Most energy wastage goes unnoticed. In our experience almost every client that we speak to understands the need to conserve energy. It makes no sense not to see the need because, putting aside the desire to be eco-friendly, lower that carbon footprint rating and meet legislation; wasting energy wastes money. Still, most energy wastage goes unnoticed. That, I am sorry to say, is the bottom line. The issue is not about desire to save energy and sometimes it is not about implementation (although this can also be a factor) it is simply about knowing where the energy is wasted in the first place.
To isolate the places you are wasting valuable resources you need to go through a process of fault finding. Like any system there is a framework of supply and use that can be looked at and broken down into easy to manage areas of focus.
Think of your energy use like a tree.
Your main supply comes up through the trunk. Chances are you have already looked at an efficient, cost effective, method of supply. Gas or Electricity and indeed water, because that is a resource we sometimes literally throw down the drain, flow into the trunk of your tree. From the trunk it is distributed to the branches.
The branches are your main areas of use. The overall offices, factory floors, hotel premises and so on, that make up your business. At this level we tend to be quite sure of our information. After all we probably monitor the overall use and use that to estimate our supply needs.
This is where the problem starts. We know we are using ‘x’ number of kilowatts for example because the traditional meter tells us we are, but what does that mean? When you get right down to it the old meter tells you only one thing – how much you have used. The waste comes in by not knowing where you used it.
As we travel down the branch of our energy tree our use is distributed around the workplace. From the meter however we have no idea where the ‘x’ amount of use went.
This is where remote monitoring comes into it’s own. With a remote monitoring system you can see exactly where and when the power is being used. Depending on your monitoring needs you can even see particular usage for specific rooms or equipment.
It is often at the branch and leaf level of our tree where the monitoring is needed and that general reading from a traditional meter offers no starting point to estimate where your energy is going. Even at its simplest level with remote monitoring you can start the process of investigating which of those branches and leaves are operating at the wrong times and switch them off. With more sophisticated monitoring you can arrange to remotely control the areas wasting the most. The energy and water you are using must reach the leaves of your business but, with remote monitoring, you have a much clearer idea of how your energy tree is using the resources.
