All you need to know about saving energy

We are often asked: “How can I set about becoming energy-efficient?” Well, over the past two decades, we have gathered experience and data from several thousand shops and commercial buildings. Here are some of our best tips for saving energy and making a start on becoming energy-efficient.
  • Maria Sotberg

    Writer

published

updated

Everything you need to know about saving energy. Power station at night.
Power station at night. Photo: ESB Professional / Shutterstock

Do you know how much energy you are wasting or saving? Perhaps you only analyze this when receiving an energy bill or undertaking the monthly review in your energy management system (EMS)?  

The expression "every little bit helps" may be ages old, but it is still appropriate when discussing energy consumption. Although it's the major projects usually make the headlines, small everyday measures provide significant benefits for the vast majority of savers.

And with that in mind, we collected our best "energy tricks" to inspire you so you can get started with measures that work today.

Are you wasting your energy?  

Tip
When energy data requires manual processing, it often gets put to one side and can be both awkward and resource-intensive. Our energy monitoring system (EMS) can be valuable for gaining a holistic overview.

Here is our quick guide for anyone who wants to make a start on becoming energy-efficient. With these 7 steps, you can keep consumption low without sacrificing comfort and the indoor climate. Go through the list in the article and carefully check each point. Get the overview you need to set about implementing successful measures.  

Four energy thieves you can easily overcome 

So, you have a good idea of what's what in your electricity bills. However, how much is pure waste? Are you using more energy than is necessary? Here are the most common energy thieves and how you can put an end to them!  

How can we overcome soaring electricity prices?  

Remember
Even “small things” make a big difference over time. Examples include turning off unnecessary lights, heating via cooling systems’ surplus heat (rather than electricity) and using some form of time/need/weather-report controlled ventilation.

Electricity is essential for operating all the modern technologies in our buildings. In the Nordic countries, we use a lot of electricity. How these technologies interact is a critical factor in keeping costs down.  

Read more about how you can prevent the various heating and cooling sources in your premises from working against each other and, in effect, throwing money straight out of the window.

Understanding energy efficiency paves the way for order

The heating season is challenging for many. For multi-residentials, the requirements are set. Not only do you have to meet the tenants' wishes and needs, but you should also save energy at the same time.

Learn from the real world and see how The Settlement Houses optimized their heating season, which led to big savings. Today they have Edge, our IoT and AI engine connected to 17 properties, and have cut their energy consumption by 1502 MWh.

Environmental management is here to stay  

We have now looked at energy consumption and costs in some detail. However, serious use of energy monitoring requires that you take several parameters into account. After all, saving energy is essentially about reducing everything that generates consumption. And this means water, waste, and CO2 emissions come into the equation.  

Here are a few tips on taking control of your operations and measuring, evaluating, and checking whether the actions you implement work.

What can you already do today?

What is so crucial about saving energy besides costs and electricity bills? In the "kilowatt hours battle", there is little to match the energy optimization of kilowatt-hours. Not even wind power has as much impact. 

Take control of your energy operations
Phtoto: bgStock72 / Getty images
  1. Review your technical plant
    Reviewing the condition of your plant is the first step in identifying energy losses. How much is simply being thrown away? Are you getting notifications when you need them? Investment in continuous monitoring is good for both your wallet and the environment. You discover problems earlier.
  2. Use an energy management system
    Keeping up to date in an ocean of energy data can be difficult. Updating often gets forgotten after a while if a manual element is also involved.  An energy management system (EMS), like Energinet, can be a good tool for gaining a full overview of energy consumption. Build your own reports or utilize ready-made standard reports and get information on all consumption data and costs. When it comes down to the crucial details of energy saving, nothing is as important as having the correct data at hand.
  3. Perform an energy analysis
    Establish what is consuming power - a leaky valve, for example, is not a fault that is so easy to pick up. Nothing " physically " is wrong, and systems may continue to show you everything is fine. It is only when you analyze the temperature graphs that you can see something is not as it should be

Did you know that rehabilitating existing buildings and upgrading their technologies is one of the best things we can do for the environment? Fortunately, we are experts in making old buildings smart.  

Ready to do both yourself and the environment a favor?

Using first-class integration solutions, we monitor your facilities and notify you of deviations.  

The Kiona platform is a hybrid, cloud-based web system that you can operate via telephone, tablet, and PC. It gives you a complete overview of electricity, water, ventilation, and energy use. Wherever you are, you can also override equipment whenever you want. 

Our system is flexible and independent of your equipment's supplier, technology, or age. You are always ready for whatever technological development brings.  

Take control of your facilities energy use - speak to one of our experts today.