Energy usage is one of the biggest costs to a business, energy monitoring systems can help you to visualise the reality of your usage, and where implementing new changes may have the biggest impact.
What is energy monitoring?
Simply put, energy monitoring is the process of monitoring energy consumption – this can be done for an individual or a business. Energy monitoring systems and software can give users vital insights and control over their energy costs.
How does energy monitoring work?
While your energy provider can tell you how much electricity you use each month, these gadgets offer businesses real-time energy monitoring, meaning you can pinpoint precisely where and when potential energy savings can be made.
A sensor, known as an energy monitor probe, is attached to the power cable and generates a secondary AC current within the wire. This data is then transmitted to the energy monitor device, which logs the energy consumption in watts or by operational cost per hour.
These systems have the capability to gather data from various energy sources including electricity, gas, water, and more – including direct-wired devices such as lighting circuits, central heating pumps, and alarm systems.
What are the benefits of real-time energy monitoring?
Energy monitoring systems have a number of benefits from cost saving to energy saving and sustainability. We’ve outlined some of the benefits below.
Energy Optimisation: Implementing business energy monitoring provides real-time data for analysing areas and times of excessive energy consumption. This enables companies to assess their usage and implement changes to decrease usage and increase savings.
Energy Usage Measurements: These devices offer real-time energy monitoring, with systems such as Insight and Spark Lab, helping users to visualise your business's energy consumption, offering real-time analysis and graphics to better understand your data.
Identifying Energy Issues: Real-time continuous monitoring allows companies to detect any anomalies or deviations from standard business practices, including potential waste or mechanical malfunctions as they happen.
Energy Performance Efficiency: Energy monitoring gadgets allow businesses to identify areas of improvement within operations, ensuring compliance with industry standards, and highlighting where the implementation of new tactics and practices is needed to optimise energy efficiency.
How much could an energy monitor save you?
According to data, real-time energy monitoring has the potential to cut businesses' energy expenses by as much as 20%.
Research from the US Department of Energy claimed that businesses implementing real-time energy monitoring saw savings of up to 20%. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered that companies found a reduction in energy costs of up to 15%.
How will energy monitoring help sustainability?
Sustainability remains a key concern for businesses, with energy management playing a pivotal role. By implementing integrated energy monitoring systems such companies can actively monitor, analyse, and adjust their energy consumption in real-time.
These systems have the capability to gather data from various energy sources including electricity, gas, water, and others, offering comprehensive insights and usage analysis. This enables businesses to optimise efficiency, minimise consumption, and decrease emissions, ultimately improving their carbon footprint and sustainability.
Why Choose Spark Lab?
Spark Lab, one of the key parts of the Industrion platform, is a free and simple tool which allows businesses of any size to visualise their energy consumption.
Spark Lab is revolutionising the way we access business energy monitoring by eliminating the complex, time-consuming, and often expensive ways of the past. Instead, The platform is a user-friendly and completely free interface which takes less than one minute to get started with.
The tool can generate half-hour readings, producing energy usage graphics to help identify areas of high energy use, inefficiency, and areas of potential cost saving, as well as giving users the data to make informed and confident decisions.
