Auditing and analysis of energy consumption of an industrial site in Morocco

•Detailed analysis of energy use in an industrial site in Morocco.•New method of improving energy efficiency for the interior lighting.•Harmonic treatment using a simulation program.•Economic and environmental evaluation of proposed actions.

Presently, the industrial sector is responsible for 21% of energy consumption in Morocco. Fully aware about the challenge of reducing energy consumption and related CO2 emissions by industries, Moroccan authorities have legislated under the new law (n° 47-09 related to energy efficiency) the obligation of energy audit in Moroccan industries. In such a context, this paper is a Level II energy audit (conforming to ASHRAE classification) performed for an industrial site based in Fez (Morocco) specialized in producing and commercializing cattle feed. A detailed analysis of the characteristics of the energy use has identified a mismanagement of the electrical energy. Through the improvement of the DPF (displacement power factor) to a value of 0.98, it was shown that the factory can save about 52758.74 US$ annually. An improvement of energy efficiency of the interior lighting was also performed. The proposed action concerned the voltage regulation and has the potential of reducing 13.6% of the lighting energy consumption with the mitigation of approximately 27 533 of CO2/year. Furthermore, harmonic treatment by installing passive filters for VSD (variable speed drives) was carried out. The energy savings related to the harmonic treatment were evaluated to be 26 760 kWh/year.