Energy Management systems
The Seasonality of Energy Management
Throughout the year we all see seasonal patterns when it comes to energy usage, whether this is in the warehouse, office building or even at home. The simple logic is we see energy consumption increase in the early and late parts of the year and decrease when the weather is warmer in the Summer. We are taking a look at what impact this has on the energy being provided and on businesses as the end-user.
Energy Provided
With a lot of companies focusing on producing renewable energy rather than consuming traditional fossil fuels, seasonality and location even impact energy providers. How and what they produce varies, with solar power being more reliable in the summer months and the southern parts of the UK and wind power being more successful in the winter months and on the coast.
With less energy required for lighting and heating in Spring and Summer due to demand dropping and longer days, it is helping the ever-growing solar farms generate the renewables we need. However the opposite is true in the Winter as we typically consume the majority of our energy in this period and if it’s possible for your business, look at the potential energy contracts that allow you to benefit from consuming power in low demand times of the day.
Reminders for Energy Managers
Just as energy providers see seasonality in the renewables they can produce, workplaces see seasonality impact consumption as we briefly stated above. With temperatures and light levels outside dropping, our heating and lights tend to be on longer than our average day. As much as this is part of the cycle we expect and it can be budgeted for, some things can be done to lower consumption.
It’s good to set reminders at the times of year you usually expect the weather to change so that you can review any heating/lighting schedules you may have programmed into your system as you might need to tweak it. The same goes on those weeks where the temperature suddenly rises or drops, make sure you haven’t got the buildings heating on full blast whilst colleagues are opening windows etc.
There is also of course the option to install an energy management system with smart sensors like the Pilot Group EMS which can detect the outside temperature and adjust when your heating comes on to reach the target temperature for when your colleagues start to enter the building. This also works in a reverse way at the end of the day, dropping the temperature at the time of day where people won’t notice just before clocking out for the day.
If you want to learn more about the fantastic features of an EMS that can help you overcome seasonality issues and save you money, get in touch with us on 0161 5076862.