Building sustainable infrastructure and minimizing carbon emissions is critical to creating financially viable and environmentally responsible businesses. In the industrial sector, that means reimagining the way warehouses and distribution centers operate. From initial design to day-to-day maintenance, using innovative strategies to improve energy efficiency in warehouses and distribution centers has a significant impact on both the environment and your bottom line.

How to Improve Energy Efficiency in Warehouses and Distribution Centers

Warehouses and distribution centers are energy-intensive structures. Identifying opportunities for energy savings in such buildings is a powerful way to control costs. The following are some of the best ways to improve efficiency:   

Optimize Design

An efficiently designed site layout improves space utilization and significantly reduces your construction footprint and the associated energy costs. To achieve this, savvy facilities managers are adopting cutting-edge technologies like automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) that reclaim unused vertical space and minimize the distance traveled between operational actions. This means you can perform the same—or better—operations in smaller buildings.  

Upgrade Lighting 

Warehouses and distribution centers often use high-pressure sodium lamps (HPS) or old metal halides (MH) that cause unnecessary heating and require HVAC systems to run harder to cool the space. Choosing LED lights and integrating smart lighting controls are easy ways to lower energy costs, reduce HVAC demand, and create a more responsive, flexible building.   

Add Analytics

A smart energy management system is the key to achieving next-level energy reduction goals. Intelligent analytics is the heart of that system. 

An intelligent analytics platform continuously monitors building data and makes real-time adjustments to improve efficiency in warehouses and distribution centers. For example, lighting, heating, and cooling functions can be tailored according to variables like occupancy, time of day, season, and even anticipated weather conditions to ensure that energy is used only when and where needed. For warehouses and distribution centers that run 24/7, even small changes to reduce energy consumption can add up to big savings. 

However, analytics isn’t just about automation. With user-friendly dashboards and custom reporting capabilities, analytics software gives you the granular-level view you need to optimize operational performance and more effectively manage your building. This includes deep visibility into environmental conditions to safeguard the health and safety of workers.     

Enhance Maintenance

One of the most valuable benefits of adding analytics is the impact on building maintenance. Advanced analytics software uses historical and current data patterns to not only detect and diagnose faults, but also makes reliable predictions about future performance. You no longer have to follow an arbitrary maintenance schedule and hope you catch problems before they result in major breakdowns. Instead, you are instantly alerted when building equipment, conditions, or energy use fall out of spec—or when they are likely to. 

The productivity benefits of this enhanced maintenance approach are significant; maintenance crews can be streamlined and their work can be more targeted. But better maintenance also means better energy efficiency in warehouses and distribution centers. By detecting or predicting issues as early as possible, you can prevent waste caused by underperforming or malfunctioning equipment. 

Toward an Efficiency-focused Future

Improving energy efficiency in warehouses and distribution centers relies on the right vision and the right technologies. Buildings IOT offers intuitive and innovative solutions to address the unique needs of industrial sector buildings. From systems integration to analytics software, we give you powerful tools to transform your operation and achieve your efficiency goals. 

Buildings IOT offers state-of-the-art software and services to improve energy efficiency in warehouses and distribution centers. Contact our team of experts to learn more about what we can do for you.