Using Real-Time Energy Management Systems | An Expert Guide
How To Use Real-Time Energy Management Systems
The term "real time" is tossed about frequently in the digital age, so much so that it's easy to gloss over. However, when it comes to monitoring energy use, collecting data in real time is pivotal to informing impactful decisions to accomplish tasks like reducing energy wastage.
Below is your guide to how real time energy management systems can benefit any building, residential or commercial, and support emissions reduction and lower energy costs. We'll also explain how IoT sensors are a vital piece of the puzzle for discovering valuable energy performance insights.
What Are Energy Management Systems?
An energy monitoring system is a digital solution that tracks a host of key performance indicators (KPIs) that include:
Power Output
Energy Leak and Sinkhole Detection
Energy Cost
Energy management systems can also deliver highly granular insights, depending on the solution. For example, the best energy management software can decipher usage down to the individual appliances or rooms of a building, making it very useful to scout out specific issues and address challenges.
Why Effective Energy Management Matters Today
Lowering the overhead cost of utilities and increasing energy savings is always a welcome improvement. However, failing to monitor energy properly can carry a steeper price tag. For example, now, there's mounting pressure on building managers toimprove energy performance efforts or face the risk of fines and penalties. Thankfully, implementing real time energy monitoring is a proven way for businesses to reduce their costs while aligning with growing demands for compliance. However, to reap the full effect of RTEM system, you must select and install the energy system correctly and ina way that meets the unique needs of your building.
Implementing RTEMS: Step-by-Step
The worst process is no process. So as you implement real time energy monitory solutions, keep in mind that unlocking meaningful change requires an ordered process by which you seek to continuously improve your efforts to collect data-driven decisions.
1. Assess Your Current Energy Usage
One way to find out usage statistics is to contact your electric company. However, this approach does little good to support emission reduction.
As stated earlier, for the best insight concerning energy generation, invest in smart meters to break down insights by specific devices or regions. This way, you don't have to waste time identifying where the problem lies. With these sensors, you get straight to the point and can find solutions that begin lowering energy costs sooner.
2. Select the Right RTEMS for Your Needs
There are many energy conservation tools to choose from, and choosing the right one can be the difference between saving 15-20% on your current energy bill.
When it comes to tracking energy consumption, always go with hardware sensors that can track across the entire range of appliances, including:
HVAC systems
Plumbing, toilets, and faucets,
Lighting and security camera systems
Kitchen Appliances
This is the only way to unlock those granular insights that go into a more comprehensive set of energy efficiency strategies that track real time power consumption.
3. Begin the Installation and Initial Setup
After identifying which appliances, systems, and devices require monitoring, go about hooking up the sensors and connecting them to the central platform. These sensors are the building blocks on which you build your energy insights. Always double-check that each individual sensor is clocking in the right metrics and that it's calibrated to reduce the event of false readings.
For certain appliances, you may need to scheme out where the best place to place the sensor is. For example, on an HVAC, you may want to place sensors at multiple key points, like the ventilation area and the head unit.
4. Train and Educate Your Team
Building management teams must understand how to read and analyze key metrics in order to explain them to the rest of their teams.
Form a list of every installed sensor, then educate building maintenance staff on how to adjust, maintain, and understand their pivotal role in the energy management process. For example, when explaining the HVAC sensors, explain how adjacent metrics, like the indoor air quality metrics (IAQ) could be related to HVAC issues. In this case, a dirty filter could be causing the system to overwork itself, which leads to higher energy costs. Employees must understand that the filter must be changed both as a way to improve the indoor air quality and to reduce energy costs.
5. Monitor and Optimize Regularly
There's little use in installing an energy monitoring system if you aren't going to take action on the data-driven insights. It's crucial to keep your eyes on the dashboard regularly, and view reports so that you can begin to implement changes that reduce your consumption of energy over the long term. For example, you might discover a need to invest in renewable energy sources, like solar, which can offset high energy costs.
You should also look to grow your network of sensors along the way, to broaden and deepen insights as you strengthen energy control systems. Also, AI-powered machine learning can lead to more precise insights over time and even result in predictive insights, allowing you to take a proactive approach rather than a reactive one.
Discover Attune's Energy Management Solutions
Tracking water and energy measurements must be priority number one for any building manager looking to invest in real time monitoring.
Attune is a market leader concerning energy management solutions, offering plug-and-play hardware solutions coupled with an intuitive, accessible, cloud-based dashboard for quick access to all energy efficiency monitoring insights.
Interested in partnering with Attune to power your energy management solutions? Feel free to reach out and schedule a demo so you can see firsthand how our solutions can lower your energy demand and start saving you money.
