Monitoring the use of energy such as Electriciy and Gas can take many forms. In its simplest form, it involves looking at the utility statement each month and comparing this with previous statements. In a business, there is often so much else going on that seems more important than keeping tabs on energy use. However, with the rising price of fossil fuels, and subsequently the rise in energy prices, more and more organisations are looking to cut costs on energy wherever possible- and for good reason; It is said that 27% reductions can be achieved by minimising energy wastage alone1.
Eview offers an energy monitoring product which monitors energy usage at a circuit level, giving a granular view of energy usage within a business or organisation. To find out more, read below or skip straight to our Ecoview product page.
The text below gives an introduction to the different approaches to utilities monitoring that are currently available to businesses looking to reduce energy wastage in their organisation.
Smart Meters
Most monitoring solutions on the market rely on the pulse output from “smart meters”. Although a lot of talk has hyped up the status of these meters, they are far from smart. In their basic form they have a pulse output connector which allows them to transmit the meter reading to an external source each half hour. This external source may be the utilities supplier which allows it to produce an accurate bill at the end of the month or whatever period the client requests. In the future it may also be used to relay information back to the meter such as the current load on the grid. This could mean that appliances could become “energy intelligent” by consuming less energy at times when the grid is nearing peak capacity. HOWEVER, as yet this seems quite a way off, as the utilities providers first have to install these smart meters into each home and business across the UK; that’s after they start getting some real support from the government as the total capital cost burden cannot be taken by consumers or utilities providers themselves2.
Sub Metering
Once the smart meter has been installed, an organisation could then look at an aftermarket product to aggregate the utilites usage data and produce a graph showing energy usage over a particular time period. This is the first step in realising energy cost savings. However it falls far short of a complete solution to identifying exactly where energy is being used and wasted. If there is a “spike” of electricity usage on a Tuesday afternoon, Facilities managers need to know where this is occurring to then work out why, and resolve the situation.
Enter “sub metering” which essentially involves the installation of smart meters in the sub circuits of the main energy feed into an organisation. So each building on a premises could have a sub meter which would then allow the analysis of energy usage on a sub circuit level. This is the second step in realising energy cost savings as it can identify the broad area within the premises that energy is being used an wasted. However, it still falls short of the granularity required to affect real user behavioural change.
Ecoview Monitoring
Unlike the previous metering solutions described, Ecoview monitors at a circuit level to really drill down into energy usage and identify exactly which appliances are using and wasting energy. The Ecoview solution is also the only retrofit model on the market which will monitor up to over 50 circuits in one location, and more in other locations if required. To find out more about Ecoview, please see the products page.
Footnotes
- Gensler Architects. 2006. Faulty Towers – Is the British Office Sustainable? p.5. [↩]
- http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/opinion/opinion/12246-us-is-driving-smart-meter-market-growth-as-uk-lags-behind.html [↩]
