If you are just starting up (or revamping) your energy management program, there are two inexpensive steps to take that will produce the most bang for the buck. These steps are risk-free, and these are the very best first steps to take (even if they were expensive and fraught with risk). Nearly all successful energy management programs have taken these steps.
Step #1:
Let Your Utility Bills Tell You Where to Save Energy
The best first step in successful energy management should be setting up an effective utility bill tracking system.
An effective utility bill tracking system will tell you where to concentrate your energy management efforts. In other words, you only need to know the first steps in energy management, and from there, your path should be clear. A good utility bill tracking system will answer these questions: Which buildings need help? Should we concentrate on turning off lights and equipment, or reducing demand? Are we meeting our energy reduction goals or not? After I remove the effects of weather and occupancy, is the building using more energy than last year or not? Which buildings have huge weather sensitivity, and which do not? Also, you can easily spot changes in building behavior, equipment or controls breakdowns, and bills that are just plain wrong.
Suppose you didn't have a utility bill tracking database. You would be driving blind. How do you know which buildings to work on? Do you really know if a building is using more energy than last year? Or could increased usage be due to hot summers or cold winters? How can you tell if you are saving energy on your projects? The last thing you want is to have hot summers wipe out your energy savings.
If you have your system in place and are using it to actively manage your energy, you should save at least 10% of your energy budget.
Suppose you have an energy budget of $1,000,000, and you save 10%, or $100,000. You would think a tool that will make this happen should cost at least $100,000, but it doesn't. Good utility bill tracking software costs anywhere from $10,000 to $70,000. Setting up your database just a few thousand more. What kind of payback is that? Less than a year, right? If you are going to be an active energy manager, utility bill tracking is a safe, effective and very inexpensive first step.
Metrix 4 is a powerful utility bill tracking software. It has been around since the mid-90's, and is used to track hundreds of school districts, colleges, universities, cities, counties, states, hospitals, real estate and private industry. Learn more about Metrix 4 and download a free evaluation version.
Step #2: Get Refunds on Utility Bill Overcharges
The next step in setting up a successful energy management program is to have a utility bill audit done. Utilities routinely (and accidentally) overcharge their customers billions of dollars every year on billing errors, or by putting customers on the wrong rates. We find billing errors for our customers, gather refunds from the utilities, and we put our customers on the correct rates, and are paid only a portion of the savings we can achieve. If we cannot save you anything, you will not lose anything. If you would like to start saving money now, you can get a free utility audit consultation.Your Energy Management Partner
Start managing your energy costs today! If you have any questions about energy management software, need advice, and/or feel frustrated with all of the options available, please contact Abraxas Energy Consulting. We will do our best to answer your questions and head you in the right direction.
What We Do:
Abraxas Energy Consulting sells and supports energy analysis and utility bill tracking software, including Metrix software, EnergyCAP, and others.
We also provide energy consulting and management services, such as energy software training, utility tracking, utility bill tracking database setups and conversions, utility bill auditing, energy audits for LEED buildings, energy audits, and custom energy software applications.
