The efficient use of energy and its saving is essential for sustainable development. The process of energy-saving is referred to as energy management. Thus, the process of planning energy-saving measures, monitoring energy utilization, and controlling and conserving energy in a building is termed as energy management. Commercial energy management encompasses the tracking, recording, control, and ultimately the reduction of energy consumption.
Energy management becomes more important than ever as businesses look to control costs, control energy, and attract younger customers who are conscious of corporate social responsibility. It can involve small efforts like monitoring your energy bills or upgrading to LED lights. But, it also requires sophisticated financial modeling for future year planning (Archana Mehta, 2016). The importance of energy management to the organization includes:
- Saving costs through competitive procurement and strategically decreasing consumption
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions for greater corporate social responsibility
- Tracking the utility costs to prepare more accurate budgets and gain greater insight into the operational costs
- Cutting reliance on supply chains that are inherently volatile
The bottom line is that wasted energy is wasted money. Companies that value sustainability must live up to the modern energy challenge. Many have started improving their energy management strategy as they recognized that their stakeholders expect them to engage in global energy-saving efforts. According to an Energy Management whitepaper published by Osisoft and Uptime Institute, an efficient energy management strategy secures a reliable energy supply at the right price and promotes environmental preservation.
Buildings need to have a reliable energy supply to operate. The instability of oil prices, global climate change, and decreasing oil reserves limits a constant energy supply at the right price. Thus, it is essential to put a contingency plan that addresses the price fluctuations of energy supplies. Developing an efficient energy management strategy also involves the smart use of renewable and non-renewable energy resources across the entire building.
Environmental preservation is secured through the promotion of energy management programs such as incorporating fuel diversity (e.g., hydrocarbons, ethanol, biofuels), fuel storage (e.g., flywheels, batteries) and alternative energy sources such as wind and solar energy.