With UK energy prices having risen 80% in the past five years, and forecast to at least double over the next decade, it is imperative that everyone proactively manages their energy usage and identifies any areas of waste. Craig Needham of e-fficient Energy explains
Introducing energy saving initiatives is just the first step on the journey towards energy efficiency. Unless you are measuring and monitoring the actual energy being used there is no way of really determining whether what is being done is being effective or not.
Carefully measuring the electricity being used for example, will give you the information to make the correct decisions, identifying those areas where most electricity is being used, and where the greater savings can be achieved. Failing to measure usage results in wasted resources, wasted time and wasted expenditure.
M&T systems
Installing a simple monitoring and targeting (M&T) system enables usage to be measured and managed, giving you the tools to reduce usage. The latest M&T systems are remarkably cost effective and being viewed as more and more important in the armoury to reduce energy consumption, helping companies achieve their CRC targets, reduce their energy costs and reduce their carbon footprints.
M&T utilises energy smart meters and sub-meters that gather consumption data for remote reporting and billing data – collating it in a graphical format to be viewed on PCs, tablets or smartphones. Simple systems can give you a clear picture of a building’s baseloads and real time usage characteristics accurately measuring base load and energy consumption trends, but by adding further sub-meters there is virtually no limit to the degree of detail that is possible to be measured, monitored and managed.
Pretty much whatever you wish can be measured with M&T technology whether it is electricity, gas, or water, and with sub-metering one can drill down to understand the real time usage down to individual equipment. And of course by being able to measure usage one can then effectively reduce it.
Functionality in M&T systems vary and key is one that is simple to navigate, with clear usable reporting. How often have you heard of companies investing in new systems only to hear that they have hardly been used because they have proved too complicated to set-up and operate.
eM&T systems
e-fficient Energy’s latest intelligent eM&T system features a simple Microsoft Excel reporting interface, designed to help create bespoke reports simply – giving the user the reports that are required to manage energy usage in the most appropriate format.
Designed with the needs of the end user at the fore, e-fficient Energy’s eM&T systems have proven to be straight forward to set-up and run, with the bespoke Excel report writing facility ensuring that the end results (clear, simple and relevant reports) are easy to create and update.
The eM&T systems can be scaled to match the requirements of all sizes of organisations and they allow cost effective expansion as business needs change and the need for further interrogation of energy usage increases.
eM&T systems now form a key element within energy reduction procedures and initiatives, often delivering quick wins in relation to utility savings. With real time monitoring (accessible remotely on smartphones), measuring and monitoring can be done 24/7 and can respond and address any excesses as and when they occur.
Bill verification
Access to this accurate usage information can also allow simple and effective bill verification – not only to ensure that the charges from utility suppliers are accurate – but also to allow owners of multi-occupancy properties to easily apportion energy bills and focus activities onto high users.
M&T systems are a critical low cost tool in reducing energy usage – if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
e-fficient Energy
T: 01909 569 016
