The combined yearly energy costs of all the industrial and commercial buildings across the United States is approximately $400 billion.
In order for a commercial business to remain successful, not only does it have to offer high-quality products and services as well as focus on keeping both the customers and employees happy, but there must be an effort to maintain efficient energy usage. Overusing any aspect of commercial energy can result in spending far too much money, potentially causing even more financial issues down the line.
Lighting is the largest single use of electricity in commercial buildings. In fact, 18% of total energy use inside commercial buildings comes from lighting. Since lighting represents so much energy use inside a building and is so essential to running a successful company (no lighting equals no business), many business owners target lighting for energy savings through energy-efficient light sources and advanced lighting technologies. Even large warehouses with open areas need adequate lighting to ensure the safety of everyone inside the building.
It’s not just lighting that ends up costing business owners money, however. Here are some of the other various energy expenses found in commercial businesses:
- Heating and Cooling
- Ventilation
- Equipment and Computing
- Water Heating
- Cooking
- Refrigeration
- Other
The Internet of Things (IoT) is now being utilized across the business sector to not only improve company efficiencies but to save money on all of these energy expenses.
According to Power Engineering International, an Austrian electrical wholesaler has partnered with Siemens to deliver a cloud-based energy monitoring system that will have the ability to reduce annual energy consumption by as much as 15%.
The IoT could soon impact not only small businesses, but industrial plants and commercial buildings like data and logistic centers and office complexes, which are among the largest consumers of any kind of energy system. Since these operators are faced with the challenge of using power as efficiently and effectively as possible, they are constantly looking for innovative new approaches to do so.
“The EU Energy Efficiency Directive provided the necessary impetus for a proper development,” said Michael Hauser, head of the Industry Business Unit at Rexel, the Austrian company that recently deployed its cloud-based energy monitoring system inside its logistics in Weisskirchen. “A 15% reduction in energy consumption is a respectable amount for a high-bay warehouse. We’re pioneers in energy management and have also discovered a new business model.”
Through the Rexel and Siemens partnership, this new technology could soon offer all kinds of energy saving solutions to small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) across all industries.
“SMEs don’t have the large IT departments and computing centers that exist in larger companies, so they have to be able to rely on expert partners such as Siemens with its MindSphere,” added Rainer Brade, Product Manager for Energy Monitoring at Siemens Austria. “There they can precisely analyze their data and develop recommendations for action.”
