What is an Energy Management System (EMS)?

An energy management system is a set of processes, equipment, and technology, put in place to optimize energy usage. Effective energy management involves tracking energy consumption across facilities, identifying areas of inefficiency, and implementing strategies to minimize energy consumption without impacting production or service output.

Utilizing energy management software, organizations can conduct comprehensive energy management to perform these functions in real time. Monitoring and reporting tools employ analytics that empower companies to make informed decisions on energy usage and sustainability practices and reduce overall operational costs for the organization.

An EMS is a strategic investment that aligns economic benefits with sustainable practices, enhancing operations and corporate social responsibility. With the ever-growing demand for electricity and other energy resources, energy management system implementation can provide numerous advantages to organizations.

  1. Budgetary Advantages

An effective EMS allows you to identify energy inefficiencies and informs decisions on making improvements which typically leads to reduced costs in energy consumption and overall operations. Participation in demand response programs becomes feasible, offering potential financial incentives while supporting grid stability.

  2. Energy Tracking

The real-time monitoring and optimization capabilities of an EMS lead to improved energy efficiency, reducing both operational expenses and environmental impact.

  3. Regulatory Compliance

The comprehensive tracking and reporting tools that a robust EMS software provides help to more effectively adhere to industry standards and regulatory requirements by alerting you to anomalies and activity that may produce compliance risks.

  4. Visibility

Dashboards provide comprehensive human-readable data analytics at a glance to let you know what's going on as it's happening. This visibility empowers companies to make informed decisions on the spot and enables them to be more agile in their approach to energy management.

  5. Predictive Analytics

An EMS platform can provide advanced real-time data analysis to anticipate repair and upkeep needs. These predictive maintenance capabilities help minimize downtime and extend equipment life cycles.

Energy management systems (EMS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) overlap in many ways and share a few of the same functionalities. It's not uncommon for the two to be used interchangeably. However, EMS and SCADA possess some key differences and serve different purposes.

Energy management systems focus on controlling and managing energy usage. EMS facilitates energy consumption optimization, monitors conservation measures, and conducts energy efficiency analysis. This system's main purpose is to optimize energy consumption, especially in energy-intensive operations, in order to support sustainability efforts and to reduce the overall costs associated with facility operations and internal building systems.

SCADA is a system used to manage and control industrial processes and equipment. Its processes typically include asset data acquisition, process controls, and notifications. While SCADA may include energy management elements, its purpose is monitoring and controlling equipment and systems such as pipelines, power grids, and manufacturing plants.

The key to proper facility energy management implementation is applying sound methods to an energy management program. By utilizing these key energy maintenance strategies, organizations can cut down utility bills and hit sustainability goals.

1. Energy Audits

It's important to know where you stand before and after implementation. A comprehensive assessment of energy consumption and identification of inefficiencies is a vital first step in developing an effective energy management strategy.

2. Efficiency Measures

After identifying inefficiencies, organizations can make informed decisions on implementing energy efficiency actions to reduce energy consumption. These measures can include structural improvements such as improving insulation and weather sealing as well as upgrading to more efficient lighting or HVAC systems.

3. Energy Management System Implementation

An energy management system continually provides essential up-to-the-moment data that can inform a wide variety of operational decisions, from upgrading inefficient equipment to installing supplemental renewable energy systems. Real-time energy monitoring can help organizations identify areas of improvement on an ongoing basis.

4. Awareness Efforts

Educating employees and stakeholders about the importance of energy management fosters a more efficiency-conscious corporate climate. Regular training programs, energy-saving competitions, and communication campaigns are a few effective awareness-building strategies that can help build a conscientious culture.

A comprehensive energy management solution enables businesses to manage and track all of their energy usage in one place. These are some of the more popular energy management systems that organizations implement to optimize their energy usage.

Accruent Observe Energy Management Software

Accruent's Observe platform is a comprehensive energy management system that empowers organizations to address their most pressing energy concerns. The project-tracking tools, holistic dashboards, and automation capabilities that Accruent Observe can help your company meet budgeting and sustainability goals through judicious energy management.

Building Automation Systems (BAS)

Companies use a BAS to manage internal building systems such as HVAC and lighting. Consistent monitoring and output controls enable a BAS to coordinate operations between all systems for optimized energy usage.

Energy Information Systems (EIS)

An EIS is a cloud-based technology that collects and analyzes gas and electric usage data. An energy information system helps identify areas for energy efficiency improvement and advanced analytics can anticipate future energy consumption needs based on historical data.

Industrial Energy Management Systems (IEMS)

An IEMS is an energy management system designed to accommodate industrial facilities such as refineries and manufacturing plants. Functionalities like around-the-clock energy output monitoring and data analysis empower companies to make informed decisions in meeting required carbon emissions standards, maximizing efficiency, and reducing energy costs.

Demand Response Systems (DRS)

Utility companies use demand response systems to balance the demand on power grids. Utilities send requests for participating companies to shift their energy usage to off-peak demand times when the grid is experiencing a heavy load. By receiving various incentives — usually monetary benefits — companies often honor requests if it doesn't negatively impact their productivity or operations.

Energy Storage Systems (ESS)

An ESS utilizes batteries and flywheels to capture and retain unused energy during off-peak periods of energy usage. During peak demand times, the system can then provide supplemental power as needed. Employing an ESS maximizes energy efficiency and can help reduce energy costs and carbon emissions by reducing the need for newly generated electricity.

Accruent has been a leading facilities management solution since 1995, helping organizations across several industries get the most out of their equipment and facility systems. Our energy management platform can have a significant positive impact on your company's energy consumption and carbon footprint.

Learn more about our top-rated energy management software or consider our webinar to discover how you can take control of your energy consumption and costs.