The present study treats the optimization process for a non-linear grinding system with dual time delay, mainly from the energetic viewpoint. To this end, the stability of the grinding system is investigated first with regard to the grinding wheel rotation speed. The concept of grinding energy density is newly proposed as the primary figure of merit and this quantity is evaluated at various stable and limit cycle conditions. The computational results show that simple monotonic trend in energy density is observed under stable conditions, whilst rather complicated behaviors can appear when the conditions are associated with limit cycle oscillations. Finally, the relations between the vibration amplitude and the energy density and their implications on the engineering decision/compromise are discussed.