This guide is for owners, plant heads and finance teams at ceramic tile and sanitaryware plants. The same approach works for other energy-heavy plants — foundries, forging, glass, chemicals. It explains where energy is lost, how the penalties work, what to meter first, and why the data belongs in SAP Business One.
Where the energy goes — and where it is lost
In a tile plant, the big users are kilns, spray dryers, ball mills, presses and compressors. Waiting for the monthly electricity or gas invoice hides the waste inside them:
- Idle motors running between batches or during breaks.
- Compressors running at full load when demand is low.
- Load peaks when several big machines start together.
- Poor power factor that the electricity company charges for.
Penalties, explained simply
Most industrial electricity connections have a contracted maximum demand — the most power you agreed to draw at any one time. Go over it, even for a short period, and the electricity company charges a penalty. Power factor measures how efficiently you use the power you draw; a low power factor also costs extra on many tariffs. In plain words, these are fines for drawing too much power at once or using it inefficiently. Both are operational problems — they happen on the shop floor, minute by minute — not accounting problems, which is why the monthly bill comes too late to fix them.
What to meter first
- The main incoming supply, so you see the plant's total load against your contracted demand.
- Kilns and spray dryers — the largest users.
- Compressors, mills and presses.
- Gas or fuel meters on kilns and dryers, where available.
Start with the few meters that cover most of the cost. More can be added later.
What the on-site meters and gateway actually do
Smart sub-meters measure energy used, power factor and load. IoT gateways — small devices that read the meters and send the data securely — show live use by line or department on a dashboard. Alerts fire when the load nears your contracted demand, so the plant can shed non-essential load in time. Idle-hour motor use becomes visible too.
We do not promise a fixed percentage cut for every kiln — results depend on how much idle waste there is and on your tariff. As one example, a metal foundry client that linked live furnace energy meters to SAP measured 15% savings on its annual bills (see projects). Your result will depend on your plant.
Why SAP belongs in the loop
Energy in a separate dashboard does not change product cost. Mapping meter readings to SAP Business One production orders and cost centres lets you see energy per square metre, per batch or per product. That answers questions a bill never can: which product is really profitable after energy, which kiln is drifting, and whether a night shift uses more power per square metre than a day shift.
That is the same pattern as our ceramic tile SAP playbook, where energy is Phase 2 after barcode stores and dispatch.
The first 90 days
- Audit. We review your bills, tariff, main loads and existing meters, by video call or on site.
- Meters and gateways. Install meters on the main loads and connect them through IoT gateways.
- Dashboard and alerts. Live load against contracted demand, with alerts to the right people.
- SAP link. Readings mapped to SAP cost centres and production orders.
First automation is typically live in 60–90 days.
AI layer (later)
Once readings and SAP production completions exist, models can highlight the times of day when you risk exceeding your maximum-demand limit, and machines whose consumption is drifting. Start with meters and SAP — not cameras. See AI and ML on SAP Business One and predictive maintenance on SAP Business One.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need SAP Business One to start energy monitoring?
No. Meters, gateways and the dashboard work on their own. Linking to SAP Business One is what turns energy into product cost, so we recommend it once SAP is in place.
How much will we save?
We do not promise a fixed percentage. Savings depend on idle waste, how often you cross your maximum demand, and your tariff. The audit shows where the losses are.
Is this only for ceramic plants?
No. The same approach works for foundries, forging, glass, chemicals and any plant where energy is a large cost.
Which meters and gateways do you use?
We work with standard smart meters and IoT gateways, and reuse existing meters where they can be read. We confirm the choice during the audit.
Related: IoT and energy monitoring linked to SAP Business One · SAP Business One for ceramic tile manufacturers · manufacturing AI use cases.
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