Industry
Commercial electricity for light manufacturing
Motor-driven process load with meaningful power factor and demand exposure.
Light manufacturing typically run a moderate to high load factor, which means supply price and contract timing carry most of the controllable cost. Motor-driven process load with meaningful power factor and demand exposure.
Production-shift shaped with a dip at break. Motor-driven load, which is where power factor penalties and compressed air waste show up.
Illustrative shape, not measured data. It shows the pattern this kind of operation tends to follow, which is why its bill behaves the way it does. Your real profile comes from your own interval data, and it is the only version that can produce a number.
What the federal building survey says
No survey figure for light manufacturing. The federal building survey covers commercial buildings and leaves out manufacturing and industrial plants entirely, so there is no comparable per-square-foot figure to show. Process load, not floor area, drives a factory bill, which is why the work here starts from your bill and your demand readings.
What drives the load
- Process motors and drives
- Compressed air
- Process heating and cooling
- Material handling
- Facility HVAC and lighting
The trap this industry falls into
Motor-heavy sites frequently run a power factor below the tariff threshold and pay a penalty for it every month without anyone reading the line item. Compressed air is separately the most commonly oversized and most leak-prone system on a manufacturing floor.
What to actually do
- Read the power factor line on the bill and compare it to the tariff threshold
- Survey compressed air for leaks and inappropriate end uses
- Check whether variable frequency drives are installed where load varies
- Review the demand ratchet against the annual production cycle
Which half of the bill to attack
A commercial bill splits into supply, which a competitive supplier can price where a competitive market exists, and delivery, demand, fixed charges and riders, which stay regulated whichever supplier you use. Load factor decides which half is worth your attention, and for light manufacturing the answer is usually clear.
At a moderate to high load factor, consumption is steady and there is comparatively little peak to attack. That pushes the controllable cost toward the supply side: the rate, the contract structure and above all the timing of the renewal. For an operation like this, a contract that expires unmanaged is usually the most expensive single event in the year.
That does not make the regulated half irrelevant — rate schedule fit and billing accuracy still apply — but it does mean the sequence is different. Get the contract calendar right first.
The mechanics behind this: load factor, demand charges and rate schedule fit.
What we need to give you a real answer
- 12 months of bills including power factor
- Peak kW by month
- Production schedule and seasonality
- Motor and compressor inventory
The item that most often turns a vague conversation into a specific finding is twelve months of peak kW. A single bill shows what you paid; twelve months of demand readings show the shape that caused it, and the shape is where the recoverable money is.
Send one recent bill. We compute the supply, delivery and demand split for your account and tell you which of the levers above is actually worth your time.