Energy efficiency is a process in which a company’s energy usage is managed in an optimal manner, in order to reduce the total energy used whilst maintaining an equal or increased level of performance, when compared to a standard period of usage.
Infrastructure can be improved in order to increase a company’s overall energy efficiency, such as upgrading an office’s lighting system from high energy fluorescents to low energy LED’s, but it’s not the only solution. Often current energy consumption can be reduced simply by changing the culture of a business in relation to energy efficiency. For example, take a walk in the evening through any UK town or city centre and note the number of offices where lights have been left on over night. Given that more than a third of a building’s energy consumption can relate to lighting alone it should be clear that significant savings can be achieved through a change of company policy.
But how do you emphasise the need for change and encourage your staff to maintain any such policy, without demonstrably concrete data? Well, at Stretch Electrical we can install a smart metering system that will monitor your site’s energy consumption and provide that information through an easy to understand on-line dashboard.
How does it work?
The system consists of a series of clamps that are installed around each cable and circuit within your building, which feed directly local wireless transmitters, which pass data to a central hub. The hub is connected to your data network and transmits the relevant data to a secure website, allowing the information to be monitored through an on-line dashboard.
Depending on the level of detail you require it is possible to remotely monitor anywhere from the total energy consumption of a building to individual circuits within that building. The system records all of this data to allow you to track consumption, monitor trends and patterns and actively enact changes to reduce your overall energy consumption. The system can even go so far as to allow remote control of a building’s electrical infrastructure in order to manually turn off and on individual circuits.
The on-line dashboard provides an intuitive and easy to use interface with the relevant information clearly laid out on the screen. Access can be restricted to individuals or published to public screens so that employees can track their progress against others within the same building or group, for example displayed within Reception or on individual floors.
A simple way to change the culture of your workforce is to create competitions between offices, floors or teams in order to create energy savings. Create a competition with prizes or company bonuses that require certain percentage drops in energy use, for example, for the staff within a team or building that manages the highest percentage saving in a set period. Done correctly your staff will self-police one another in order to reduce their team’s overall energy usage. The possibilities are endless.
Combine smart metering with other energy efficient solutions such as low energy LED lights and smart blinds and you can maximise the potential savings that can be made.
Should this be of interest please give us a call on 0203 2864079 or complete our Contact Page.