Find Out What You Don’t Know with Smart Meters

The adage “You can’t manage what you can’t measure” is spot on when it comes to managing energy costs in buildings. However, most building managers aren’t measuring energy use at all. It’s not because they don’t want to but rather because they don’t have the means to do so.

ETS’s data verification service gives them the means.

This service delivers value on two fronts. First, it gives you the ability to truly understand energy costs. Second, it helps you understand productivity and workflow in your buildings.

How it works

To begin, we install a smart meter. It will start delivering information that you never had before. Using a smart meter is similar to using a monitor to measure your heart rate and activity level when you start a fitness program. At first, the data gives you a baseline. Once you start making changes, the data lets you measure your progress in achieving your goals.

After the smart meter is installed, we don’t leave you guessing what to do next. We help you:

• Set up a dashboard that lets you see data in real time. The dashboard will let you see what’s currently going on in your building. You can also use it to see trends over time.

• Avoid data overload. We help you analyze the data to make sense of it. That way, rather than tracking lots of data, you can track the important data — the data that you can use to measure your progress in achieving your energy cost reduction goals.

• Make it actionable. Once you know the important data to measure, we help you identify actionable next steps to make positive changes in energy use and costs.

Data gives you power

The data that you get from a smart meter gives you power. You can use the data to find areas where you can make building improvements to reduce energy usage, such as improving the efficiency of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Afterward, you can use the data to measure how much the changes reduced your energy usage.

You can also the data to demand lower rates from utilities. A building’s electricity costs are determined in part by how much electricity it uses during peak demand — however, this isn’t measured each month. Instead, utilities assume how much electricity buildings use during peak demand each month based on previous assessments that aren’t updated regularly. As a result, the peak demand rate might not be accurate.

With smart meter data, you might be able to prove that your electricity usage during peak demand is lower than the utility’s assessment. This will enable you to get a lower peak demand rate, reducing your overall cost of electricity by as much as 50%.

With results like these possible, isn’t it time to find out what you don’t know?

[cta]How much money could you save by implementing smart technologies in your building? Contact ETS to learn more and schedule an energy-savings evaluation.[/cta]