ECA756 Automatic monitoring and targeting (aM&T) equipment
Updated 20 April 2020
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Background
There are 2 types of automatic monitoring and targeting (aM&T) equipment covered by the Energy Technology List (ETL):
- Portable energy monitoring equipment
- Automatic monitoring & targeting sub-metering systems
The technology category of ‘automatic monitoring & targeting sub-metering systems’ is considered an ‘unlisted’ technology which means that products are not individually assessed. Instead businesses should ask their supplier or installer to confirm that the equipment & system meets the ETL criteria and provide supporting evidence. Installer, suppliers, and manufacturers can find more information on the evidence required in the Manufacturer’s Factsheet and in the aM&T sub-metering systems checklist and guidance note.
For many organisations, energy use is a significant cost, and for some energy intensive industries it is actually the highest cost. Energy wastage does not just cost money, it also results in increased carbon emissions. As a result of energy price rises, customer demand and more stringent environmental legislation, there is continuing pressure on all businesses to reduce their consumption and emissions in order to remain competitive. Luckily, reducing energy use makes perfect business sense; it saves money, enhances an organisation’s reputation and helps everyone in the fight against climate change.
Monitoring and targeting systems
Monitoring and targeting systems are products that are specifically designed to measure energy consumption, record and distribute metered energy data, and analyse and report on energy consumption.
Monitoring and targeting technologies can be applied to any size of organisation, whether commercial, industrial, or public sector. However, the choice of equipment may vary to fit the needs of the organisation.
aM&T equipment does not in itself save energy, rather it enables businesses to identify ways to reduce energy costs, to pinpoint energy wastage, to be made aware of instances of exceptionally high energy consumption, and to put in place robust and long-term energy management practices. It is estimated that this technology can help customers to identify energy savings of 4 to 20% or more, with average cost savings of 10 to 15%.
The potential benefits of aM&T equipment are:
- timing of data collection - energy data will be collected at the same time(s) each day
- no human error - no (or minimal) human intervention
- reliability - systems can run uninterrupted for years
- automatic analysis - data will be automatically analysed
- automatic reporting - it will automatically generate reports at set periods
- exception reporting - it will automatically sense any exception (or change from the norm) and will generate a report or send a message to the relevant personnel, enabling any remedial action to be taken quickly
- efficient billing and use of staff time - when systems are integrated with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and linked to billing and financial accounting systems, it will remove the need to key in data, use less staff time, ensuring that bills are paid on time.
Portable monitoring equipment
Portable monitoring equipment allows temporary monitoring of energy use in different locations, generally via non-invasive measurement methods. It is ideal for smaller energy consuming equipment, and sites with extensive assets where individual sub-metering is too costly or complex. Portable monitoring studies can be used to review specific processes, provide a greater understanding of energy use, and to identify energy waste.
Most portable monitoring equipment clips directly onto pipework or cables, and measures electricity use, gas use and heat flows using non-invasive techniques. One of the main advantages is that portable meters can be set to save an enhanced granularity of data - for instance 1 second energy data vs. half-hourly for most aM&T systems. This allows an in-depth understanding of energy use, and the opportunity to identify energy waste in complex processes.
Example
Assuming a purchase price of £1,550 and annual electricity consumption of 185,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), ETL compliant portable monitoring equipment, monitoring a 20 kilowatt (kW) system, could identify annual savings opportunities of:
- £2,060
- 18,500 kWh
- 6.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
Automatic monitoring & targeting sub-metering systems
AM&T sub-metering systems are products that are specifically designed to measure energy consumption, record and distribute metered energy data, and analyse and report on energy consumption. AM&T sub-metering systems are specifically designed to help businesses manage their energy use, highlight unusual consumption patterns, and target energy waste.
An aM&T sub-metering system will consist of:
- multiple electricity, gas, or heat sub-meters that measure energy use
- equipment that automatically captures, retrieves and stores energy metering data electronically
- software to enable users to analyse the metering data and factors that influence energy use, and to produce reports on energy consumption
Example
Assuming a purchase price of £30,000 and annual energy consumption of 5,000 megawatt hours (MWh) (75% electricity, 25% gas), ETL compliant aM&T sub-metering systems could identify potential annual savings of:
- £45,000
- 500 MWh
- 155 tonnes CO2e
Energy monitoring software is used to visualise energy data. Energy data is automatically updated, and the software allows monitoring of consumption trends and targeting of areas of poor performance. The software is considered the most important element in terms of delivering energy savings via aM&T.
Common features of aM&T software include:
- energy consumption quantification and dashboard reporting
- meter by meter comparison
- energy trends display, regression analysis, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) analysis and data export
- virtual monitoring
- energy alarming