Technology

Understanding the enabling technologies for Energy-Smart behavior is important. This page focuses on the business application aspects of technology. We are more concerned with the energy management and supply chain implications rather that the technical dissertation.

Load Profiling

Sub-Metering

AMR

Energy Information Systems

Application

Load Profiling

Load profiles are vital for certain types of analysis. The billing determinants described in Energy Econ 101 are specific technical parameters recorded by the utility. There is no guess work involved. Your energy bill is derived precisely by applying these billing determinants against the applicable tariff or contract in which you receive power.

A load profile is an interval by interval recording of your energy consumption. Depending on your service, some combination of kilowatt-hours, kilovar-hours, kilovolt-amp-hours, power factor and demand are recorded. Demands, by the way, can be allocated on a kilowatt or kilovolt-amp basis. The differences are important.

Evaluating energy conservation and management options are handicapped if you do not have a complete understanding of how your usage volume and patterns drive the cost of your energy supply. Only by having load profile or interval data can you analyze opportunities to save money by demand mitigation, off-peak load shifting or power factor correction.

In the world of competitive energy suppliers a load profile provides you with the information you need to be an informed shopper. You will know how attractive you are to marketers and suppliers. If your load is attractive, you get to shop for a better deal. Certain load profiles are not so enticing to suppliers and you'll need to know.

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Sub-Metering

Sub-metering typically has one of two applications: energy cost allocation or operations information. Commercial office buildings, industrial parks or any situation where businesses share a common electrical infrastructure a sub-metering system is used to allocate energy costs among the users. In this situation the users are charged back for their consumption. Internal or operational use of sub-metering can be used to collect and allocate costs for profit or cost center accounting.

Operations and maintenance organizations use sub-metering information to optimize the systems and infrastructures they operate. System life extension and maintenance planning can and often be driven by the collection and processing of this information.

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AMR

Automatic meter reading or AMR systems are used almost exclusively by utilities for billing purposes. The generally accepted definition of an AMR system is one which utilizes a fixed network for the collection of metering data. End points transmit to data collection nodes. These nodes send their information up the communications backbone.

AMR systems will be deployed to leverage events relative to deregulation. Municipalities and aggragation groups poised to take advantage of deregulation will benefit from AMR technology.

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Energy Information Systems

Energy information systems are used to process and analyze energy related data. The design and application are as varied an one might expect. A manufacturing facility manager wanting to allocate production energy cost to each product is going to have vastly different requirements than an aggragated pool of commercial office buildings wanting to shop for energy based on their coincident loads.

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Application

Hardware alone can only provide data. The intelligent business manipulation of this data can reveal valuable information. It is important to think through what your ultimate goal is. The requirement and definition phase of any project is the most important.

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