Energy Information: The Key to Cost-Effective Conservation

Abstract

This paper analyzes the cost-effectiveness- simple payback, Net Present Value (NPV) and Return on Investment (ROI) -of permanently installed energy consumption monitoring equipment used as the basis for applying value-added engineering services such as operations and maintenance (O&M) measure implementation, building commissioning and power quality problem identification and remediation. The authors have been involved in the design, installation and systems integration of energy monitoring systems since 1978 and have been involved in the installation of hundreds of monitoring systems in large commercial, industrial and institutional facilities throughout the United States. While most of these energy monitoring systems were used for load research, technology assessment and energy savings verification purposes, there is growing interest in the use of permanently installed monitoring systems to provide information and ultimately intelligence related to facility or process energy system optimization, or, in other words the use of monitoring as the foundation for implementing cost-effective conservation.