How Monitoring Dramatically Reduces Energy Costs

One of the most cost-effective ways to reduce energy costs is to monitor energy consumption in one minute increments and watch the trends over time. Almost every building will immediately find quick and easy ways to reduce energy costs by 5% or more. And knowledgeable professionals can often use the data to drive down energy costs by 20% or more and improve facility comfort and performance at the same time.

Let's take an actual example. Forward Energy Solutions recently subscribed to Continuous Energy Management & Optimization (CEMO) from Davies Energy Systems. The process involved two steps: (1) installing a real-time energy monitoring system from Noveda Technologies; and (2) having Davies Energy's engineers analyze the data and develop better ways to manage and optimize facility energy usage.

Here is the minute-by-minute display of electricity consumption that Foward Energy Solutions saw after just one day:


Notice the two distinct sets of spikes in energy consumption. The first occurred just before 4:00 a.m. when no one was in the building. The next set of distinct spikes started at 7:00 a.m. and continued until 5:00 p.m. Each of the spikes lasted only a minute or less and were not noticed by the people in the building. But over time they amounted to a significant increase in kwh consumption. They also may increase the peak demand charges on the company's monthly electric bill.

The culprits were quickly identified. A small refrigerator was malfunctioning and spiking the consumption at 4 a.m. An air-conditioning system in need of repair was causing the spikes during regular business hours.

Catching these types of problems generates immediate savings by reducing kwh consumption and peak demand charges. The avoided costs will continue to be realized each and every month into the future, often adding up to thousands of dollars in energy savings.

Identifying these types of problems early on also avoids the cost of more expensive repairs down the line. Without monitoring, no one would have noticed the air-conditioning problem until it stopped cooling the building -- most likely on the hottest day of the year. At that point, the company would have already wasted money on unnecessary energy costs, plus it would be facing the higher cost of repairing or replacing the air-conditioning system on an emergency basis. Not to mention the loss of employee productivity in a sweltering office until the repairs could be made.

Francis X. Lamparello, P.E., the Chief Technology Officer at Davies Energy Systems, says that he finds these types of issues in almost every building. But these problems are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to saving energy. "Buildings are living, breathing entities that must be monitored and adjusted on a continuous basis," he says. "For example, maintaining proper air pressure inside the building can keep warm air from entering in the summer, and letting in more cool outside air on a sunny Fall day can give you 'free cooling' to offset the heat caused by the sun shining on the windows." All of these energy saving solutions, he points out, are free or inexpensive once you have real-time monitoring and expert advice on how to manage the facility.

What's next for Forward Energy Solutions? Now that they have the data, they are working with Davies Energy on a number of additional ways to drive down their energy costs. More on that in later blog posts.

John Howley
Orlando, Florida

The Most Cost Effective Energy Solution

The Department of Energy is promoting something called "trip linking." It is a very simple, even obvious idea. Instead of making 5 trips in your car to run 5 different errands, plan out your day and make just one trip with 5 stops. You will save gasoline because you will drive fewer miles (e.g., just one trip down your driveway instead of 5). You will also reduce emissions even if you drive the same distance because your car engine runs more efficiently when it is warmed up than when it repeatedly turns over from a cold start.

I heard this message on the radio several times this week. Do we really need to tell people something so simple and obvious?

YES!!

One of my company's technology partners recently had an enlightening experience with energy education and awareness. They installed a smart electric meter that allowed every employee to see their building's energy consumption on a real time basis on a computer screen. Pretty soon a lot of employees began noticing that there were distinct spikes in energy consumption throughout the day. Being curious, some employees tried to figure out what was causing the spikes.

Turns out it was the elevator. Every time someone used the elevator, the little chart on the screen jumped.

Once people realized how much electricity was being consumed by the elevator, they began to walk up and down the stairs.

Two months after simple energy consumption awareness began, the company announced that electricity consumption in the building had dropped by more than 3%. Then the fun began. Employees wondered how much electricity could be saved if they conscientiously turned off lights when not needed. And if they turned off their computers at night. Pretty soon, everyone in the building was taking little steps to reduce their energy consumption ..... and watching the results on their computer screens.

After 7 months, the company had reduced its electricity consumption by more than 14%. No huge investments in technology. A 14% reduction in energy consumption merely by making people aware of the energy they were wasting.

So, what is the most cost effective energy solution?

Awareness and education.

John Howley
Woodbridge, New Jersey