Fraunhofer Energy AllianceWith the introduction and use of the DIN EN ISO 50001 EnMS, companies are obligated to provide evidence of the increase in energy efficiency through suitable measures. For this purpose, company-, site- or processspecific indicators are usually defined, which are formed and analyzed in the companies. The aim of the indicators is to provide a meaningful assessment of future changes with regard to energy use and consumption. For this purpose, the definition of reference processes or periods is also elementary.
In contrast to conventional energy indicators, the newly developed VDI Guideline 4663 for the efficiency evaluation of technical processes enables the user to create an indicator with reference to a physically based limit value. In this way, users or companies that have already achieved an advanced level of energy efficiency can make a well-founded statement about the effort and benefit required to further increase energy efficiency. This enables a direct conclusion to be drawn about the technical and financial effort required for process optimization corresponding measures.
The use of VDI Guideline 4663 as a limit value for energy evaluation is particularly interesting in the context of energy audits, which have been carried out in accordance with DIN EN 16247-1 [DIN 16247] since the introduction of the Energy Services Act (EDL-G) [EDL-G3], since the guideline can be used to identify the limits of optimization.