Cloud Based Energy Monitoring and Analytics

Before we can talk about this topic we need to revisit the basic principles of energy units and measurements:

Joules - The (SI) basic metric unit of energy is the joule.

Watts - The (SI) basic metric unit at which energy gets used and is measured in Watts. Watts are the same as joules per second. 

Electrical vs. Thermal Power - Watts are most commonly used for electricity, but the rate at which a gas appliance or an air conditioner moves heat energy is also measured in watts. This is called thermal power. In cases where electrical power could be confused with thermal power, you might see the distinction made clear with a subscript, kW for kilowatt (electric) and kW for kilowatt (thermal). 

When designing for energy efficiency improvements can reach between 50-90%. Verification of these reductions has been problematic due to factors such as time lag, quality of data, quantity of data and manual processing of this information. 

This semi-automatic process has effected the rate of productivity, as it would be difficult to identify statistical trends in a meaningful and effective manner. 

Efficiency gains of another 20-40% could be identified from the right analysis of this continuous data. 

As with other IT platforms, having a siloed approach to analysing energy data (both generated and consumed) is complicated. Some solar PV, refrigeration, cogeneration, batteries storage, HVAC etc. systems have their own sub metering with zero or very limited on-board analytics. 

To add to the complexity there is patchy access to data from systems like utility meters, SCADA and BMS systems which were designed during the cold war and are considered legacy products. 

Additionally the existing ICT legacy systems may rely on local infrastructure to host both computer hardware and software. Costs to run these systems are very high compared to a cloud based system. The arguments for a cloud based system are well established. 

Ideally direct cloud access to these metered points would be best. However solutions do exist where organisations can still combine old legacy systems to the cloud and push data via FTP protocol.    

Finally, the issue of energy efficiency and renewables should be approached in a holistic manner. The reason is that each technology introduced could affect not only your current investments but could limit your scope of choices in the future. This basic point is seldom understood. The right cloud based software should allow you to not only view and analyse all of your energy data but also be your Single Source of Truth.