Summary
With rising fuel prices there has been a need for small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) to have access to independent energy efficiency advice and training in order to reduce costs to help maintain their competitiveness. The project has involved supporting small/medium businesses to use automatic detailed monitoring and targeting technology (intelligent metering). The detailed metering has been established for a range of business types and sizes in the small/ medium business sector and the resulting detailed energy and water use data has been analysed to identify energy saving opportunities. This information has helped with providing energy awareness training to staff of the business, and in providing any on site energy survey. It was intended that the training would give staff the ability to continue to analyse the data themselves beyond the duration of the project.
Aims of the project
The project set out to demonstrate the potential for energy savings from automatic intelligent metering and to increase the uptake of intelligent metering in small and medium sized businesses.
The project's objectives/aims were to automatically monitor energy (electricity, gas, heat, etc.) and water data in 75-100 small/medium businesses (SMEs) from a range of sectors (manufacturing, commercial, etc.) in 5 different European countries.
How the aims were achieved
1) Partners recruited a range of types and size of SMEs to be monitored in the project.
2) Intelligent/ ½ hourly energy/water monitoring equipment was set up in participating SMEs.
3) A common database was set up to hold data collected in the project, and partners arranged to send data to the database.
4) The first data collected for a certain SME was analysed to gain an understanding of energy use in the organization and to identify possible savings opportunities. Consumption graphs and possible savings opportunities were reported back to the SME.
5) Partners provided an energy monitoring bureau service to SMEs in the project. Consumption was monitored on an ongoing basis and unusual consumption or faults were reported to the business.
6) A training programme was prepared and energy efficiency-related training was delivered to users of the SME premises with the help of the detailed energy consumption information, which was fed back to the SMEs.
7) Information on the potential for energy savings opportunities from intelligent metering with SMEs, the project’s experiences and results have been communicated and widely disseminated.
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Work package
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Description
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1
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Management
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2
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Recruiting small and medium sized businesses and community groups for metering
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3
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Setting up intelligent metering in participating organisations
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4
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Analysis of detailed monitoring data
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5
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Bureau service for small/medium sized businesses/community groups
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6
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Training of employees/building users
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7
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Communication and Dissemination
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8
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Common dissemination activities
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Lessons Learned
A number of lessons were learned in the project.
For example:
- Many SMEs were unaware of the concept of intelligent metering and its potential benefits for their business.
- The initial cost of installing intelligent metering was a significant barrier to the use of intelligent metering in SMEs.
- The analysis of 1/2 hourly and intelligent metering data suggested possible energy saving opportunities in a range of types of SME.
- Using intelligent metering to provide an energy monitoring bureau service to the SMEs was effective in enabling savings opportunities to be identified and unusual consumption to be rapidly reported to the SME.
- The use of intelligent metering data has helped with the delivery of energy efficiency training in participating SMEs.
- Significant energy, financial and CO2 savings are possible in a variety of SMEs from acting on data collected using intelligent metering.