by Shane Henson — December 18, 2013—GridPoint, a provider of energy management solutions (EMS) designed to help customers maximize energy and operational savings, recently announced the publication of its newest e-book, The Energy Manager’s Guide to Real-Time Submetering Data.
According to GridPoint, the e-book details industry standards and programs that recognize the importance of submetering as part of a next-generation energy management strategy, and provides real-world examples of hidden benefits that enterprises can unlock with submetering.
In addition to the direct energy savings provided by a traditional energy management system, a next-generation data-driven energy management system integrates equipment-level submetering, big data analytics and cloud computing to unlock seven hidden benefits, says GridPoint. The hidden benefits are:
- Optimized Equipment Performance: Identify unnecessary energy usage, potentially damaging power quality, and equipment issues that may drive up energy expenses, shorten the life of critical equipment, and lead to excessive maintenance costs.
- Smarter Alarms: Use real-time data and historical trend analysis to identify and get notification of critical issues.
- Integrated Sustainability: Utilize energy management tools with sustainability technologies, such as solar panels and fuel cells, to hedge against rising energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.
- Dynamic Control: Use granular energy and environmental data to automatically adjust facility conditions to maximize savings and occupant comfort.
- Financial Verification: Track project results against goals to make data-driven investment decisions and compare utility bills with independent data to monitor bill accuracy.
- Proactive Demand Response and Peak Shaping: Determine the best way to shape or shift power and make intelligent control changes to maximize utility program participation benefits.
- Intelligent Building Design: Capture historical equipment-level performance to accurately forecast energy capacity for new buildings and “right-size” equipment accordingly.
Guidelines or requirements for submetering and their associated energy efficiency organizations, programs and standards bodies include: ENERGY STAR, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS), promoted by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE); the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, championed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC); the new Standard 90.1-2013—Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); and the ISO 50001—Energy Management standard, issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
