Good Guide to Energy Management

Energy management is highly cost effective and on the whole needs little, if any, capital investment, though does need the investment of time.

Policy

Your policy is a formal statement of your organisation's objectives that demonstrates senior management commitment to the continuous improvement in the efficient use of energy. Your policy should explain the key approaches that your organisation will take to achieve its objectives. An effective policy provides the foundation for creating a culture within your organisation, and should be clearly communicated throughout. An effective energy policy should:

• Set out the organisation's objectives for energy management
• Demonstrate commitment to managing energy in a way that both supports good business performance and takes due regard for environmental effects.
• Commit the organisation, when capital investments are planned, to giving energy efficiency due regard in the selection and configuration of a plant, and adopting the most energy efficient equipment available when the marginal cost is justifiable.
• Recognise the need for adequate resources and reporting throughout the company.
• Identify the Director or Senior Manager with overall responsibility for the energy policy and its implementation
• Commit the company to a regular review of the Policy.

Planning and Organising

To achieve the aims and objectives of the energy policy, there should be clear and formalised responsibilities, plans and procedures in place. These should include:

• Documented roles and responsibilities
• Plans to set targets for energy savings, and supporting action plans
• Appropriate methods for communication, to ensure that policies and procedures are understood and that management commitment to them is visible
• Procedures for planned and emergency maintenance of equipment, and the procurement of new plants, taking due account of opportunities for energy efficiency
• Procedures for assessing the cost-effectiveness of energy saving measures which take a view of savings over the lifetime of the measure

Monitoring and Control

Energy waste cannot be effectively controlled without a clear understanding of its use. There are two complementary activities that provide and help maintain this understanding:

• The physical energy survey
• Ongoing monitoring and analysis of energy consumption information

The energy survey is an investigation of the control and flow of energy in, for example, a building, a manufacturing unit, an item of equipment, or a whole site. A survey can range from a simple 'walk-through' to a comprehensive and detailed appraisal. In both cases, the aim of the survey is to gain understanding and identify cost-effective energy saving measures. Whatever their level of sophistication, surveys usually include an examination of energy conversion, distribution and end-use, together with management systems. Surveys typically result in recommendations under the categories of no-cost, low-cost and high cost measures. A simple walk-through survey could be conducted with the aid of the technical measures section of this website, particularly the practical tips. The following tips for carrying out a basic survey will also help.

• Identify and draw up a schedule of energy consuming items of equipment and plant.
• Speak with colleagues from different parts of your site - they may well be aware of energy wastage in their areas, but have done nothing about it.
• Walk through the site at different times, particularly during 'quiet' periods such as lunch-time, weekends, evenings and early mornings. Are lights, machinery, office equipment, etc. left switched on unnecessarily?
• Walk through the site at different times of the year. Do the heating and/or cooling come on and switch off at appropriate times of the day (listen for boilers and other plant operating)? Do the heating and/or cooling come on when it is unnecessary? Obtain feedback from colleagues as to whether they are too hot or too cold.
• Ask security staff and cleaners whether they have any instructions regarding turning off lights and other items that they might find left on out of hours. If so, do they follow them?
• Make sure that the results of your survey are publicised and that necessary action is taken.
• Don't just carry out a survey once - the exercise should be repeated at regular intervals.

At its most basic level, the second activity should consist of an examination of energy bills before they are paid and a comparison with expectations, though expectations should not be limited to 'is the bill much the same as last month?' Ideally, the activity, often referred to as Monitoring & Targeting (M&T), should be more sophisticated than this, and comprise four main elements:

• Data collection from a number of possible sources including energy bills, own meter readings, automatic meter readings, Half Hourly data from utilities; plus in-house production information and meteorological data as appropriate. Validation of utility bills as part of this activity frequently yields benefits.
• Analysis and interpretation to turn the data into useful information on which to act. Proprietary systems and bureau services are available, or standard PC spreadsheets can be used in-house.
• Reporting of appropriate information, such as unexpected excess consumption, at the right time to the individuals with the ability and responsibility to act.
• Action, without which there is little, if any benefit. As well as responding to unexpected excess consumption, this should include the setting and reviewing of standards of performance that managers are charged with achieving.

M&T may seem a little complicated at first, but really is very straightforward and is powerful in identifying waste. Like anything, it should be carried out at a level appropriate to your organisation. Further information on energy information and Monitoring & Targeting is available from the Action Energy programme www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy

People

People are crucial to effective energy management. If the person tasked with energy management is working without the support of others in their organisation, their endeavours are likely to be frustrated. Every employee can make a contribution to saving energy, particularly through attention to 'house-keeping' issues, if they have awareness, motivation and empowerment. Awareness can be raised and maintained through a variety of means, including poster campaigns, communication through in-house magazines or e-mail bulletins, training sessions and via quality improvement and other business initiatives. For people to do the right thing, such as switching off unnecessary lights, knowing it's the right thing to do is not enough. They need to be motivated. Motivation comes from commitment to the reasons for saving energy, whether it be improving the organisation's profitability or helping the environment. This requires 'bottom-up' involvement of staff and ensuring they are appropriately empowered to act on their own initiative.

Reporting and Review

Organisations should provide management reports on energy use and management (progress against plans, conclusions from regular reviews, etc) in a way appropriate to the size and complexity of the company. In addition, regular reviews close the management system loop. This gives the opportunity to stand back, consider whether the energy management system remains appropriate, and to decide whether modifications are needed. Reporting should include:

• Progress reports as necessary or as required by the appropriate senior management body (e.g. Board) in order to ensure adequate control and review of objectives;
• Frequent reports for operational management control. Reviews should include:
• Consideration of the policy (its aims and objectives, scope, adequacy);
• Comparison of quantitative performance against targets;
• Comparison with benchmark data (where available);
• Review of the barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency improvements, and proposals for addressing these as far as possible.