TechSmart Blog
Submetering
You Can’t Properly Manage Unless You Properly Measure
Submetering is the installation of metering devices to measure actual energy consumption after the primary utility energy meter. Submetering allows you to monitor energy usage for individual tenants, departments, pieces of equipment or other loads individually to account for their actual energy usage.
Why Should I Submeter?
Increasing energy costs are frequently the largest variable expense for commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-family facilities. The installation of submeters provides a variety of benefits to the building owner as well as the tenants:
Record actual energy usage (no estimation)
Analytical tool for energy management, allocating costs to tenants, departments, CAM
Compliance with green building initiatives or financing requirements
Determine baselines, measure & verify savings from retrofit projects
Determine power factor & load factor for manufacturing sites
Avoid peak usage fees & receive alarms when your threshold is reached
Cost Allocation & Tenant Billing
Cost allocation consists of installing energy submeters on specific areas within a facility and “billing back” for actual energy usage. Allocated costs may be billed to departments, buildings, common areas (CAM) or pieces of equipment. Cost allocation allows users to accurately evaluate energy usage to implement cost saving and energy conservation measures.
Tenant billing consists of installing energy submeters on each tenant space and allocating actual energy costs back to individual tenants. Basically, you’re billing tenants for the energy they actually use instead of estimating or including energy costs in leases. By holding tenants accountable for their usage you may see an overall reduction of energy costs for the facility as users tend to reduce their usage if they are held accountable for it.
Ease of Use & Flexible Installation
Compact meters can be installed in practically any available space and can monitor any size circuit from main distribution to a single branch circuit. Split-core current sensors allow installation without “cutting” into existing building wiring, meaning an Electrician is not always necessary. This can reduce your cost significantly. Cloud-based software, intuitive web interface and mobile apps give you the visibility and tools to manage your building, complex of buildings, or portfolio of buildings across the country from virtually anywhere.
Meters are available for several applications:
Electricity
Water temperature
Steam
Natural gas
Submetering can be a reality for you with ROI’s often under 2 years. We here at TechSmart Energy can do Energy audits and help you to the reality of better management and great long term savings.
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