Clearly, energy is a critical component for industries of all sizes. And energy costs have been growing steadily over the last two decades, making it increasingly important for businesses to find ways to reduce or at least to know and plan their energy consumption and energy bills.
Businesses need robust tools to track energy consumption, analyze consumption patterns, and figure out courses of optimization. This is particularly true for large resource-consuming industries with complex requirements, such as manufacturing, retail, or large properties. These businesses often have a lot of premises, equipment, and machinery, connected to multiple electric circuits that consume large amounts of electricity.
Large-scale, complex energy monitoring and analysis require real-time energy consumption data coupled with proper segmentation. Mapping where energy consumption is concentrated can help identify unexplored pockets of efficiency.
Remote energy consumption monitoring
Energy consumption monitoring is a key area of competence for ThingsLog. We work with our customers to tailor a monitoring solution that collects that data remotely to allow them to keep track of energy consumption, analyze energy usage patterns, understand the information, and use it for informed decisions.
An effective energy monitoring system takes a mix of technology, engineering skills, and business knowledge. We strive to bring that combination into our projects.
IoT enabled energy monitoring solution
To realize the benefits of an energy monitoring system, ThingsLog supports affordable IoT enablement. Our smart energy monitoring is compatible with existing energy meters that support pulse output and can work with popular brands of smart meters. The solution supports a number of connectivity options: 2G/4G, NB IoT, LoRa Wan, Cat M1, which allows flexibility depending on the location and specific customer needs.
Thingslog Cloud & Mobile Platform
Collected data is transferred in near-real time to ThingsLog cloud platform, which is accessible both online and through a mobile app. The platform has a rich notification functionality with fully configurable alarm thresholds delivered on desktop and mobile devices.
The software provides features for data analysis based on current and historic data or comparisons between different sites where applicable. Visualizations of the energy consumption curve help identify areas where energy usage can be further optimized.
Personalized recommendations for best practice energy management
Our customers can leverage expert advice on best practice energy management and common areas eligible for optimization. Personalized recommendations underpinned by ThingsLog data and engineering know-how often save as much as 20-30% of the monthly energy consumption.
Quick wins on energy savings with smart energy monitoring
Real-life examples from our practice show that there are often quick wins to prevent energy waste and all that you need to do is to start monitoring. Ongoing recording of data combined with smart analytics exposes abnormal consumption patterns immediately.
One of our customers, a retail chain, detected unexplained increases of energy consumption in some of their stores. After implementing our monitoring system, we immediately spotted constant consumption of 7,5 kWh (with an average of 15 kWh), including at night.
The facility manager investigated the cause and found a redundant heating appliance. Once this was switched off, the night consumption baseline dropped to 1 kWh and the average consumption dropped to 7 kWh. ThingsLog electricity monitoring has generated some 50% savings in a snap.
On a monthly basis, the amount saved is 5400 kWh, or about 750 euros in local currency calculated with the current electricity tariff. A dramatic efficiency enhancement is achieved in just one site. In any case, the accumulated savings pay off the investment in the ThingsLog monitoring system within a month of exploitation only.
And this is not all. In other stores of the same chain, we found another parasite energy usage. One of the stores used to leave some hundreds of demo devices working during the night. They also neglected inessential local air conditioning working during the night, along with the trade center central air conditioning. With just those two adjustments, the energy efficiency improved significantly, and the energy bills went down 30% on a monthly basis.
In conclusion
Energy consumption monitoring is an essential tool for the successful reduction of excessive energy costs for industries. With smart energy monitoring, companies can detect and identify where energy is wasted. By applying corrective and optimization measures, they can reduce their energy bills significantly.
In addition, electricity monitoring can help businesses optimize their energy usage, leading to more cost-effective operations and a lower carbon footprint. Implementing IoT-enabled energy management systems, combined with monitoring solutions like ThingsLog, can help industries score significant energy savings and improve their bottom line.
