Heating, Cooling, Lighting, Power, Energy Management and Water

These are the key fundamentals to focus on regarding energy management …

Over the next 9 weeks, I have set myself a challenge which is to focus on the fundamentals of energy technology within energy management. This will give the organisation an idea of which areas they need to focus their time on with regards to their property. I am often asked which technologies to advise on and where to find them, as when you break a building down into its separate areas, each area will be impacted by these fundamentals.

When you are carrying out an energy assessment you need to be aware of the technology that is available and the technology that will best fit the organisation. When I assess properties, I always have the technology in the back of my mind. I call this having the solutions in my back pocket, the same with case studies, datasheets and even brochures.

If we are not prepared in this way, the organisiation will not benefit from the assessment and the already time spent could therefore be wasted with more time then being required, which is not beneficial to either party. The more time we spend justifying the technologies the less time we will have to actually make the energy savings. Our approach over the next 9 weeks will be to deliver technology opportunities with Cost, Saving and Payback.

When we engage with organisations and deliver a concise energy management process, an energy assessment is vital in order to cover areas such as?heating, cooling, power, energy management and water. These are the core areas of energy management, and crucial to investigate when seeking to reduce utility operation costs.

It will always follow the 4 principles of Review, Realign, Reduce and Report and when focusing on these areas, we are often subject to further cost. The subject areas will be impacted by ‘best practices’ and possible low-cost opportunity but in many cases, there is a likely chance that we will be uncovering ‘Spend’ to ‘Save’ strategies.

Both these processes of best practice and spend to save need to be mapped out on to an action plan.

During the winter, the focus should be on the cooling systems and in the summer the focus should be on the heating systems .?The reason for this is because both the heating and cooling systems should not be operating at this time and if they do appear to be, there is an error regarding the efficiencies within their controls.

I have worked with some great technology providers, which I now refer to as ‘pedigree’ and I?have also worked with some ‘new kids on the block’. There are quite a few gadgets on the market that don’t always do what they say on the tin, so always be careful and do your research. I personally have developed a variable point due diligence process.

The process goes through clear steps when selecting the right partner or the right product.

Many years ago when finding technologies, it was easy to pick the wrong company and the wrong technology and before you knew it, the client and the client’s customers were not happy and would start to complain.

When selecting technologies try and trial wherever possible. This is not always easy, but if you can do this, it really is the best process and will help to deliver excellent results. The technology can be eased in with stages and you, as an expert, can closely monitor the systems.

It will also create a case study for the board, which will then help drive forward other opportunities.

When talking about energy management and reducing utility operation costs, there are the five core areas in which to focus on: Heating, Cooling, Lighting, Energy Management and Power.?When you’re carrying out an assessment, technology should not be the driver, it should always be the clients needs.

An example of this would be that the seasons should drive the technology recommendation and depending on the season, it will also drive the technology selection.

The following table shows the different areas with possible technology approaches:

Over the coming weeks, I will be drilling down into each of these specific areas to understand the opportunities and the challenges we face when reviewing these areas.

If you enjoyed reading this article or want to provide feedback, please contact Paul Webb at www.b2benergy.co.uk and www.aumlink.com or send him a direct message. He will respond within 24 Hours

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? Paul Webb,?2022