You cannot optimise what you do not measure

 

Summer 2016


High energy efficiency is dependent on transparency in the distribution network as well as in consumer behaviour and in the energy performance of buildings. This makes frequent and accurate metering data part of the solution for managing and optimising energy production in an integrated and truly smart energy system.

In the future, energy consumption must adapt to the fluctuating production based on renewables, and this will require fully integrated energy systems that can bring it into balance. As renewable energy resources are more expensive to produce than traditional energy production, it is increasingly important to ensure that they are exploited as efficiently as possible. This calls for focus not only on improving energy efficiency, but also on reducing our collective energy demand.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIRES TRANSPARENCY
High energy efficiency necessitates running production as close to the limit as possible. This makes it even more crucial for utilities to continuously manage and optimise their production decisions and distribution network. It also demands increased involvement of the consumers and putting into play the energy performance of buildings. All three conditions necessitate transparency – in the distribution network as well as in consumer behaviour and in building characteristics – and the basis for that transparency is frequent and accurate meter readings.

METER DATA PROVIDES KNOWLEDGE
The use of data offers a range of opportunities. Hourly values on flow, temperature, pressure and consumption not only enable utilities to detect and reduce waste in the distribution system. It allows them to identify and help consumers with inappropriate energy consumption. Furthermore, giving consumers instant access to information on their household consumption encourages proactivity and energy conscious behaviour.

Increased amounts of data also opens up to the possibility of introducing alternative tariff models that are, for instance, based on flexibility rather than consumption, or on hourly variations of prices resulting from the balance in the total energy system. And precise data – as opposed to theoretical models – on how a building performs under different conditions, allows utilities to directly target the buildings that pose the biggest challenge in the network. This helps establish the needed correlation between buildings and the production part of the integrated energy system.

In this way, the knowledge derived from meter data gives the necessary flexibility to constantly balance the total energy system and ensure that energy is always produced optimally based on the present conditions.

"Meter data becomes really valuable when utilities use them as the basis for making decisions that optimise their business and day-to-day operations. Our intelligent metering solutions deliver the necessary data and makes it easy for utilities to translate it into knowledge that supports increased efficiency in the integrated energy system," says Steen Schelle, Head of Product Management, Kamstrup.


INSPIRED BY BETTER
A world-leading supplier of intelligent energy and water metering solutions, Kamstrup provides utilities and energy companies with tools that enable them to make more certain, smarter business decisions and inspire the communities they serve.
Learn more at kamstrup.com