Energy Management - Smarter Consumption
In the next few years the way organisations and individuals use energy is set to change forever. Conservative estimates have electricity costs doubling within 15 years, which is an increase of over 5% p.a. Major price spikes are soon expected due to rising generation, transmission and distribution costs.
How will this affect your bottom line?
Organisations are now under increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint. This pressure has generally been applied via public perception of your brand, but now, new pressures will be applied to your bottom line via various government programs regardless of any Energy Trading Scheme. By improving energy efficiency, reducing energy wastage and using clean energy products you can take an innovative leap forward, drive down your carbon foot print and simultaneously increase your bottom line.
That's why we believe in:
Cleaner Production - Smarter Consumption
Government compliance programs that may affect your bottom line
National and state regulations now require annual mandatory reporting of Energy consumption for most organisations. Please see our Government Programs page to see if this applies to your organisation.
Current government programs include:
- Australian Government's Energy Efficiency Opportunities Program
- National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act
- Queensland Government Smart Energy Savings Program
Energy Management Services:
- Design and installation of Energy Management Systems
- Energy Logging and Compliance Reporting Services
- Energy Auditing (L1, L2 & L3 AS3598)
- Energy Efficient Fittings
- Smart Building Design
Energy Management Systems
Energy Management Systems (EMS) are computer based controllers that reduce energy consumption by eliminating wasted energy. This is achieved by monitoring and regulating appliance and fixture usage.
Examples of what an EMS can do:
- Efficiently automate production processes
- Manage lighting and Air Conditioning by only operating during office hours or only if someone is in the room
- Eliminate redundant energy usage
An EMS can be tailored to suit your environment and needs, so talk to Sun State Solar about a solution to suit your organisation.
Energy logging and reporting services
You can't manage what you can't measure. Energy logging and profiling is essential to creating a benchmark for your organisation; usually in conjunction with energy auditing.
Energy profiling allows you to establish when and where your energy is being used and track the progress of any energy management improvements.
Government programs and capital works projects often have requirements to log energy usage for compliance and reporting purposes.
Sun State Solar can log and compile regular reports tailored to the needs of your organisation.
Energy Auditing
Conducting an Energy Audit will allow your organisation to benchmark its energy usage and identify potential energy savings. This is helpful for mapping future energy growth and costs as well as developing a site energy plan. Audits generally cover the following areas:
- Energy usage history via billing
- Site usage patterns i.e. Hours of operation, numbers of staff, school holidays etc.
- Measuring and logging current operations
- Planning and mapping future energy usage
Full professional energy audits are carried out with accordance to AS3598:2000.
This Australian Standard sets out three levels of auditing:
Level 1 -
A Level 1 audit, sometimes called an energy overview, allows the overall energy consumption of the site to be evaluated, so as to determine whether energy use is reasonable or excessive. This audit provides initial benchmarks of the site so that the effect of energy measures can be tracked and evaluated. It may be in the form of a desktop study; however the information given to, or gathered by, the auditor needs to be sufficient enough to enable the overall level of efficiency of the site to be determined.
NOTE: A Level 1 audit is expected to give a general overview, which provides rough orders of savings and costs. Accuracy of figures would generally be within ±40%.
Level 2 -
A Level 2 audit identifies the sources of energy to a site, the amount of energy supplied, and how this energy is consumed. It also identifies areas where savings may be made, recommends measures to be taken, and provides a statement of costs and potential savings.
NOTE: A Level 2 audit is an energy use survey, which is expected to provide a preliminary assessment of costs and savings. Accuracy of figures would generally be within ±20%.
Level 3-
A Level 3 audit provides a detailed analysis of energy usage, the savings that can be made, and the cost of achieving those savings. It may cover the whole site or may concentrate on an individual item, such as a single industrial process or one of the services. The auditor may often employ a specialist to carry out specific parts of an audit or may need to install local metering and logging.
The report from a Level 3 audit often forms the justification for substantial investment by the owner or an energy performance contractor. Detailed economic analysis with an appropriate level of accuracy is required.
NOTE: A Level 3 audit is expected to provide a firm estimate of savings and costs. Accuracy of figures would be within +10% for costs and -10% for benefits.
If you are an organisational or site energy manager, or you simply require advice in guiding your organisation's future energy use, then talk to us at Sun State Solar.
Smart Building Design
Although Sun State Solar is not itself an architectural firm, we are available to offer our expertise in consultation to architects and building developers. We can utilise the best products and methods available to create a more energy efficient building project.
If you require professional energy management advice for your building project, then contact us at Sun State Solar.