Lightapp Is Making Factories Energy-Efficient And Greener

According the the US Energy Information Administration, industrial manufacturers consume half of the world’s energy and for many of these industrial factories, energy expense is one of the highest costs. But while many manufacturers know how much material waste comes from their finished product, few actually know how to manage their energy waste.

This is what Israeli company Lightapp bases its business on. They offer an energy management solution that enables companies to see and understand how, where, when and why energy is being consumed.

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The founders of Lightapp, Elhay Farkash and Guy Peer, saw huge potential in the market when they realized that few manufacturers are managing their energy waste. The two supply chain management experts, who have previously worked at Oracle, decided to use their experience to understand energy management, giving birth to Lightapp in 2009. VP Yaron Ben-Nun explains: “It is more cost effective to reduce one megawatt, than to build a power plant that would produce [the same amount].”

Lightapp’s energy management software was created to help factories collect, organize, analyze and gain valuable insight from their energy consumption data. “Managing energy brings factories to their bottom-line savings,” Ben Nun tells NoCamels.

Making half of the world’s energy consumption smarter

For factories to know their bottom line savings, they need to be connected to the cost of everything they do. According to Ben Nun, “Lightapp brings customers five to 14 percent reduction in energy.” Israeli companies Tnuva dairy products, Starplast plastic factories, Jafora soft drink manufacturers and the Israeli Airport Authority are all customers.

Lightapp’s solutions start by analyzing the manufacturer’s efficiency of equipment, using data collected from their software. They then recommend procedures, habits, and operational methods that can be improved to lower energy costs. The three engines behind the solutions are the data collector, the user interface, and the ability to analyze correlations between different factors. All of the information is gathered to recognize anomalies, leakages and inefficiencies and show management how to optimize their factories to save both energy and money.

A bottom-up solution

Lightapp differentiate themselves by starting bottom-up, allowing them to get familiar with every aspect of the businesses, from the production line to the manager. They understand that energy can fall between multiple disciplines, from the maintenance of equipment to efficiency of workers, and they attempt to connect the dots. Ben Nun explains that energy management can only be effective when there is communication between the different levels, and when everyone is involved.

Currently, Lightapp has 41 clients in Israel using their software and consultants, including Coca-Cola Israel, and ATG and are in the midst of penetrating the United States market with a newly opened Atlanta branch. They are also working with partners in Mexico and are are looking for partners in the Asian and European markets.

“Aside from the financial benefit that is gained by using Lightapp’s services, the impact on the environment is immense,” says Ben Nun. “If the industrial sector consumes less energy, that means that power plants need to produce less energy, thus generating less pollution and greenhouse gasses.”

Photo: Oil And Gas Industry by Bigstock