Every effective energy savings plan for business or the home requires information. This information is acquired through a monitoring program to document how you use your energy. Without understanding how you consume the power you cannot effectively plan a reduction in consumption.

LED Energy Saving Light Bulbs

First some actions are easier to take than others. Switching to LED lighting for one will save money, as will setting the A/C up a point or two. Take groceries for instance a good home manage can almost tell you to the penny how much you spent on groceries every week. Business track pens, paper and other office goods to keep a line on overhead. They know the cost and how much is being used.

Power Consumption Calculation

It is necessary to keep track of all the items that goes into manufacturing a product, you just don’t spend indiscriminately. You shop for the price and do your due diligence on your supplier to evaluate their ability to deliver on time and on price. Electrical power should be accounted for in the same manner. You get a power bill it is paid but you have no idea where the power went. Your billing is based on the time of day the electrical power is being used and you are penalized if you exceed a certain threshold. Investing and understanding your energy usage is worthwhile.

Building Energy Management

Information for planning is based on data. To gather the data, real-time data that is meaningful and detailed enough for analysis. An A/C kicks on, your monitoring should be detailed enough that you can identify this event. Monitoring applications and energy management seem to evolve together. Auto controls are the most efficient at managing power. But control comes after you have collected and evaluated a volume of energy-related data. Then you will know what to invest in and where to put it.

What Devices Use the Most Electricity

But like everything else your equipment must meet your needs. You need a smartphone not a burner phone. Big differences between your home and commercial and industrial facilities. Your bill only reflects the ‘big picture’ but neglects the detail needed for planning. What costs the most to operate? In the home for all electrical usage it is the A/C, water heater and clothes dryer. For balanced power homes it is the environmental machinery, the A/C that eats the most power. But, in business we need to identify our big power consumers, these are costing the most to operate. To get the nitty-gritty you need industrial grade energy monitoring equipment that not only monitors power usage, but records and documents its usage. You don’t need to go full press but consider the following in your plan and adjust for future expansion:
• Network Compatibility. most businesses probably that run industrial machinery already use SCADA networks to control their machinery. Monitoring systems that are compatible with what ever network that you have and will have are important. Start with the basics, and make sure it is network friendly.
• Compatibility Between Components is Necessary. They do have to work together. Versatility is key. Being able to connect to a wide variety of power-related equipment is a must. You may have to run HVAC, industrial machines, lighting and other subsystems.
• The ‘Web’. Not only compatibility with inhouse networks, but internet compatibility allows for remote monitoring and control.
• Monitoring will lead to energy management. Your equipment will need to work in harmony with control and automation systems.

Energy Management Monitoring Software

Ever tested two apps that supposedly do the same thing? Take word processors. Word reigns supreme today. But back in the day there was Wordstar and Word Perfect that was also contenders, but working details differ. Well energy monitoring is the same way, some good, some not so good. But it must be able to monitor, aggregate data and produce documentation that is understandable. Other choices include cloud-based or if security is an issue in house installations. Pre-packaged or custom written. Just remember it has all got to work together.

Electrical Power Monitoring & More in Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Broomfield, Centennial, Commerce City, Englewood, Golden, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Lafayette, Littleton, Parker, Thornton, Westminster, Wheat Ridge & Greater Denver, CO | Jefferson & Gilpin County, Colorado

Monitoring is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. We ultimately want to manage our power to our benefit, savings. Advanced Electric Solutions Corp can audit your business and help you better monitor and manage your power consumption. Contact us today!