5 Ways to Optimize Energy with Data
Jun 19, 2023
Building managers and sustainability directors are constantly looking for ways to streamline operations and reduce costs. One area that often goes overlooked is energy consumption. By leveraging the power of data, you can identify areas where you are wasting energy and take steps to reduce your usage.
Here are five ways data-driven decisions can save your business money on energy:
Energy usage analysis: Analyze energy consumption patters to identify areas of inefficiency and waste, e.g., lighting, HVAC, and equipment usage. This will enable you to identify patters, which can be used to inform energy-efficient products or services that are aligned with your company's net zero goals.
Continuous commissioning: Your data performs a continuous monitoring and optimization of your building to ensure they are operating at peak efficiency. The biggest benefit of continuous commissioning is that it replaces the need for retro commissioning, which can be costly and time consuming. Additionally, by continuously monitoring and optimizing energy systems, businesses can avoid the need for energy audits in the future, and instead jump straight into action to optimize energy consumption and reduce costs.
Predictive maintenance: Monitor equipment in real-time and identify potential problems before they cause costly downtime. This option will help you reduce the cost of maintenance and increase the lifespan of equipment, leading to significant cost savings and avoided revenue loss over time.
Industry benchmarking: An apples to apples comparison is powerful. Compare energy usage to industry benchmarks to identify areas of improvement. This will help you understand how your company is performing in relation to your competitors, which in turn will assist you and your team in goal-setting activities based on data.
Data sharing: Data is our modern-day oil. Make energy data available to third-party vendors and suppliers who can provide enhanced energy efficiency services, like carbon auditing software. This will additionally enable you to identify opportunities for savings and optimize energy consumption over time, by giving data to suppliers and comparing equipment performance.
Adopting a data-driven culture can be challenging for companies that have traditionally relied on intuition and experience to make decisions. One of the biggest pitfalls of data management has been the siloed nature of data, where different departments store their data in separate systems that are not connected, in different mediums and formats. This leads to incomplete or inaccurate data, making it difficult to gain meaningful insights. Additionally, companies must navigate the ethical considerations of data collection and usage, as well as ensuring data security and privacy. However, with the right tools and processes in place, companies can overcome these challenges and reap the benefits of data-driven decision making.
At Amp, we're committed to putting you in control of your energy consumption. Join us on our mission to bridge the gap between data points and real action, all while building a more sustainable planet.