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It’s Time to Take Control of Your Energy Consumption

How well are you interrogating your data? Many businesses are now collecting half hourly (HH) energy data as standard - and depending on the size of their portfolio, will no doubt be reviewing this available data in a number of ways. Whether that is using spreadsheets, via a supplier portal, or using a single energy management system to manage all their utilities in one place.

Many businesses are now collecting half hourly (HH) energy data as standard – and depending on the size of their portfolio, will no doubt be reviewing this available data in a number of ways. Whether that is using spreadsheets, via a supplier portal, or using a single energy management system to manage all their utilities in one place.

How Well Are You Interrogating Your HH Energy Data?
To effectively identify and reduce energy waste you need to measure and monitor your energy consumption continually, rather than waiting until your monthly invoice arrives. For a small portfolio, an online energy dashboard might be sufficient, but for large portfolios, it can be time-consuming to review your data for each HH meter manually, let alone find the time to follow up on spikes of high consumption.

That is why we recommend that energy managers with multisite portfolios, or those looking after large or complex sites, consider an automated system for monitoring consumption, which will allow superior data visibility and give you more time to get on with your job.

Superior Data Visibility
Our Profile Alerts service uses software to automatically detect unexpected energy consumption patterns, sending an automated email straight to the relevant site. This allows staff to identify and follow up unusual consumption quickly, reducing the chance of significant overspend.

Our dedicated support team call priority sites, and together with regular reporting and reviews help you to easily identify and justify appropriate saving initiatives moving forward. Common issues tend to be behavioural issues, for example lights being left on, or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) controls being overridden.
Acting on Your Alerts – The Importance of Human Reaction

If you have a large portfolio, you will no doubt be relying on various site contacts to follow up consumption alerts, and where possible put preventative measures in place. This may work for some sites, but for others, site managers may be compromised by other priorities and/or a lack of knowledge when it comes to identifying the cause for overconsumption.

We also understand that not all designated site contacts are energy experts – this is where our dedicated support team comes into its own. They call your priority sites and provide advice and support to help them identify the cause – working with your team until the issue is resolved. Talking through the potential causes with an expert has been proven to pinpoint the ‘real’ cause for overconsumption faster.

Turning Insights into Action
Keeping overheads down is critical for any successful business, and due to Covid-19, there are of course additional pressures on businesses to cut costs and remain resilient. Plus, with legislative obligations such as SECR, as well as the introduction of Net-Zero, we understand why energy professionals are looking for affordable solutions for energy and carbon reduction.

Profile Alerts can not only form part of your SECR and Net-Zero offering, they can help you achieve significant energy savings at a low cost. In fact, the biggest cause of energy wastage identified by our Profile Alerts service is connected to staff behaviour. Which is good news, right? Because behavioural items can be dealt with at a relatively low cost – we will always try to identify the lowest cost (or no cost) resolution, to avoid capital expenditure.

Having worked on numerous efficiency projects, we know that when staff feel engaged and supported, this will encourage energy efficiency across the business. Our fully supported interactive service can help you drive energy efficient behaviour, allowing you to turn insights into action.

To find out more about our Profile Alerts service, go to www.inspiredenergy.co.uk/profile-alerts/ or call us on 01772 689 250.