If you’re looking for real-time data to rein in energy use, check out the submetering services Northwestern U. is using

by Brianna Crandall — December 1, 2017 — Northwestern University has awarded a contract for submetering, and monthly recharge process, to utiliVisor, an energy advisor and provider of submetering and energy plant oversight services. The company delivers real-time energy usage data for the purpose of increasing efficiency.

The metering and submetering will be employed in 224 buildings, totaling approximately 15 million square feet on Northwestern’s campuses, a 240-acre parcel featuring a broad mix of academic, research and administrative buildings.

Timothy Angerame, utiliVisor’s COO, stated:

Northwestern is committed to being a leader in sustainability and to reducing its energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020 from the 2010 baseline. The first step in lowering the University’s overall energy consumption is to precisely understand its overall energy picture, accurately quantifying utility data and allocations.

The utiliVisor solution is to develop a streamlined, comprehensive and auditable method of allocating utility costs within both campuses using metered data. The project will be implemented in two phases:

Phase 1

  • Review of meter methodology and recharge process
  • Documentation of type, multiplier and area served in one cohesive document
  • On-site training of Northwestern meter reading using the utiliVisor iPad platform for both electronic logging and meter reading

Phase 2

  • utiliVisor connection, monthly meter reading, and submeter recharge package generation

Allocation data from the meters will be collected via the Web. Northwestern will be provided with a custom cloud-based platform detailing all utility charges, as well as comprehensive utility profiles/consumption reports.

Angerame added:

The utiliVisor system will provide Northwestern with the latest submetering and utility accounting technologies. It offers a customizable, expandable and dependable platform for the accurate analysis and allocation of all campus utilities.

Founded in 1978, utiliVisor offers comprehensive energy monitoring and submetering services designed to provide accurate, reliable solutions to boost efficiency and lower energy consumption. The utiliVisor system is a Web-based networked solution, built on open standards, that works in real time to collect and format data, monitor operations and equipment errors, and deliver oversight via Web-based alerts and alarms. utiliVisor services more than 250 million square feet of commercial and institutional space nationwide.