Energy monitoring: – Drop the gut feeling, and make decisions based on data

The development of Energinet, the energy monitoring system, began in 2002. The primary objective has been to create a web-based system with an easy interface, enabling users to access information with just a few clicks.

Energinet gives you information on whether what you are doing is actually working. If you have control through a SCADA or industrial control system (ICS), Energinet is on top and monitors the end results. This makes the job of energy management much more efficient.

You need to have quality data

The system has been developed in cooperation with customers and energy advisors. The result is a solution that suits absolutely everyone. From simple analyses to complex calculations for larger organizations.

The mindset has always been the same: the most important thing is quality and solutions that do not lock the customer in.

"We have no hidden agenda, so all our solutions are completely open. Energinet is independent of suppliers and can retrieve data from anywhere, anytime – that's the biggest benefit for our customers," he says.

Today, Energinet is used in all types of public, commercial, and industrial buildings, such as schools, hospitals, manufacturing companies, shopping centers, and grocery stores. Altogether, this amounts to an area of over one hundred million square meters, with no restrictions on the number of users, user levels, or number of meters.

In addition to the web solution, you can distribute information to the whole organization or defined recipients through self-reports on e-mail and app. This way, you can spend as little time as possible on reporting and monitoring and as much time as possible on energy reduction measures.

Energy monitoring on the key performance indicators that matter

The monitoring system can be used for much more than just monitoring energy. The system is modular, with no limitations on the number of meters, virtual meters, imports, energy blocks, buildings, groups, subgroups, or users.

"We set up the top level of Energinet for you, so you have access to all standardized reports and key figures. Beyond that, you can create whatever you want and make any calculation that gives you the key figure you and your company are looking for. This can be anything from the COP (coefficient of performance) of heat pump systems, the number of kilowatts used per ton of aluminum produced, to which of your production lines is the most efficient," says Ludvigsen.

He explains that it is precisely then you get the data you need to say why the situation is the way it is and what you can do to make it more efficient.

"Without information, you know nothing. You can believe and guess – but that doesn't produce results. You need to understand the history, the current situation, and whether the measures are working."

Break the bottlenecks – and control the consumption

The potential for energy savings remains high in most of the areas in which we operate.

"For example, many people run automatic regulations of indoor temperature depending on the outdoor temperature but don't really know whether it is energy efficient or not. Once the setup of Energinet is ready, you can immediately catch unnecessary errors or excessive energy consumption related to ventilation, cooling, or heat recovery. This makes it possible to monitor operations and work in a more energy-efficient way," he explains.

But without access to and analysis of the right data, it's impossible to know where to start to make the right choices. And steering without oversight – is a bit like shooting in the dark.

"We rely on customers to understand the value of fully open solutions and not lock themselves into a single supplier."

"Take any building, with a sea of different systems. Bring data from all of them into a single solution and see what actually matters to your operations. Then a lot of the work is done." he concludes.