building energy management systemsEnergy monitoring & targeting is essential for good building energy management

When we think about Building Energy Management Systems or BEMS for short, we tend think about hardware installed within a building that measures and controls energy related equipment such as heating, ventilation, cooling and lighting.

But building energy management is now much more than that, with the advent of 5G and lower data and hardware costs, it is now possible and cost effective to both monitor and control beyond simple pieces of equipment.

Consideration should also be given to thinking beyond just energy and the possible inclusion of environmental data and even health and safety improvements are all now realistic, with next generation building energy management solutions.

Industrial internet of things or IIoT for short, sometimes just IoT is the next generation which provides an advanced new dynamic to building energy management.

The Industrial Internet of Things refers to interconnected sensors, instruments, data collectors and other devices that are all networked together. Although this data can be transferred into the cloud, with the addition of Edge Computing means running fewer processes in the cloud and moving those processes to on premise.

Layering AI Technology like a net over all and any data provides the most advanced approach to energy management available at a cost point that is far lower than traditional hard wired solutions.

jobs in energy sector

We combine RPA, IIoT and Artificial Intelligence to deliver the most advanced energy management solution available.

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    Edge AI Platform and Energy Management SolutionsEdge AI platform brings a groundbreaking dimension to IIoT and edge computing

    Our Edge AI platform brings a new and groundbreaking dimension to IIoT and edge computing by embedding AI as close to the source of streaming sensor data as possible.

    With a highly compact solution it delivers unprecedented low latency for onsite data processing, real-time analytics, ML and AI capabilities.

    It delivers the industry’s lowest total cost for computing requirements, communications services, and cloud processing and storage.

    what is edge computing
    What is artificial intelligence

    By introducing and layering Artificial Intelligence (AI) over the top of energy and building data it is possible to manage energy in ways that just a few years ago were not conceivable.

    Combine existing data feeds from traditional BEM’s or add new data points to gather as much or as little as required and allow the machine learning capability to manage energy in new and exciting ways. The possibilities are endless when combined with additional non-energy data such as temperature points or foot-fall.

    The ability to collect data on a scale never before imaginable has become reality with the implementation of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

    And the incredible power of this technology will explode with the addition of 5G as the granular level of data will allow companies to capture thousands of snippets of data every second from every single data point.

    Data isn’t limited to just sending as it can also receive instructions remotely and in real time, so we are not just talking about data collection, we are talking real time control also.

    How It Works Internet of Things

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      Building Energy Management - Reporting SolutionsBuilding Energy Management Metering and Data

      Our Building Energy Management solution is modular based and allows for the initial integration of your building level data supplied either from a smart meter or a half hourly meter. From this base level you can now start to look at where your energy is going beyond the meter and start to implement solutions to manage and control your energy costs and consumption levels.  This includes devices that can capture remote data from source with multiple data streams captured from a single source.

      Building Level Reporting

      Starting with your building level data we can integrate real time statistics to enhance your reporting.

      > Add additional energy management tools as you need them.
      > Measure and control your servers and PC network.
      > Add peripheral equipment such as printers, fax machines, photocopiers, scanners, vending machines
      > Socket level requirements, no problem , we can give you reporting and control down to individual socket level, so you can include individual pieces of equipment, such as vending machines, machinery, equipment, fridges, chillers.
      > Include internal or external lighting down to room level if required.
      > Multilevel energy dashboards to assist with staff engagement or customer engagement.
      > Enhanced real time energy reporting dashboards, ideal for use in reception areas.
      > Display energy use in £, kWh or carbon.
      > Display the real time true cost of your energy, and compare this against previous hours, days, weeks or months.
      > Covers electricity, gas and water real time energy reporting.

      Advanced building energy management control or smart meters are the next generation of metering.

      Smart meters will bring about the end of estimated utility bills and meter readings, and provide customers and energy suppliers with accurate information on the amount of electricity and gas being used.

      Smart energy meters will empower customers to make choices on how much energy they use. Suppliers will install two-way communication systems that display accurate real-time information on electricity use in the business, both to the consumer and back to the energy supplier.

      We provide a range of building energy management smart devices, energy metering and data collection solutions, all aimed at putting you back in control of your energy consumption and ultimately energy costs.

      Electricity supplies with a demand of less than 100kW are not obliged to have half hourly metering equipment installed and are known as non-half hourly (NHH) supplies.

      The charges for these services are often recovered via the chosen electricity supplier’s bill. However, there is an active and extremely competitive market for smart electricity meter operation services, within the UK for both (NHH) and (HH).

      Many building energy management customers, particularity those with multiple sites can achieve significant cost savings and service enhancements by sourcing a national agreement.

      If you think smart energy metering will increase your costs, reconsider.

      Smart energy metering has reduced in price significantly over the last twelve months and the difference between the cost of monthly manual reads and the cost of obtaining remote reads and online half-hourly data has narrowed dramatically.

      According to the Carbon Trust, introducing smart meters can actually save you money.

      Last year, they undertook smart energy metering trials and the results showed that smart energy meters, when combined with consumption data and energy-saving advice, gave potential average savings of 12% a year.

      In addition, smart energy meters or smart electricity meters enable:

      > Flexible electricity tariffs that measure consumption over set time periods
      > Suppliers will be able to differentiate their tariffs and services through offering alternative means of displaying energy consumption – i.e. through mobiles, the internet or via digital TV
      > Improved accuracy of forecasting energy demand at different times of the day

      Energy MeteringBuilding Energy Management - Metering Solutions

      Having already established your typical daily and monthly energy consumption’s through our site level energy services highlighted in our reporting section.  The next course of action is take a look at your building level energy reporting and how you can measure and control everything within your business.

      This can help establish areas that you are wasting energy or help to put you back in control of how energy is used within the business.

      In simple terms our site level reporting captures and measures all energy used up to the front door, and our building level reporting captures, measures and even controls energy within the building.

      But the most significant thing about our site level energy reporting is that it is in real time and covers electricity, gas, water and any other form of energy that you would like to manage and control.

      This is extremely powerful, as most if not all site level reporting through a standard half hour meter or smart meter is at best day plus one.

      This is widely regarded as the industry standard and something the the regulator Ofgem endorses.  but its not uncommon for companies to only have access to weekly or in some cases monthly data.

       

      Fact Sheet

      energy-monitoring

      Project Managed Smart Meters

      We provide a wide range of project managed smart meter solutions from site surveys, sub metering, water meters and standard smart meters.

      We manage both the pre-install requirements, installation and then provide online data management solutions. Installation of your smart meters and related setup can be a rather lengthy and complex process.

      However our simple building energy management solution means all you need to do is request the service for your own electricity supply, and we will manage the whole of the process for you, from installation booking, through to delivery and provision of your new smart meters.

      Then once you are up and running we will even provide access to your own online account through our Catalyst Energy Advantage™ solution and with over 150 standard reports you can easily identify all areas of energy waste, which will help you manage your energy consumption more effectively.

      In addition to this you won’t have any more estimated bills as we will also arrange for your meter readings to be sent directly to your energy supplier, even if your not one of our customers.

      Smart Meter Key Benefits

      > We support every type of electricity profile with our smart meters
      > Fully managed service, we take care of everything for you
      > No more estimated billing
      > Online access to your supply data through the Catalyst Energy Advantage™
      > Easily identify all areas of energy waste with over 150 standard reports
      > Schedule automatic management and exception reports
      > Find out the best and worst performing buildings in your organisation
      > Charges are added to your current electricity contract

      Fact Sheet

      Building Level Reporting

      Building Energy Management Services.Infinite possibilities. Endless opportunities.

      Mandatory Smart Meters

      New license conditions for the supply of electricity and gas were introduced on April 6th 2009. These new conditions were an essential building block in the Government’s carbon reduction program for the UK. Under these changes, all Profile Class 05-08 electricity meters, and all metered gas consuming over 732,000 kWh a year, must be replaced by smart meters.

      The new metering standards for all Profile Class 05-08 meters will be CoP10 for whole current and CoP5 for CT meters (Current Transformer Operated Meter).

      Any smart meter installed as from the 1st January 2009 must comply with this new metering code of practice.

      According to the then Department of Climate Change (DECC), the new meters must ‘store measured electricity consumption data for multiple time periods; and at least half hourly’ and they must ‘provide remote access to such data by the licensee’. DECC also stated that ‘timely’ access to the data from the meter must be given to the customer and government guidance is that ‘timely’ should be day + one.

      But, just because suppliers will now have to give you access to your smart meters data, it doesn’t mean they should let you have it for free.

      The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is advising the public sector not to sign up to a supplier contract where metering is conditional on the agreement.

      They believe this ‘limits competition and the ability to negotiate energy contracts in the future’.

      Continuity of data is fundamental to achieving carbon savings. So, the best route is to go appoint an independent provider of metering and data services such as Catalyst. This will allow you to change supplier without being bound by any metering and data service, and without losing any of your meter data during the supplier change over.

      The Government believes proprietary metering systems are not good for market choice. Therefore, DECC are calling for open systems, so that any data collector can collect from any metering system – just like in the half hourly market.

      The benefit of having open systems is that it will greatly improve consumer choice. Mandatory smart metering affected around 170,000 electricity meters and 40,000 gas meters in the UK.

      If this included your organisation, then it’s in your interest to switch to smart metering sooner rather than later, because the half hourly meter data you will have access to will enable you to see exactly where and when energy waste is occurring.

      It’s only when you have this detailed information that you can start to introduce effective measures to eliminate waste, reduce carbon emissions and improve your companies carbon footprint.

      Currently, there are 110,000 meters in the half hourly market.

      The requirement for mandatory smart metering in electricity Profile Classes 5-8 and annual gas usage of 732,000 kWh or over means a tripling in the number of half hourly meters by 2014. Any organisation which has introduced half hourly metering and which uses more than 6,000 megawatt hours a year (or around £1/2m at today’s prices) will now be caught in the net of the Carbon Reporting.

      Business Gas Smart Meters & Gas Consumption Data Management

      The problem with traditional gas meters only provide a range of estimated meter readings over a given period of time, and allow for no visibility in gas consumption use or the ability to compare gas usage over a given parameter or time frame. In addition to this you have to rely on the supplier correctly invoicing you for the consumption that they think you have used, with no way of validating this request.

      In addition to these standard building energy management problems, if you want to capture your gas consumption into a visible consumption report, and then cross check this against a series of different metrics, you may face some if not all of the following problems.

      Initially before you can begin capturing any building energy management data from your meter, you need to ensure that your meter has a pulsed output facility, and that it is activated. In some cases it may be necessary to replace your meter entirely, to ensure this capability. In some cases you may have to absorb the cost of this exchange or you may be fortunate to have your meter replaced under the guaranteed pulsed output scheme. Once your meter is pulsed output enabled then a logging device can be attached to begin capturing your consumption data.

      This data if the supplier is in a position to accept it (as currently not all suppliers are ready to receive this direct data) can be used to ensure that you are only billed for what you have used.

      The final problem with building energy management is the location of your meter, as the most common form of data transfer is using GSM mobile technology; however as we all know, this isn’t always practical depending on the location of the meter. So you may have to look at radio packet data transfer or even a physical phone line to ensure your data is transmitted correctly.

      Our Gas Smart Meter Solutions

      We provide an independent building energy management approach to gas smart meters, buy combining a range of products and services from different providers to deliver a final solution that fits your requirements.

      > Confirmation that your meter has a pulsed output
      > Confirmation that your meters pulsed output facility is activated
      > Advice and recommendation for meter exchanges
      > Advice on the right type of meter, and solution for your location
      > Online data provision and compressive suite of reports

      Smart Meters For Water

      We can do this with Smart Water Meters, Data logging and Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) also known as Smart Metering are effective water management tools. Data loggers are deployed to monitor water consumption and provide remote water meter reading at strategic points on site.

      The information from the smart water meter is fed back into our web based reporting service so that leaks & other unusual water consumption can be immediately identified.

      Benefits of Smart Water Meters

      > Return on Investment typically less than 12-months
      > Billing on actual meter readings – reducing water charges
      > Rapid rectification of water leaks
      > Successful Monitoring and Targeting Program reduces water consumption
      > Measure site against site
      > Control cost and manage future budgets

      Detailed analysis of water usage can be broken down by building, department, tenant, equipment or shift. Automatic Meter Reading determines usage over time, identifies peaks, compares sites and correlates use with the offending equipment or personnel. It provides leak monitoring and helps leak detection and prevention.

      Online Water Bill Monitoring and Targeting

      Information gathered from AMR needs to be used effectively if it is to become a successful component of a comprehensive water monitoring and targeting program. Our web based reporting system reports:

      > Entire property portfolio bench-marked for water consumption
      > Web access to water smart meters consumption figures
      > Flow rate comparisons and analysis
      > Immediate SMS and email alerts when consumption exceeds expectation
      > Ability to evaluate the effectiveness on environmental projects

      Smart Meters for Building Energy Management

      We can arrange for smart meters for NHH electricity, gas and water. In addition to this we can provide monthly data reports or online account access. Simply complete this form or speak to our energy team and we will arrange to send you a formal contract for signature, along with the terms and conditions. If you need any additional information or would like a formal quote for your smart meters, please contact us. Another area we can assist in is business power gas meters showing business gas total consumption and volume information.  Some direct power company smart meters offer this facility, however obtaining your consumption data can be a difficult and tricky business.

      PC Power Management

      How to manage your PC Power Management for effective power control is a major problem that business face in light of rising energy costs.  Because we are so reliant on computers for business purposes, most companies have a habit of leaving the computers on outside of office hours to avoid lengthy boot up times, or to allow staff to access their work desktop remotely out side of office hours.

      But have you ever considered that the actual time the computer is in use is only a fraction of the working week.  One simple way to save money and reduce green house gas emissions is through proper energy management of your office computers.

      Computers are a vital part of every office’s operations.  The typical office has at least one PC per employee.  Often these computers are left on far longer than they need to, using energy and costing you money.

      Research has shown that desktop computers are the single biggest users of electricity in any office – and that 30% to 60% of this energy is wasted.

      Both Windows and Mac PCs have power saving modes which you can easily use to set your computers to go to “sleep” after a specified amount of idle time and did you know you can also set your computer to turn off completely.

      Simply look on your computers help system for detailed instructions on how to set this up, and it is actually quite simple.

      Easy & Simple PC Power Management

      Many people still believe that the start-up of PCs in the morning uses more energy than is saved by shutting down every night, but simply isn’t true.

      The energy saved by having a PC off for 12 to 16 hours every evening (plus weekends)  far outstrips the energy used during start-up.

      If you cannot educate your staff to switch off their PC’s when not in use, or have a large bank of computes where this just isn’t practical, we still have a solution for you.

      If your system is networked to a central server, you can actually automate the process through our power management software.

      This type of PC Power Management software can be configured to enforce power saving settings across your entire network.   Then capture and record the amount of energy saved, and the true cost of running your IT equipment, and all in real time.

      Imagine being able to see the cost savings immediately and in real time, as your network powers it self down to conserve energy and reduce your energy bills.  From a central server location and using our modular networked software you can set the energy policy for each computer in your organisation.

      Consider the saving potential to your business with these recent two client examples.

      > Client 1: One of our customers has recently reduced energy consumption on its computers by an average of 44% since it started using our PC power management software.

      > Client 2:  Another customer has cut its PC-related greenhouse gas emissions by 65% and saved about £1 million on electricity costs over a 2-year period by installing networked PC power management software to manage 44,000 desktop PCs.

      PC Power Management Power Demand

      Our PC power management software automatically shuts down PCs and peripherals (monitors etc) according to a daily schedule set by your network administrator; this saves your electricity, your money and helps reduce and control your companies carbon footprint.  Our PC power management software consists of two elements a server part and a client based software to schedule the computers to power down each day.

      In addition to this there is an additional modular element for our PC power management solution that  is hardware based and  this senses when a computer has powered down and switches off power to any connected peripherals such as monitors, speakers, printers or routers.

      Once powered down, computers use next to no electricity, cutting electricity bills dramatically and reducing levels of harmful carbon emissions associated with generating electricity.

      Networked computers are identified by the PC Power Management server software; once identified, individual machines are allocated to user created groups. Each group can then have a power down and power up schedule attached to it.

      Typically, power down is scheduled for shortly after the end of the normal work day. When powered down, all computers draw minimal power – all monitors, printers, scanners, speakers and USB peripherals are switched off at the same time.

      At a time you choose before the start of the day, the computers are reactivated and power is returned to the peripherals.   Users simply log on to return their workstation to the state they left it in at the end of the previous day.

      In addition to the daily schedule of morning and evening, Open Windows can be set for each group. An Open Window is created to allow for network administration tasks, updates, polling data, etc. The Open Windows can be scheduled to take place regularly (e.g. every Friday from 02:00 hours ’til 04:00 hours) or as a one-off event.

      PC Power Management Savings

      With the new always-available culture, ‘instant’ this and ‘always-on’ that, we have a load of gizmos and gadgets at home and at work and we seem to have forgotten how to use the ‘off’ button.

      Computers and computer peripherals are some of the biggest offenders being left on in homes, offices and schools all day and night.  With a typical mid-range office workstation comprising of a PC and a monitor, uses 200 Watts of electricity when switched on.

      According to research conducted by the computer manufacturer, DELL, over 90% of corporate PC’s are left on all the time.

      The Facts:

      To put that into an everyday context, a diesel 1.6 car driven 10,000 miles in a year emits 2.2 tonnes of CO2 and leaving four computers switched on when not needed results in the same level of CO2 emissions.

      > Gartner – The world’s leading information technology research and advisory company, announced that ICT is responsible for 2% of the world’s emissions of the principle greenhouse gas, CO2 – roughly equivalent to that of the airline industry. Further, 40% of those emissions come from PCs and monitors.

      > WWF – According to WWF, unless we stop average global temperatures from rising more than 2°C above the level recorded in pre-industrial times, we face a high risk of severe and irreversible changes in the planet’s natural systems.

      > Problem – The consequences of changing weather patterns, warming seas and melting ice will be devastating for people and nature. To stay below 2°C, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak within the next 10 years and then fall by at least 80% by 2050.

      The pattern is repeated in schools and public sector organisations throughout the UK and leaving a single PC consuming 200W on all the time consumes nearly £200 of electricity a year and this equates to half a tonne of CO2 emissions.

      If you only needed a 200W business computer 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, switching it off for the other 118 hours a week would save you around £135 a year and reduce CO2 emissions by half a tonne, and that’s for each computer.

      The best solution would be to switch equipment off when not needed, the problem is that most people don’t.  There are many reasons why equipment is not switched off, including lack of knowledge, lack of awareness and lack of accountability to name but a few.

      In the mid to longer term, education, incentive, disciplinary action or a combination of all three may lead to an attitude shift, but in the meantime however, our PC power management offers a technological solution to an old problem.  We will automatically power down computers and peripherals when not needed, to eliminate wasted electricity consumption and associated emissions.  Please contact us for further information on our PC Power Management solutions.

      Power Control Equipment

      An additional module to our PC power management solution is the introduction of peripheral energy management with our Power Control Equipment module.  If you review a typical business environment you will find electrical equipment left on all hours of the day, when it may only be required for a fraction of the time.

      For example in an office environment your find photocopiers, fax machines, printers, scanners and even mobile phone chargers plugged in using energy 24-hours of the day.

      In other more energy intensive environments this problem can be scaled up to include larger electrical equipment and machinery such as vending machines, large scale lighting and air conditioning control.

      Our solution is modular based and is retrofitted into your existing equipment that you would like to manage and control.  For example we are able to capture the amount of energy used down to individual socket level if required.

      This provides extremely powerful information on the amount of energy used, the cost over any given period of time, and you can then set your own control settings to manage and control the cost of energy.

      All of this can be done in real time from your own web based dashboard allowing you understand where energy is used, how to save it and the return on investment of any new energy saving ideas.

      Power Control Equipment Summary

      Measure, control and switch any thing that requires power in your business.

      > Presents energy data in carbon, power and cost in real time
      > Set your own time based policies on everything
      > Real-time dashboards that present energy data in an easy to understand format for your staff, customers and stakeholders
      > One of the most powerful energy dashboards available on the market today
      > Power control equipment remotely
      > Energy alerts to support energy efficiency initiatives and spot issues e.g. water leaks, overloads, loss of power

      This is one of the most cost effective and powerful energy management solutions available on the market today and it has so many unique aspects to it that its difficult to compare this to any other solution currently available.

      Energy Dashboards

      The third and final element to our modular based energy management solution is the ability to provide your business with energy dashboards.  So where ever you decide to capture your energy consumption from, such as just the companies computers or a vending machine.

      > You are able to view from a huge library of reports  all designed to help you administer energy management and help lower your carbon emissions.

      > Easily set up multi user access and report by different levels in the organisation from site, cost centre, department and users.

      > Set your own energy targets to measure performance and include a set of energy alerts for both over and under consumption to measure leaks, overloads, potential failures or power outages.

      > Real time reports to include your energy data in carbon, power and cost.

      > Automate your energy reports to simplify your reporting process.

      > Our energy dashboard software is also versatile.

      Reception Energy Dashboards

      Engage staff and customers further into your efforts to manage and control your business environmental impact with an energy dashboard.  Designed to be displayed in foyers and receptions areas or through any web browser throughout your business.

      > Real-time dashboards that present energy data in an easy to understand format for your staff, customers and stakeholders.

      > The dashboard presents multiple level views on energy use from the main utility meter down to individual users and equipment.

      > Divide areas of your business in to various cost centers.

      > Identify energy champions who are responsible for there own cost centers.

      Real-time Energy Dashboards

      Our energy dashboard solutions display your on site energy consumption in real time, and allow you to build your own reports based on your required criteria.  Micro focus your efforts on individual pieces of hardware or equipment to truly identify your key business operating costs.  An energy dashboard is an essential tool in controlling and managing your energy cost and lower your businesses carbon emissions.

      Non-Commodity Reporting ToolsNon-Commodity accounts for 60% of an energy contract, and all flexible customer benefit from our be-spoke non-commodity analysis.