Planning the budget for your next fiscal year? Searching for ways to save on operating costs so you can free up funds for business expansion and more jobs? Have you looked closely at your electric bill lately? Unless that bill is satisfyingly low, chances are that energy monitoring could help you get a handle on this huge operating cost.
What could energy monitoring reveal?
It identifies patterns and interval data for analysis. Monitoring can identify specific areas of your facility or even specific equipment that may be energy vampires. It could suggest equipment that needs to be updated to a more energy-efficient version, or it could show where gradual/staggered startups of equipment could eliminate big spikes in the way you use electricity.
If your business is in Knoxville Utilities Board territory, you can log onto your account and get a very detailed look at how your business uses electricity. If you have another local utility provider, you may need to check with customer service on how much detail they can provide about how and when your business is using electricity. Beyond this utility company information, you could opt to do some of your own energy monitoring, or have a third-party vendor provide this service.
As businesses grow, but don’t have the view that energy monitoring provides, they may end up paying excess fees often called demand charges because of the ways they need so much electricity from the power grid at a time when everyone else does, as well. In KUB territory, you can ask about the time-of-use program that could possibly help ease this problem.
Along with obvious conservation efforts such as better insulation, upgraded HVAC systems and energy efficient LED lighting, energy monitoring is the single strongest tool your business may not be using – that could uncover ways to save energy and money.
Anne Brock is marketing coordinator for Solar Alliance, which provides energy monitoring services as well as designing and managing solar installation projects for manufacturers and small businesses. She can be reached at email or 865-221-8349
