Energy waste in modern business is a problem that affects all industries, and it's a problem that's only getting worse with time.
From a financial standpoint, energy waste is money waste - and businesses are wasting a lot of energy. Current estimates (PDF) suggest that buildings currently account for around 40% of global energy consumption, and up to thirty percent of that is being wasted. That's a lot of money being flushed away. However, getting a handle on a business's energy use - and energy waste - can be a serious challenge. At Circuitwise, we provide technology and services to. These are some of the most common problems they face.
Overcoming The Most Serious Energy Waste Challenges
1 - Lack of visibility
To be able to identify energy waste in a business, you first need to know how much energy your business is using in the first place. This can be a major challenge even in a single building, much less tracking energy use over an extended ecosystem.
The solution is embracing a comprehensive energy monitoring solution. Modern "Internet of Things" connected devices allow companies to install a range of affordable and unobtrusive devices throughout their operation, each tracking overall energy use.
2 - Equipment failures
It's good to have a baseline for how much energy your company should be using, but what about equipment failures and other unexpected breakdowns? These can be extremely costly, in terms of both lost productivity as well as the energy costs of fixing the problem.
Equipment functioning can be monitored remotely, alongside its energy use. Detailed analytics allow for predictive maintenance, noticing small issues before they become big problems and significantly decreasing repair costs.
3 - Rising energy costs
Energy costs are going up, and the best response is to lower your own costs. This is central to all technologies being discussed here: allowing you to target permanent energy reduction opportunities, while also prioritizing for fast ROIs.
Plus, there's a side benefit here: since eco-awareness is a hot topic among the public, talking up your energy-reduction strategies makes for great PR as well. You save money while also making yourself look good to your customers/clients.
4 - Achieving sustainability targets
Once a company has a good grasp on its energy use, it's time to start looking for ways to decrease that usage. For example, smart computer systems can monitor room occupancy and automatically shut off air conditioning to rooms not being used.
Smart monitoring systems can feed into cloud-connected dashboards that give you unparalleled oversight of your entire energy consumption cycle. This allows you to precisely monitor progress towards energy sustainability targets, as well as identifying new avenues for further energy use reduction.
5 - Verifying results
Finally, once all the pieces are in place: how do you know that your efforts are truly working, and delivering the energy reduction you've targeted?
Professional monitoring & verification (M&V) services allow you to continue tracking your energy use, backed up by hard numbers which are derived directly from actual usage. This can also help you verify your utility bills and ensure you're being fairly charged by your service providers.
Circuitwise Solves Modern Energy Waste Problems
Our solutions are used by major businesses globally and can oversee even the largest energy consumption scenarios. At the same time, they can help smaller operations get a handle on their energy use early on, allowing for sustainable long-term energy strategies.
Circuitwise makes energy conservation achievable and affordable, with superior long-term ROI. Contact us to learn more.
