Increasingly, companies are waking up to the challenges of delivering sustainable objectives. From emissions trading to proving cost reductions – businesses need reliable and accurate information.
The first step in any corporate energy management programme is to determine total energy usage and spend. This is not only necessary to set realistic goals. It is also critical to document the success of the programme both internally and for external stakeholders.
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| Smart metering technologies allow companies to establish true patterns of energy usage |
But identifying the amount of energy being used is not as easy as it sounds. Historically, energy meters have been manually read at variable times. This method of data collection is time consuming, costly and susceptible to human error. Using a central database of utility consumption can help.
If businesses want in-depth, accurate energy usage information, smart metering is the way forward. By recording energy consumption on a regular basis, every half hour for instance, new metering technologies allow the user to establish a true pattern of energy usage and help identify any unusual trends.
With this information, businesses can identify quick wins to reduce electricity, gas and water consumption, such as stopping water leaks. Metering also highlights malfunctioning equipment, areas of wastage, unusual peak loads and unauthorised usage. In trials with major multi-site businesses one smart metering solution detected errors of over 60% on some gas bills and nearly 50% on some electricity demands. There is, of course, a cost associated with this type of technology, but for as little as a £20,000 investment, metering can produce savings of £100,000 in one year.
After clarifying energy consumption, the next step in an energy management programme is bill validation. Often, when companies are asked for the last year’s energy bills, the request is often met by a stunned silence. But it’s a worthwhile process and the facts speak for themselves. Through a process of bill validation we helped one major bank identify and recover in excess of £4m over five years.
To improve energy efficiency, the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requires all buildings exceeding 10,764 sq ft (1000 m2) to externally display an energy performance certificate. In the UK, the target deadline is April 2008 with countries in Europe following close behind. This deadline must surely focus our minds on areas such as smart metering or AMR (Automatic Monitoring and Reading) as the trade terms it.
Energy prices are going to be volatile for some time. Sustainability issues are only going to get stronger. And soon an energy programme will be seen as being a benchmark of a company in the way that ISO14001 and other similar programmes are.
If you would like more information on energy management, please contact Andrew Bray, Head of Energy Services, EMEA, on +44 (0) 7966 563 356 or andrew.bray@jci.com.
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