Enterprise energy management approaches use the Web to leverage energy data

— By Rita Tatum, contributing editor

President George W. Bush’s recently proposed national energy policy identifies the need to apply new technologies to reduce demand on the nation’s constrained energy infrastructure. In mid-May, Bush cited smart electric meters as valuable in helping homeowners save energy.

“The good news is that technologies like this also are available to large industrial and commercial consumers,” asserts Brad Forth, president and CEO of Power Measurement. “New enterprise energy management systems exist today that are helping businesses take proactive control of the quantity and reliability of the power delivered and consumed.”

Internet-based energy information management systems offer capabilities that allow energy to be managed in real time. Loads can be scheduled, onsite generators started or stopped and numerous other functions accessed over the World Wide Web. The technology allows facility executives to optimize energy procurement and ride through power interruptions.

As in any fledgling industry, Internet energy information management is not without its glitches. There are concerns about Internet security, downtime on Internet servers and other issues to address. But the capability also can be potentially life saving, as Aurel Selezeanu, assistant director of the electrical services unit for Duke University’s campus and Medical Center in Durham, N.C., recently discovered.

On a scalding summer night, Selezeanu’s pager sounded. From his home, he used his laptop to download Duke’s power metering system data. He found a problem in a distribution transformer and alerted his energy service provider, which was able to fix the switch before any electrical outages occurred.

Capabilities
Lindsay Audin, president of EnergyWiz, sees Internet energy information management evolving in two distinct formats. The first method uses the Internet to access energy usage information. Data from meters and submeters for a company may be sent to a central location by a data management service that puts the readings into a private intranet where the client, using a password, can access the information. Data from meters can also be sent to a company that audits and pays energy bills. Often, this method uses cellular phone technology, to avoid the costs of hardwiring meters and submeters. Data is sent from the meters and submeters via analog frequencies to the data management location.

At least one non-utility company in New York State already is providing data collection, billing and price-responsive load management. Such programs allow commercial and industrial end users who reduce their peak energy use during times of high energy demand to earn income while doing so.

For companies with a sophisticated approach to energy management, the Web-based energy data may be used to acquire or sell energy through the Internet. For such people, Audin offers his Web site, which contains tips on energy procurement and pricing.

The second form of Internet energy information management is what Audin calls “energy manager in a box.” In essence, these products offer facility executives without on-staff energy management expertise the capabilities of Internet energy information management as well as the ability to change temperatures and setpoints remotely.

“The Internet gives facility executives the ability in relative real time to make proactive decisions about energy use,” says B. James Halpern, president and CEO of Measuring & Monitoring Services, Inc. “Provided everything is online, energy use can proceed as long as it is staying within preprogrammed parameters. And, when it exceeds those parameters, the energy manager can be alerted so that he or she can make another decision.”

But, Halpern admits, Internet energy information management is not for every building or every company. “You must have a company that is in tune with the concept and has the capability to implement it,” says Halpern. “Just because a company has an IT department doesn’t mean the company can put its energy information online. IT people and firewall people create systems based on how people use equipment, assuming there can be downtime for upgrades and servicing. Buildings are relentless. They need a constant flow of information with no interruption.”

Hardware, Software Required
“Some Internet energy information management systems attach to the existing building automation system with a device that allows the system to run parallel with the building’s BAS,” says John Van Gorp, product marketing manager for Power Measurement.

Audin suggests the company must have a high-speed connection to the Internet through DSL or T1 lines, as well as energy enterprise software to translate the metered data into information that can be used by the building management system.

Kevin Santella, program and product manager for energy information systems for ConEdison Solutions, says Internet energy information management requires gateway devices that translate different systems’ information into a common language that can be sent from the site to the Internet location.

“The second component necessary is a server with Internet protocol infrastructure,” explains Santella. “And you need links from the server to other domains such as the National Weather Service, energy pricing organizations and so on. Then you can go as far as you want to go with Internet energy management. As events happen, you can set triggers and setpoints and make seamless changes in how you are using power. For example, some companies may reset chillers 4 degrees for a two-hour window and then bump it up a little.”

What Technology Accomplishes
When companies monitor energy use on a frequent basis, they can see how efficiencies change over time. For instance, a specific chiller will exhibit a certain load profile over time that can be used as a benchmark of performance. If the unit suddenly is requiring more energy to make cold water, for example, that may be a sign that it needs maintenance service.

“There’s no way to gain control over your energy use without knowing where it’s being used and at what time of day,” says Don Millstein, president of E-Mon.

Once the metering and submetering are tied to the Internet, energy use is easily displayed in graph formats, according to Millstein. “The regional manager and even tenants can see how energy is being used in the facility. Load profiles and information on whether a facility is nearing a peak load situation are available for the building so that facility executives can determine what processes can be changed.”

When multiple locations are being monitored or managed over the Internet, facility executives can proactively negotiate with third-party energy providers in states where deregulation has occurred. “When you have the information that Internet energy management gathers, you are in a strong negotiating position,” says Millstein. “You can aggregate your energy loads and analyze each individually so that you can develop an even load profile across your facilities.”

Internet energy information management can provide detailed reporting and analysis of real-time and historical energy data for energy consumption and benchmarking, according to Jennifer Harney of SRS Strategic Resource Solutions. Square footage of the facility, weather and even production units can be factored into the data. Using weather data and historical data, hourly energy consumption can be predicted several days in advance.

“This allows the energy manager to perform some load shedding or shifting to accommodate what will happen in the future,” explains Harney.

Timeliness of information is an important factor in the adoption of Internet energy information management strategies. “Based on what we see happening in the energy marketplace today, there’s a real need for facility managers to see bill and usage data in real time through the Internet,” says Gerry Crooks, president and CEO of Avista Advantage. “The assumption today is that information is available immediately.”

Obstacles to Wider Use
Though the Internet offers great potential in terms of energy management, many companies still are not willing to place energy information management online. Some worry about security and server downtime issues, while others have older HVAC and lighting equipment that limits how effectively energy use information can be gathered.

Halpern believes the Internet may be too vulnerable to attack right now to trust it for making real-time energy management decisions. “With all the hackers out there, it’s difficult to know who might be siphoning off information,” Halpern says. “Proper Internet security must be maintained, or the company could be very vulnerable to Internet attack.”

“If a customer’s Internet or WAN/LAN connection is severed, so is access to their energy information,” says Harney. “Access may be temporarily lost. However, data collection can still be achieved, and that information will be updated as soon as the connection is regained.”

“The problem we’re having with widespread Internet energy information management is that there are many separate and distinct systems that must be interfaced,” says Santella. “Older legacy HVAC systems are a difficult obstacle because they must be backward engineered so that they are all talking the same language.”

Rita Tatum has covered facility management and technology issues for more than 25 years.

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