How Does an Energy Management System Work?

How Does an Energy Management System Work?

1. What is Energy Management?
2. Why Should You Manage Your Energy?
3. How Does Energy Management Work?
4. What Can You Use for Energy Management?

In this age when most take environmental awareness and sensitivity into greater importance, every person must be conscious about how much carbon footprint they produce. One of the biggest culprits behind big carbon footprints is energy consumption, and that is what most people are actively trying to regulate in both micro and macro scales. For instance, the hospitality industry is actively looking for ways to improve their services, while maximizing energy efficiency. By using a combination of local hotel lock systems and proper energy management, operating a hotel is starting to become better and more efficient.

Try to consider energy management and its systems for a moment because it is not widely talked about, but has a great impact when it comes to things like efficiency and sustainability. Here is what you need to know.

What is Energy Management?

Energy management in the context of this article is all about saving energy and energy efficiency whether it’s in your own home or your respective workplace. Meanwhile, energy management systems (EMS) are a combination of hardware and software you can use to manage energy. Most, if not all, EMS have the following functions: they monitor and collect information on your energy consumption, analyze the said information in order to identify trends, set targets based on an appropriate standard or benchmark, and control your system in case of any deviation or variation from the target. These functions are primarily centered on technology.

Technology, however, is only one part of the story. Energy management systems are people-centric and cannot function without any human engagement. Think of EMS as an effective tool. Without anyone implementing and using the tool, nothing will happen.

Why Should You Manage Your Energy?

The next question regarding energy management is why. The simple answer is that electricity is one of the pillars that uphold the workings of society. Many processes involve the use of electricity and energy, and without it, society cannot function properly. Couple that with issues of sustainability and efficiency, then the reasons why become clear. You should manage your energy because it allows you to reduce energy consumption while maintaining the same output. Efficiency enables sustainability and helps the environment. There are little to no downsides to it, so everyone must be involved in energy management in some form whether it’s at home or work.

How Does Energy Management Work?

Naturally, the only question remaining is how. How does the whole process work and how can you find ways to implement it? As previously stated, Energy management systems are a collection of software and hardware. This collection is integrated into the electrical system at your home or work and data is sent to different electronic devices such as computers and phones.

Supplemented by an energy consultant, you would then figure out how much energy is being consumed by your electronic devices at work such as generators, lights, appliances, and other equipment. If some of these devices are consuming too much energy, you can look into making replacements or repairs because malfunctioning equipment tends to use more energy to compensate for the errors being committed. Being able to identify these things when they happen and taking corrective measures are the key processes of energy management. The best part about this is that EMS monitors your consumption 24/7 with little to no human-influenced error, so you can be sure of its accuracy.

Implementing improvements and remedies can lead to savings, not only for your finances but for your entire general energy consumption. Smaller electric bills mean smaller costs and a smaller carbon footprint. It’s a win-win situation.

What Can You Use for Energy Management?

Going into specifics, a concrete example of a good energy management system is the Enkoa iSwitch. The iSwitch is an energy savings system that allows establishments to optimize their energy consumption. In the case of hotels where it can usually be seen being implemented, the iSwitch is used for individual hotel rooms, making sure that energy is optimized at every level all the time.

In essence, the iSwitch energy savings system makes hotel rooms easier to manage without the need for constant human presence. That being said, it uses a number of devices that can be narrowed down to sensors and switches and their paired appliances. The whole system can be monitored and controlled in one unit, making it very easy to use for tracking and optimizing energy-saving efforts made by establishments.

Consider the iSwitch’s energy-saver component. If you’ve been to a hotel recently, you probably noticed that there is a slot on the wall near the door for your hotel card. When there is no card, the lights and appliances don’t work, but when there is a card you can see the room come to life. This is energy-saver at work, and just like common hotel locks system in the Philippines, it has become an industry standard.

Key Takeaway

Make no mistake, energy management systems are important for the short and long term plans of businesses and industries worldwide. If you have a hospitality business, consider employing the use of an EMS such as the iSwitch in order to maximize and optimize your energy consumption at all levels be it on the micro or macro scale.