Do you know how much value is hidden in your existing energy assets? Can you see whether you have spare power capacity or inherent storage in your equipment and operational processes?
If you can’t identify energy flexibility opportunities in your operations, you will miss out on cost and carbon savings, operational efficiency, energy efficiency, and revenue from distributed energy solutions like Demand Response.
Our Internet of Things (IoT) technology provides deep energy insights that can uncover greater flexibility and value in your operations and generation assets. This is a ‘game changer’ in raising energy efficiency and performance across all types of organizations – from manufacturing and leisure – to healthcare and education.
Our new video explains how IoT is uncovering flexibility to improve energy asset optimization.
Centrica Business Solutions’ IoT energy insights technology provides full visibility of energy usage across your site, or multiple sites – right down to individual device level. We attach wireless sensors to equipment and processes, such as conveyor belts, lighting circuits, chillers, or any other energy consuming assets. This instantly transmits real-time data to our cloud-based PowerRadarTM analytics and reporting platform, which provides accessible intelligence to inform and simplify decision-making. Our sensors can monitor both heat and power consumption.
Hundreds of sensors can be installed within a few hours, without causing any disruption to operations. Data provided by IoT enables organizations to quickly resolve energy waste and pinpoints opportunities to reduce high peak-time energy costs by moderating consumption.
Businesses can also use this intelligence to unlock new Demand Response revenue streams by understanding new opportunities to decrease energy use or sell surplus energy back to the grid. This includes a one-of-a-kind Demand Response virtual planning application, providing easy-to-see potential impacts of curtailment activities on overall site energy use. Robust safeguards can be implemented to ensure that any load curtailment respects operational boundaries and to prevent any risks to safety or business continuity.
The biggest gains of IoT energy insights are often seen in improved operational efficiency and business resilience. By ensuring that critical equipment is operating optimally and preventing costly disruption, or even breakdown, large operational cost savings can be achieved and continuity of operations is assured. This can be particularly beneficial in manufacturing environments.
We’re seeing the positive results of our IoT enabled energy optimization across all business sectors, including:
The Franklin, a 2.48 million square foot office property in Chicago, saved more than $214,000 in energy costs by using our energy insights solution to improve understanding of its energy usage at device level. By using our IoT wireless sensors to track real-time electricity consumption, The Franklin discovered that they were heating the property unnecessarily during unoccupied hours. Our energy insights solution also revealed that a year-round heating tendency led to simultaneous heating and cooling in the summer. Our solution provided the data necessary to correct these operational problems and reduce annual energy use by more than 3 million kWh, or more than 7% of the property’s historical annual energy consumption.
Excela Healthcare implemented Demand Response and our energy insights solution to take their energy strategy to the next level and increase earnings by $50,000. They wanted to identify potential cost savings and boost efficiency without a large capital investment. They enrolled in Demand Response to generate revenue by curtailing energy consumption during periods of peak demand on the power grid – integrating Demand Response with our energy insights solution created a complete energy strategy. The data from our energy insights solution yielded insights into exactly where Excela Healthcare could shed load consumption during Demand Response events. By reducing use from their HVAC systems, lighting and elevators, they were able to curtail more than 3.5 MW at three of their locations, resulting in significant new revenue streams for Excela.
Organizations across the globe are harnessing IoT technologies like our energy insights solution to transform their energy performance. Watch our video to understand how you can use IoT to pinpoint hidden areas of flexibility within your energy system and start maximizing optimization opportunities.
To learn more about how IoT could transform your relationship with energy, contact Centrica Business Solutions today.
