Trying to manage your organization’s energy use can be a daunting task. Still more difficult is effectively finding inefficiencies, prioritizing optimizations, and ensuring uptime is maintained.
Energy monitoring systems are an integral aspect of enterprises realizing their energy usage and sustainability-related operational goals. They help companies organize the overwhelming amount of data from their daily operations and use KPIs to monitor assets for any irregularities or possible optimizations.
Over time, this information builds a database of documentation that can lead to further improvements and insights that create opportunities for greater energy efficiency.
There are a wide array of solutions providing energy monitoring capabilities for various sectors, but how can you tell them apart?
First, let’s try to distinguish between energy monitoring and energy management.
What is the difference between Energy Monitoring and Energy Management Systems?
Energy monitoring systems are a combination of hardware and software that track a variety of metrics and KPIs relevant to site efficiency. But, this is where the role of an EMS ends because although the monitoring tool might detect anomalies, it cannot mitigate them.
That’s where energy management systems come in. These solutions compound energy monitoring systems’ possible optimizations and efficiencies by providing direct remote access, management tools, and controls. Energy management also allows users to set up their organization’s preferred parameters and metrics like operating time, temperature limits, etc.
Now that we’ve established those differences let’s look at some of the benefits of energy monitoring systems.
What are the benefits of Energy Monitoring Systems?
Energy is the most critical factor in running most of modern society. Its importance has made the accessibility and affordability of power from national grids a high priority.
Despite those efforts, the costs of energy scale alarmingly fast for organizations and businesses that are responsible for many buildings and pieces of equipment. These costs can constitute as much as 50% of operational expenses in some sectors.
So, the first step in taking control of your power use is increasing visibility with an energy monitoring system.
Using an EMS allows commercial enterprises to track their power consumption more effectively. Knowing where your systems are leaking energy, being overused, or are mismanaged is important for reducing operational expenses.
Wasted energy can potentially be reallocated to compensate for or expand the needs of other systems. If the energy is truly unnecessary, cutting back on use lowers the carbon footprint and improves the overall sustainability image of your operation.
An EMS helps companies organize the overwhelming amount of data from their daily operations and uses KPIs to monitor assets for any irregularities or possible optimizations. Over time, this information can lead to further improvements and insights that create opportunities for greater energy efficiency.
8 of the Best Commercial Energy Monitoring Systems
1. EnergyIP by Siemens
Siemens’ Energy IP is a utilities-focused energy monitoring solution that aims to keep customers ahead of an increasingly self-conscious energy market. They offer monitoring solutions for various targets, including devices, energy expenses, and overall power usage.
EnergyIP provides a secure, scalable, and automated energy monitoring platform.
One customer specifically noted that “the program is easy to use and has been helpful” in their energy monitoring.
Pros
- Customer energy usage analytics
- Data management for error-free billing
- Easy to navigate platform
Cons
- Focuses on only the cost aspect of energy monitoring
- Sporadic loading issues with the software platform
Price: Upon request
2. Galooli
Galooli is a leading innovator in remote energy monitoring and management. We provide a comprehensive, agnostic remote energy asset monitoring platform for ICT entities, industrial facilities, commercial buildings, and more.
Galooli provides live monitoring of energy assets and KPIs, discovering actionable insights to help stakeholders optimize their remote site operations. Our RMM platform provides a complete view of your entire site network and alerts you to the most costly and inefficient sites and assets.
Our solution improves visibility across a broad array of assets, from generators and batteries to door alarms and aviation lights. This improved awareness shortens response times and enables predictive maintenance, reducing operational costs and speeding up remediation from weeks to days or even hours.
Pros
- The agnostic platform integrates with existing hardware or directly through the cloud
- Detailed visual dashboards focused on singular assets and performance overviews
- Self-optimized and automated with actionable insights based on machine learning AI
- Monitors assets remotely, providing live alerts to glitches or events outside thresholds
- Periodic customized reports and historical and live data-based actionable insights
Price: Upon Request
3. Kaizen Energy
Kaizen Energy is a SaaS energy solution that helps monitor and manage energy use for networks of buildings and facilities. They provide a platform to track energy use compared to established thresholds and help identify problematic sites within your network. They are focused on minimizing wasted energy and turning meter data into valuable insights.
One Kaizen customer appreciated the ability of their solution to “[Provide] us a deep process knowledge and helps to grow our carrier in [a] better way.”
Pros
- Performance data centralized on one platform
- Kaizen Fault Detection and Diagnostics
Cons
- Generic interface and reports
- Lack of ability to highlight specific sites and machinery onsite
Price: Upon request
4. Conservice ESG (formerly Goby)
Conservice ESG supports companies pursuing ethical investment standards with their cloud-based data aggregating service.
They focus on sustainability reporting and standard compliance, using data to inform companies on their progress towards important ESG goals.
The solution features an intuitive platform designed to streamline organization efforts in terms of ESG targets and provide an accurate metric measure of their performance.
Pros
- The recent acquisition of Goby combines utility monitoring with ESG monitoring and management
- Automates many traditionally manual processes
- Data-based insights provide OpEx savings
Cons
- Software limits some availability of data clients found necessary for their work
- Upfront implementation costs can be high
Price: Upon Request
5. Energyly
Energyly is a web and mobile-based energy monitoring platform that provides real-time data and analytics focused on commercial energy usage to reduce costs.
They are focused on the commercial, healthcare, and retail sector.
Energyly excels at helping customers identify energy wastage and become more aware of how they are using and purchasing it.
Pros
- Alerts the system when there are energy spikes
- IoT-based real-time energy use monitoring
- Simple installation can be completed in under 30 minutes
Cons
- Limited by design to monitor four or twelve machines
- Proprietary hardware required
- No KPI tracking beyond basic energy usage
Price: Upon request
6. RETScreen
RETScreen is a bit of an outlier in this list due to its origins. It is a clean energy-focused monitoring tool sponsored by the Canadian government.
They used advanced algorithms to collect data and assess energy projects for their potential to succeed and monitor their ongoing progress.
One user, in particular, highlighted the “user interface and flow of information and its organization.”
Pros
- In-depth insights KPIs like cost, usage, and emissions
- Simple and easy to use
- Detailed reports, including summaries
Cons
- Lacks advanced analytics for more technical reports
- Some users found the wealth of information overwhelming
Price: Upon Request
7. Autodesk Insights
Autodesk Insights tackles inefficiency in building design from a completely different angle.
The software provides architects with comprehensive simulations of their projects and pinpoints potential issues the analytics algorithm can detect.
This ensures buildings by design are as efficient as possible from the ground up.
Pros
- Track building progress against established KPIs
- Discover insights into your building process and streamline it
- Revit integration to introduce energy models at every stage of the project
Cons
- Not a traditional energy monitoring solution
- Lacks any live monitoring or management capabilities beyond modeling
- Expensive
Price: Upon Request
8. Pressac
Sensorfact by Pressac provides smart energy monitoring solutions for modern buildings with easy to install sensors that operate battery-free.
They monitor energy and utility use for commercial buildings in real-time, with wireless connectivity and easy scalability.
Pros
- Simple, battery-free installation
- Measures energy use on a facility, circuit, or by-machinery basis
- Supports Modbus and BACnet systems, among others
Cons
- Lacks a visual platform for energy monitoring
- Data inputted into a live-updated Google Sheet
- Sensors are pricey, especially if a building needs to install more than several
Price: Upon Request
Make energy use effective again
Though managing an organization’s energy consumption effectively is a multi-faceted, complex task, it is critical. One thing is for sure – energy monitoring systems are an integral part of that process.
Trying to pick and choose between different options is not easy. The most important thing is to find a tool that can address your needs, especially in terms of the size and complexity of your facilities.
Galooli’s agnostic energy monitoring and management platform can provide live remote monitoring and management of your sites and energy assets and sensors. This gives you complete visibility and control over your infrastructure – at all times.
For more information on Galooli and to try a free demo, click here.
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