FACILITY OF THE FUTURE SERIES: TM 5 Trends that Will Disrupt Energy Management in 2016
79% YOUR ENERGY MANAGEMENT GOALS ARE DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE There are plenty of reasons why organizations look to gain greater control over their energy systems. Of course, reducing your organization s energy usage is good for the environment. But environmental sustainability is not just good PR. It is also good business. In a recent Deloitte survey of energy managers, 79% said their management teams view their endeavor as essential to creating a competitive advantage for their organization in 2016. 1 When it comes to the key goals that drive these initiatives, three always make the top of the list: ENERGY EFFICIENCY ENERGY RESILIENCY SELF-SUFFICIENCY 79% OF ENERGY MANAGERS said their management teams view their endeavor as essential to creating a competitive advantage for their organization in 2016. 1 You could simply want to be more energy efficient. According to the EPA, commercial and industrial buildings in the United States spend about $200 billion annually on energy. 2 Reducing that cost by even a small percentage can have a dramatic impact on your bottom line. Increasingly, many facilities have zero tolerance for a power disruption. Mission-critical systems depend on constant electricity. The cost of an outage could be devastating and, in some cases, irreparable. For some industries such as healthcare, military, municipal utilities, and medical labs, a power outage could be life-threatening. Power outages can be costly for service providers, including cable, telecom, and wireless companies whose businesses are built on providing reliable, redundant services. They can lose millions of dollars for every hour of downtime. Because the power grid may not always be reliable, an increasing number of facilities are striving to become completely self-sufficient. There might also be a shortage of human resources at these facilities. In fact, 55% of energy managers surveyed said their facility planned to generate their own onsite power in 2015. This can be achieved with today s mix of new power sources, new technology players, and new sustainability solutions from Retail Energy Service Providers.
85% FACING THE CHALLENGES WITHIN YOUR CURRENT ENVIRONMENT 85% OF ENERGY MANAGERS say it is important to improve performance in energy data collection in the next financial year if they are to succeed in achieving their energy management program goals. As organizations are trying to take control of their energy, management often faces multiple challenges with regards to their digital asset, data. The very first question every energy manager must answer is, Where is the data? According to the Deloitte survey, 85% of energy managers say it is important to improve performance in energy data collection in the next financial year if they are to succeed in achieving their energy management program goals. 1 So, how does an energy manager get access to data that will provide insight into where facilities are consuming energy? The first source of information is not very hightech at all. It usually requires opening the monthly bill the utility company sends. Many turn to manually entering monthly bills into spreadsheets to track data trends. A slightly more high-tech response has been made possible through Energy STAR or Green Button programs. However, like the monthly utility bill, they only tell you what already happened and are not much help at predicting what is currently happening or is about to happen. The fix to the problem is not adding another dashboard. Dashboards do not produce data. They can only graphically display the data that has been given to them from an energy system or asset. The root of the problem turns out to be a network connectivity issue. Most dashboards are limited because they can only communicate with a few energy systems. Take a walk through your facility with your facility management team and what will you see? An infrastructure of legacy energy assets all ripe with valuable information just waiting to be tapped. These assets include: //BOILERS //CHILLERS //HVAC //GENERATORS //METERS (WATER, GAS, & ELECTRIC)
WHAT S PREVENTING YOU FROM REACHING YOUR ENERGY GOALS? 40% INCREASE Increase in energy costs since 1995* 85% Energy Mgrs. Say it s important to improve data collection 25 Billion Number of connected devices by 2020 40% 70% 85% 79% 25b 5% 70% AVERAGE Average within a facility 79% OF ORGs Say reaching energy mgmt. goals will create competitive advantage LESS THAN 5% Have access to *Annual Energy Outlook 2014 with projections to 2040. U.S. Energy Information Administration ENERGY MANAGEMENT IS RIPE FOR DISRUPTION. ARE YOU READY TO LEAD THE CHARGE? Sometimes a new platform provides for game-changing applications. Consider what Uber has done to shake up the transportation industry. Taxi companies who were slow to adopt new technologies and payment methods were completely disrupted by a new service that connected drivers to their customers through a mobile phone application. This resulted in a superior, more affordable driving experience. Disruption comes when companies who want to rule the future push the envelope of possibility. They surprise their customers by introducing compelling technology that solves an overwhelming need. And they provide exceptional value in the way they deliver their service. Energy and facility management could be ripe for this kind of disruption. There is a lack of centralized monitoring and control. Gaining visibility and control into facility equipment such as meters, generators, and automatic transfer switches can help you to first gain deeper insights. Based on what you find, you can then manage and make more informed decisions. The platform for that is here. It is the Internet of Things (IoT). Forbes believes IoT will change every business. 3 In a nutshell, IoT will allow us to connect just about every device to the Internet. Gartner says that there will be 25 billion connected devices by 2020, up from 5.4 billion today. 4 And, those connected devices will be more than mobile phones and computers. In the energy sector, the Energy Network of Things will connect all energy devices such as meters, generators, solar panels, and fuel cells. This opens up an incredible opportunity for facility management. You can have a true understanding of every asset you have, how it is used, its status, and whether equipment, such as generators, would function properly when called on. In today s competitive environment, there will be countless opportunities for cost savings and increased operational efficiencies that will be too great to be ignored. Blue Pillar was ranked among the top 100 IoT companies in Forbes
5 S THAT WILL DISRUPT ENERGY MANAGEMENT IN 2016 #1 #2 Simple, ubiquitous connectivity of all energy assets regardless of make, model, vintage, or type will unlock valuable data for energy management programs to achieve better energy resiliency, efficiency, and self-sufficiency. Riding the wave of the Internet of Things (IoT) movement, new Energy Network of Things Energy Management platforms are arriving today and provide this connectivity. Energy data visualization should be free. Your energy management data is a right, not a privilege. Data visualization through dashboards with basic trending and alarm capabilities should be free of charge. Those dashboards should uncover a complete energy picture, not just a limited snapshot. Affordable local connectivity will unlock the power of Centralized Facility and Energy Management to drive increased savings, efficiency, and resiliency throughout your entire #3 #4 portfolio of buildings. With affordable local connectivity being deployed so easily, it will be possible to collect local level information to change the way you manage your facility s portfolio centrally. This trend, known as Centralized Facility Management (CFM), is happening at many organizations looking to consolidate and streamline operational functions. Vendor-Agnostic Connectivity will Simplify Chaos Behind the Meter. Ubiquitous connectivity will allow Retail Energy Service Providers to offer new valuable services that will allow facilities to save and make money through new energy management programs. Historically, the relationship between the facility and their utility or Retail Energy Service Provider was based on the purchase of electricity. With connectivity, there can now be a real-time, bi-directional relationship with Energy Service Provider, helping you deliver on your energy management goals. Open, Collaborative Frameworks will Drive Innovation. Open frameworks for #5 collaboration between facilities, technology providers, and Retail Energy Service Providers will drive economies of scale and innovation that have not been achieved to date. Imagine a facility where power outages have no impact on your core business operation, electricity bill demand charges are completely eliminated, and you are paid to stabilize the power grid from outages. Such collaboration will make this future a reality sooner while driving innovation and economies of scale.
THE FACILITY OF THE FUTURE CAN BE YOURS TODAY The time to act is now. You no longer need to be saddled with the challenges of connecting legacy equipment. All of your assets can be networked and operate in an open framework where dashboards are free and ubiquitous connectivity is simplified. This future is closer than you think. Security can be builtin to protect all of your devices and equipment from potential attacks. Apps can be interchangeable. Data will be fed from all of your connected devices into smart dashboards that provide incredible granularity. This data will be yours and access to it is not a privilege it s your right. The Energy Network of Things is the game changer that will allow the facility of the future to reach more of its energy management goals. You have the opportunity to lead this charge. The facility of the future can be yours and is much closer than you think. Get started on this path today by talking to Blue Pillar. With our Energy Network of Things platform, free energy management dashboards, ability to speak the language of facilities management, and relationships with Retail Energy Service Providers, you can be well on the path toward achieving the facility of the future much sooner than you thought possible. SOURCES 1 Deloitte http://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/energy-and-resources/articles/deloitte-resources-study-series.html 2 EPA http://www3.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/local/topics/commercial-industrial.html 3 Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2015/08/17/3-ways-the-internet-of-things-will-change-every-business/ 4 Gartner http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2905717
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FACILITY S ENERGY FUTURE TODAY. LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR AWARD-WINNING ENERGY NETWORK OF THINGS PLATFORM BY VISITING WWW.BLUEPILLAR.COM. ABOUT BLUE PILLAR Blue Pillar is a leading provider of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and energy management solutions for complex single site and centralized multisite facilities. The Aurora platform connects, controls, and manages data to help organizations improve energy resiliency, efficiency, and overall facility operations. Today, over 300 of the most critical, complex, and geographically dispersed facilities across healthcare, government, higher education, and other industries use Blue Pillar solutions to manage their energy and power systems. For more information, visit www.bluepillar.com and follow Blue Pillar on Twitter at @bluepillarinc.