Working out the most efficient way to run a commercial building can be a challenge, particularly with the vast range of new technologies on the market. Our last blog discussed why visibility is key when it comes to good energy management. Here we explain why it is important to look beyond initial savings and how you can plan your building’s energy efficiency in the longer term.

Firstly, it is important to remember that not all improvements require the same amount of long term input. For example, replacing all of your ‘Emergency Exit’ signs with an LED equivalent or insulating your building to the latest standards would give an initial saving and wouldn’t require any long term adjustment, calibration or monitoring. A complete LED lighting scheme for an entire building, on the other hand, would require periodic action to provide ongoing benefits and it is these that can be derailed by inattention. While in theory the LED system would deliver energy savings, if end users start manually bypassing the system because it’s not providing their desired light levels, then the building performance could end up being lower than it was before the lighting upgrade.

Most building improvements which are aimed at reducing energy usage therefore require ongoing monitoring to sustain their benefit over time. Monitoring energy use in a commercial building is very different to monitoring energy in the home because while a ‘big picture’ energy consumption summary is better than nothing, it doesn’t provide the right amount of information to identify which items of plant are the biggest consumers of energy and which are costing the most to operate.

There is a common industry misconception that by deploying an energy monitoring system alongside a BMS you can control your building’s energy use. However, energy monitoring solutions can vary in their ability and capacity to collect data from different sources. In order for it to provide the right information and be future proof it also needs to be flexible – which means it must be able to collect energy consumption data from a vast array of points within a building, including smart meters, data loggers, ModBus or M-Bus meters and data points to create a comprehensive picture of energy use.

Long term, detailed monitoring is fundamental in allowing an organisation to develop an energy reduction strategy, but to do this effectively it is important to be able to analyse the information provided. This analysis is made easier with a solution like SIPinsight Energy & Building Information Software (EBIS), which brings all of the data together in one place.

Perhaps it’s time you looked beyond initial savings and implemented a better long term efficiency plan for your building’s energy.

Click to here learn more about EBIS or email us to find out more.

SIP2 offers many of the features from our established SIP+ but has been created for use on smaller projects where a SIP+ maybe overkill.

Ideal for applications such as

• Monitoring utility meters in smaller buildings and apartments
• Monitoring HIU in apartments
• Interfacing meters and plant to BACnet or Trend BMS
• Capturing data for export to third party systems or software such as billing platforms

SIP2 is also very competitively priced so if you would like to find out more please contact your local account manager or call us on 01444 246 128.

Building managers require simple visible access to their building’s data if they are to improve the energy performance of their buildings. Being able to see ongoing, up to date information on one screen, building managers will be able to make the necessary changes to improve their building’s performance in both the short and the long term and achieve its optimum performance.

Buildings produce a lot of data from various sources, such as metering systems and Building Management Systems (BMS), but bringing all this information together so that it can be effectively analysed is not always straightforward. An Energy Management System (EMS) collects energy data from a building and EMS functionality has been added to many BMSs, which allows the collected data to be displayed on charts of the user’s preference so that consumption trends can be spotted easily and acted upon. But with new environmental targets now in place, such as the UK government’s commitment to meet a net zero carbon emissions target by 2050, building managers will need even more control than what an EMS can provide.

Energy Building Information Software (EBIS), such as our SIPInsight EBIS, goes beyond what you would expect from a traditional EMS. Not only can EBIS provide users with all the basic information you would expect from an EMS, it displays BMS points and maps these points against associated energy data points collected from meters. This extra functionality enables users to display meter values and consumption with the option to display related BMS values and status at the same time or overlay on an energy graph. Efficiency issues can be highlighted by identifying energy consumption and occupancy trends and mapping them against the status and run time hours of the building’s plant. The system can also be quickly and easily scaled up or down as required. This flexibility allows users to monitor one part of a building, a whole building, an entire campus or multiple sites across a country for example, without being tied to one building or specific location.

Andy Thorn, Sales and Service Director of Synapsys Solutions, said: “We all want things to be simple, and EBIS has been designed to be a simple and easy to use solution with a number of tools to make your building’s data easier to understand, correlate and analyse. When a building’s data is presented in a clear and concise format the building manager can view the building’s performance over a selected time period and make the necessary changes to improve the building’s energy performance.”

Click to here learn more about EBIS or email us to find out more.