The deployment of digital meters and energy monitoring technology are the building blocks for our nation’s smart grid. Taking meter data and marrying it with web-based software can provide facility managers with the detailed data they need to turn technology investments into real dollar and energy savings.
A great article, What Energy Dashboards Can Do, discusses the emerging dashboard technology and how it can promote customer facing energy intelligence. Providing energy intelligence in easy to understand graphs, in near real-time, are just a couple of the advantages of these tools. The big benefit is that the purchasing power is put back in the hands of consumer and keeps power on the grid.
A related article mentions that “few of the real-time dashboards presently include common energy analysis tools, such as linear regression, load duration curves or tariff models.” This was good news for CrunchEnergy as the CrunchBox provides a host of analysis and reporting tools – including load level applications and peak demand alerts.
Will companies take advantage of energy dashboards as a key tool in energy conservation? The tools are new and, as with any innovation, there tends to be a learning curve. Only time will tell. Dashboards are also a great tool for utilities suppliers to monitor grid load in real-time. Who will reap the benefits first?
