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Identifying & Managing Significant Energy Use5 / 12

Significant Energy Uses (SEU) Analysis

Which processes/equipment use most energy; Pareto 80-20 rule.

10 min read · Jacob Willis, Net Zero Lead · Last reviewed July 2026


Not all energy uses are equal. A small number usually dominate consumption, and focusing effort there delivers most of the savings. Identifying these significant energy uses is a central requirement of ISO 50001 and a powerful principle in its own right.

In this lesson

  • 01What an SEU is
  • 02The Pareto principle
  • 03Conducting an energy review
  • 04Significance by consumption and by opportunity
  • 05Understanding the SEUs
  • 06Focusing resources
  • 07The ongoing nature
  • 08Sources and further reading