Okay, I’m monitoring my energy. Now what?

You’ve listened to the experts. “If you don’t monitor it you can’t manage it”. Got it.

So you’ve invested in and installed the monitors. You see data. Now what do you do with it?

Lesson 1. The easiest way to find savings: Electrical patterns. If you’re over 50kW load in Ontario, you are paying for electrical energy two ways; the energy itself (in kWh or kilo-watt-hours) and a demand charge – how fast you are drawing the energy from the electrical grid (much harder to find on your invoice, but it’s there…). Your electrical usage data, from your monitoring system, in graphical form, looks like a bunch of peaks and valleys, and unless you’re a skier, not very excited at the picture. So – there are two things we look for, the way to find out where the easiest savings may be found.

First is Base usage or level. How much energy does the facility use when no one is using it to make profit?  When no one is in the building? Look at the graph, usually Sunday morning or midnight. It won’t be zero. Surprise! Lights are on, the photocopier is still on, and you’ll be quite surprised what energy you use when, well, you’re not using it. Lower this number; and the whole graph shifts down – and your utility bill as well! I have graphs from one manufacturer showing a 1.5 MW (megawatt) draw in the plant on Easter Weekend! No one was anywhere near the plant. We could even see the compressors working!

A Sample Waveform Capture

Second is peak demand – the highest mountain on the graph. It probably is not the same height as the other peaks on the graph. Why? Good question, and one only you can answer. Why did (or do) we use more energy Wednesday at 3:15 pm (for example) then the rest of the week? Is it the same every week? What were we doing – was it profitable? Because it cost us a lot more than just the energy – we got dinged from the local utility because of that peak. Can we prevent it? Did we really have to have all of the equipment on at the same time? Were the outside lights on during the day?

Imagine 15-20% savings off the top of your energy costs. Now stop imagining. It’s not only possible, it’s probable, and not just according to all the experts – and the ministries of energy and industry who have been driving this message for years now, but from many actual companies like yours, actively watching – just looking – at how they use their electricity, and enjoying the added profit right on the bottom line, because that’s where it gets paid from.

So what’s your data telling you?