Cloud-based enterprise software has distinct advantages for many different industries
Finding ways to make any facility more energy efficient used to be about making sure everyone knew to turn off equipment and lights after they left the room or shut down for the day. Today’s building manager understands the ability to drill deep with innovative new solutions that involve hardware and software and the latest in energy analytics. With the latest technology, it is economically feasible to find the causes of lost energy, as these go well beyond changing wasteful light bulbs or replacing old, inefficient heating systems. Today, energy waste can be pinpointed with accuracy using technology that has sprung from modern IT solutions.
Real time energy management (RTEM) solutions take on what’s commonly referred to as energy drift as part of an overall focus on the sources of waste, such as those associated with HVAC components that are in need of repair or maintenance. The real-time information provided by today’s cloud-based software can actually pinpoint issues and problems that might otherwise be overlooked like improper control system programming.
Cloud-based Software
Cloud-based enterprise software has distinct advantages for many different industries. The value and benefits that RTEM technology and services unleash can lead to 30 percent savings in energy costs, as well as savings in the life cycle cost of many types of equipment and systems. The key to all of this technology is the ability to acquire and install the equipment at a low cost.
Cloud-based solutions are scalable, and are generally widely accessible, and in energy applications, are often populated by data sent by submeters that are independent of each other. This means that you benefit from a simpler and lower cost installation, and can avoid the IT infrastructure and staff costs required to operate and maintain the data and systems. That means you pay only for the incremental cost of a central system, and this can lower overall costs to the point that a service can become economic.
With cloud-based systems lowering the overall cost of software and data services, and newly designed submetering hardware lowering the cost to collect the data, advanced energy management practices can be justified. When a facility uses only the energy that’s required, while lowering the associated carbon footprint, RTEM begins to make good business sense. In emerging business environments where cap and trade and carbon pricing are becoming the norm rather than the exception, the financial incentives to implement RTEM solutions make going green from top to bottom, even more attractive.
Big Data & Information Security
The cloud is the most secure and economic way to store large amounts of data and have that data available to fuel ongoing analytic functions. When it comes to the real-time amalgamation of all energy data usage for a single facility or an entire portfolio, there is a powerful trend towards software that is cloud-based.
The many advantages of the cloud, combined with the power of Big Data, has resulted in a strong trend in leading technologies to base their value on the exploitation of these two pillars. Those enterprises that intend to pursue the benefits of Real Time Energy Management will inevitably find that the economics and functionality of their alternatives are driven by these two elements. Having the ability to scale up or down with enterprise software that addresses the needs of portfolio managers, means that you can focus and pinpoint on the areas that need the most attention when it comes to energy efficiency. Battling energy drift with real-time energy management solutions means finding answers through the cloud.