The industry sector has a significant responsibility for the depletion of fossil fuels and emission of carbon dioxide. Thus, several initiatives have been implemented by the industry sector to mitigate those issues. One initiative corresponds to the implementation of energy efficiency strategies. In particular, the food industry is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, and the food demand is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Therefore, developing energy efficiency strategies for this particular industrial sector is crucial. This paper investigates the different opportunities for energy efficiency in the food industry. It first provides a brief overview of the various food industries and related energy consumption. Then, the different options for energy efficiency in the thermal and electric sector are discussed. New trends and opportunities, arising from industry 4.0 and demand response, are also presented.

This paper evaluates the energy efficiency in the bakery industry toward competitiveness and sustainability through energy audits that were carried out on six bakeries located in Quito, Ecuador. Firstly, an initial meeting was held. After this, an energy survey was carried out in all areas of the bakeries. The information of the energy consumption of the facilities was collected. This was based on electricity bills, power data, equipment usage time, habits, and monthly consumption. With the energy balances, the critical points were identified, resulting in the baking process and the production activity, as those with the highest energy consumption within each establishment. Subsequently, with the indicator of electrical energy consumed per unit produced, the energy consumption by production processes and the bakery’s total energy consumption were determined. Several improvement proposals were generated for the bakery industry based on the results. Finally, it is concluded that the consumption of electrical energy in the bakery industry in Quito is efficient when compared to other bakeries, since they use less energy per unit of mass processed to produce products.

Industries in different sectors are addressing the emission reductions of their processes. Several energy efficiency proposals have been developed by researchers. However, the complexity of most industrial sectors makes it difficult for modelers, businesses, and policymakers to appreciate and realize the full potential for efficiency-driven energy savings in specific industries. Thus, this paper studies the energy efficiency potentials within a vehicle store in Quito, Ecuador. Data on power consumption, operating hours, and consumption were recorded for each inventory item. The workshop was identified as a problem area when the data were analyzed by agency action areas. It is the part of the company with the most machinery and the most operational hours. Finally, proposals for energy efficiency were developed and examined using the internal rate of return and net present value. The proposals with the best applicability were specified using these two indications, resulting in the changing of lights, the use of a timer for the compressor, and the reduction of pump usage time, and lastly, the energy performance indicator and the energy use intensity of the building were calculated.