Do you have a high energy consuming building? Did you know with smart energy management solutions, you can increase operational efficiency, identify cost savings opportunities and at the same time reduce your company’s carbon footprint? In today’s energy conserving era, progressive business owners are increasingly becoming aware of the need for reducing energy costs and lowering their environmental impact. In this article we take a look at how energy management system can transform your building into an energy saving building and leverage your business. Before we begin, let’s take a look at what energy management means.
What is energy management?
Energy management refers to the planning and operation of energy consumption in a building or facility. The ultimate goal of an energy management system is to produce maximum operational efficiency while reducing energy costs and environmental impact. Energy management solutions can be implemented across the entire municipality, a particular facility or building, or even specific energy systems. Although the key focus of energy management is on buildings, it can also include equipment efficiency, electricity consumption, water management and so on. There are numerous benefits of energy management system which can help businesses achieve operational, financial and environmental goals. Some of these are:
Increase building efficiency
With an efficient energy management system, you can optimize the operational efficiency of your building system. You can easily monitor and control various building systems such as lighting, heating, ventilation and cooling, security, access control and so on to optimize the overall building performance. For example, with automated building systems, you can control and alter the temperature of the HVAC system to match outdoor temperature so that it is not overloaded. This will not only improve system efficiency but also reduce your utility bills. In addition, you will also prevent major repair and maintenance jobs.
Improve occupants’ comfort
Having an energy management system enables you to be a better building or facility manager as you have access to insightful data which you can use to better manage the building systems. This way investing in energy management system can also help in enhancing occupants’ comfort, minimize health and safety issues, increase workplace productivity and much more. For instance, there have been studies that show that an efficient workplace lighting system can lead to better employee productivity as well as reduced health issues.
In addition, temperature and humidity are also important components that contribute to occupants’ comfort level, health, and productivity. Energy management system can monitor and optimize all these factors to ensure operational efficiency and provide a comfortable environment to the building occupants.
Identify cost savings
If you own a building or set of buildings that are high energy consumers and do not know where to start, having an energy management system can help you save energy. You can have easy access to a huge amount of data that can help you identify patterns and energy cost savings opportunities in your building. For example, with available data, you can easily change and control building system settings such as changing temperature in areas not needed, turning off lighting systems in unoccupied areas and so on. Energy consumption can constitute a significant portion of operating costs and managing energy consumption helps reduce energy use and operating costs by up to 25%.
Cost savings can be achieved by:
- Advocating an energy-saving culture through implementing energy usage awareness initiatives such as holding workshops, seminars and so on.
- Having a building automation system to automate building systems such as HVAC, lighting during unoccupied periods.
- Regularly maintaining energy consuming equipment such as HVAC and also upgrading
- Using alternative and energy efficient systems such as smart thermostats, motion sensor lights, waterspouts and so on.
Reduce your environmental impact
Having energy management system demonstrates environmental leadership as well as fulfilling corporate social responsibility. You can avail government funded incentives by partaking in various energy programs for business. In addition, by reducing carbon emissions, it improves local air quality, creates healthy spaces, and offers a higher standard of living for the citizens.
Create positive branding
While energy management system can help you reduce your operating costs and improve efficiency, it can also create a positive image of your business or organization among the stakeholders, clients and local community. In addition, it will also help you attract the right kind of people to work as studies have shown that employees prefer working for organizations that are conscious about their environmental impact.
As the world today is geared towards adopting sustainable business practices, investing in energy management system is not just a consideration but a necessity. If you are ready to incorporate energy management strategy and goals for your organization, feel free to connect with A-TECH Engineering Ltd– an advanced energy company based in Toronto that can help you with smart energy management services that best fit your business model.