Why is Energy Monitoring Important?

Energy monitoring or energy saving means to control and conserve energy in buildings. It involves gauging energy utilisation and collecting of data, as well as finding an opportunity to save energy, along with approximating how much energy should be conserved. Analyse your metre records to measure habitual energy wastage. Also, inspect the energy you might save by replacing lighting equipment or by improving your building’s insulation.

Many people use energy monitoring as energy-saving efforts that focus on proper utilisation of the existing buildings and equipment. This method limits behavioural energy saving aspects by encouraging folks to consume less power by raising awareness. Utility companies also try to ensure that their sources of power and stations generate sufficient power to meet consumer demand.

Why Energy Monitoring Is Important At Organisational Level

The emphasis for energy saving comes from the global requirement to do it. Global energy monitoring affects energy emissions targets, prices, and legislation. The global need to save energy reduces the damage caused by humans to planet, Earth. It also reduces our reliance on the limited fossil fuels in supply.

Energy monitoring ways to control and reduce your organisation’s energy consumption allows you to:

• Cut costs
• Lowering the cost implications of carbon taxes and its carbon footprint to support a green, sustainable environment
• Reduce carbon emissions and ecological damage caused
• Cut risk – more energy consumption leads to price hikes or supply shortages which may gravely change your productivity.
• Energy monitoring reduces demand for more electricity which you can control and make it predictable.

How to Monitor Energy Consumption

1. The modern energy data compiling approach is through the installation of interval metre systems which mechanically calculate and record used energy at normal intervals. Find and quantify power saving opportunities through the meter records. The easiest, energy-saving prospects require little or no resources.
2. Many commercial buildings have advanced technology that ought to be controlling their HVAC systems effectively, but the management slacks on energy conservation methods. You will find unnecessary cooling or heating in an empty building during the night and even on weekends. Encourage staff to switch off unutilized equipment during off-peak hours each day.
3. Use the interval data to compute the energy (in kWh) consumed every week. Estimate the amount of wasted power by equipment that should be turned off and calculate an estimation of the wasted energy each week. Alternatively, encourage employees to always ensure that all equipment and lighting is switched off.
4. Target energy saving opportunities that entail upgrading your equipment or insulation systems
5. Track your progress. Once action to save energy has been achieved, find out how effective these measures have impacted your bills and if there has been a positive change. Energy saving from behavioural changes such as people switching off their computers after work needs constant attention to ensure effectiveness.
6. Investment in new equipment should also follow with the predicted energy saving monitoring.
7. Corrected, faulty, or control equipment timer-settings should be regularly checked for optimal performance. Events like power cuts can cause previously reset timers to revert to factory settings – Monitor your energy consumption patterns to avoid such problems.

Monitoring your energy utilisation is a continuous process. Keep analysing power records regularly to confirm that everything is normalised. It is expected that at times, equipment breaks down or become redundant and that people may occasionally forget the power saving habits you embarked on in the past. So keep monitoring your energy data to ensure that everything is in place and that wastefulness is at its minimal levels. Energy saving will go a long way to ensure general costs are greatly reduced. John write for Substation Safety a website that helps with electrical safety.