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Business energy monitoring
The rollout of smart energy meters in Britain provides a valuable opportunity to gain detailed insights into your business’s energy consumption.
Business energy monitoring uses smart meter data to offer useful insights that help reduce your business energy costs.
This guide explains everything you need to know about energy monitoring solutions for businesses. Here’s what we cover:
- What is business energy monitoring?
- How does business energy monitoring work?
- The benefits of business energy monitoring
- Who offers business energy monitoring services?
What is business energy monitoring?
Business energy monitoring is the process of using smart meter data to track and analyse commercial energy consumption.
Business energy monitoring can be achieved in two ways: through a dedicated business energy monitor display unit or by using online energy analysis software.
Here, we’ll explain how British businesses can monitor their energy consumption.
Business energy monitor display unit
Small business energy customers can use a simple desktop energy monitoring unit.
An energy monitor unit has a digital display that shows electricity and gas consumption, with a few predefined graphs that allow you to track consumption at a single property.
Most energy suppliers include energy monitor units for free in domestic energy packages, but businesses typically have to pay for them.
Business energy monitoring software
Business energy monitoring software is a cloud-based platform for analysing business energy consumption data from one or multiple properties.
This software is typically hosted on your energy supplier’s website or business energy monitoring provider.
Business energy monitoring software can provide more detailed insights into energy consumption patterns.
How does business energy monitoring work?
Business energy monitors receive electricity and gas consumption data from any of the following meter types:
- Smart business gas meters – These can be configured to provide automatic meter readings as frequently as every 15 minutes.
- Advanced business gas meters – Provide automatic half-hourly meter readings.
- Smart business electricity meters – These can be configured to provide automatic meter readings as frequently as every 15 minutes.
- Half-hourly business electricity meters – Provide automatic readings every 30 minutes.
The meters transmit this information via a mobile data signal to your business energy monitoring unit or software provider.
Business energy monitoring software analyses this regular stream of consumption data to provide meaningful insights into business energy usage.
The benefits of business energy monitoring
A business energy monitor provides detailed insights into how your business consumes electricity and gas.
These insights can deliver several important benefits to your business:
Encouraging efficient energy usage
A business energy monitoring unit displays live energy usage, encouraging employees to take simple steps to use energy responsibly.
Placing an energy monitor where people can see it encourages simple actions, such as switching off computers and lights at the end of the day.
Reducing business energy costs
Insights from business energy monitoring can directly reduce energy costs in three ways:
- Efficiency savings – Every kWh of energy saved through improved efficiency directly translates into cheaper commercial gas or business electricity prices.
- Flexing energy consumption – Live reporting of energy costs allows you to adjust energy consumption to cheaper off-peak periods in your business energy contract.
- Demand Optimisation – Business energy monitoring records half-hourly demand data at your sites, enabling you to monitor demand against your agreed business electricity connection capacity and avoid excess capacity charges.
Energy cost reporting and forecasting
Monthly business electricity and business gas bills fluctuate with energy consumption.
Business energy monitoring software provides month-by-month historical cost analysis, enabling you to accurately forecast future energy costs on a site-by-site basis.
ESG and carbon reporting
Business energy monitoring software offers several sustainability analysis reports.
Business energy monitors measure and report the carbon footprint associated with your electricity and gas supply.
Carbon footprint reports help your business assess the environmental impact of sustainability initiatives and can feed directly into ESG reporting.
Benchmarking
The historical energy consumption data held in energy monitoring software allows you to benchmark your current energy consumption in the following ways:
- Site-by-site comparison – Compare the energy consumption of different properties in your portfolio to identify anomalies and opportunities for improving efficiency.
- Year-by-year comparison – Compare a site’s energy consumption against previous years to measure the impact of energy-saving initiatives.
- Industry benchmarks – Compare your consumption against industry-standard benchmarks.
Who offers business energy monitoring services?
Business energy monitoring services are offered by energy suppliers and dedicated monitoring providers.
This section explores both ways to get a business energy monitoring service.
Energy monitoring services from your business energy supplier
The best business energy suppliers offer energy monitoring services to their customers.
Business energy suppliers already receive the automatic meter reading data from your properties, so no setup is required.
Here are examples of monitoring platforms offered by the biggest business energy suppliers:
- EDF Business Energy – The Energy View system is offered to existing customers through their online portal.
- SSE Business Energy – SSE Clarity System is an energy management platform that is available for free with all their business energy tariffs.
- British Gas Business Energy – Energy 360 DataView is a free platform that gives business customers a view of their consumption data.
Use our business energy comparison and business gas comparison services to discuss switching to a supplier with free business energy monitoring software.
💡 From 1 October 2024, business electricity and commercial gas suppliers must provide user-accessible energy use information to customers with smart business energy meters.
Third-party energy monitoring service
Multi-site businesses with several different business energy suppliers or a global property portfolio should consider using a dedicated third-party energy monitoring service.
A third-party monitoring service provides sensors that attach to your existing meters to monitor energy consumption independently.
Third-party energy monitoring services can also provide sub-meters and other smart sensors to provide a more detailed view of business energy usage.
Business energy monitors – FAQs
Our business energy experts answer frequently asked questions about business energy monitoring.
What’s the difference between a business energy monitor and a smart meter?
A smart meter is a physical device that measures your gas or electricity consumption and automatically transmits meter readings.
A business energy monitor provides information on energy consumption using smart meter data.
Put simply, a smart meter measures energy usage, whereas a business energy monitor provides data insights about energy usage.
Do business energy suppliers offer free energy monitors?
Business energy suppliers are rolling out free smart energy meters to small business customers as part of the government’s drive towards a flexible energy grid.
Business energy suppliers typically do not provide free business energy monitor units; however, most offer access to the same data online.
Do I need a business energy monitor if I have a smart meter?
No, business energy monitors are not a requirement.
Smart meters are usually hidden in a cupboard. They automatically deliver consumption data to your energy supplier, who uses it to generate your commercial gas and business electricity bills.
Businesses may choose to simply monitor their energy through monthly energy bills.
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