Increasing energy efficiency across our manufacturing sites is just one of the tactics to reach our decarbonisation targets. Our partner Powerstar helped us reduce electricity consumption and improve reliability at our brick factory in Hartlebury.
Energy efficiency at Hartlebury
Whilst all our brick and roof tile factories operate on a zero-carbon emission renewable electricity tariff, reducing our total electricity consumption through efficiency measures plays an important role in improving energy security and manufacturing resilience.
Optimising supply
Powerstar manufacture products and solutions in the UK, that provide resilience against power disruption and intelligently manage multiple on-site power flows. Wienerberger commissioned Powerstar to replace an ageing electricity transformer at the Hartlebury brickworks in Worcestershire. The Hartlebury factory had been experiencing energy inefficiencies due to high and volatile voltage supply. The voltage issue was causing inefficiencies in fixed speed motors and shortened the lifespan of electrical equipment. Powerstar installed a new low-loss, efficient transformer fitted with a patented voltage optimisation system. This intervention delivered a substantial 339,700kWh reduction in annual electricity consumption and reduced the volatility of voltage supply to +/- 4V in 2021.
Reducing waste
We aim to move beyond the efficient use of natural resources toward keeping resources in circulation and eliminating waste. Following this project, the Powerstar installation team removed the transformer oil for recycling, and we recycled the old transformer as scrap metal, which is standard practice across Wienerberger sites.
Following the success of the installation, Wienerberger is reviewing whether this solution could be implemented to increase energy efficiency at other factories.
