Frequently asked questions
- Why bother with Remote Metering?
- Why can't I do this myself, I have access to metering information?
- How do you effect savings?
- What is the Magnitude of the Savings?
- Explain the yardstick to judge effectiveness?
- What security measures does Meteringonline offer?
- What level of Customisation is available?
- What is required to access Meteringonline
- Who is using Meteringonline now?
- How quickly can Meteringonline be implemented?
Why bother with Remote Metering?
You receive your electricity bill from your Utility on a monthly basis, and the only information you are exposed
to is kWh consumption, perhaps kVA demand (depending on your particular tariff), the tariff amount applicable and
at Total Owing at the bottom of the account.
In many instances we pay our account not understanding what exactly we are paying for or if in fact the amount is
correct. What is actually happening is that you are consuming electricity with a certain base load that develops
peaks at certain times of differing magnitude depending of your production and usage. Typically at some point
during the month you will hit your Maximum Demand (MD) and based on that half hour peak, you will be charged and
that is what you will pay for your MD that month. Additionally, your "base load" varies from half hour to half
hour based on production requirements and utilization of your Plant, lighting etc.
You do not know what your demand profile looks like from half hour to half hour. No one can tell exactly the time
and day you hit the MD and you do not know what the consumption pattern looks like - how can you manage these
costs not having these vital inputs?
By remotely monitoring you can use your existing web browser and in seconds you will be able to:
- Analyse your own metered interval load data and billing information for multiple locations
- Measure the effectiveness of various energy efficiency efforts
- Download energy usage data for further in-house analysis
- Identify anomalies in energy use
- Improve operational efficiency
- Reduce energy costs
- Take part in "Time of Use" tariff decisions
[Table of contents]
Why can't I do this myself, I have access to metering information?
Firstly, for you to be able to replicate these analyses using conventional means, it would require days, even weeks, just to collect bills and even then you would not have the level of detail desired. Secondly, to extract any meaningful information from volumes of raw data instantly would be near impossible. Now, through the Internet, you will have access to this information in a secure, password-protected environment. Data is updated regularly, so you can always see current, relevant information.
Now you can identify wasteful energy usage at individual sites.
[Table of contents]
How do you effect savings?
We believe that it is impossible to make any meaningful decisions about energy saving if you cannot identify your
desired output in absolute terms. Undoubtedly the output must be the monetary savings that are derived from a
particular course of action. It is of no practical use to conclude because some lights are switched off at certain
times or that loads shifted that you are saving money, yes you probably are but you need to know how much you are
saving in real terms and benchmark your effectiveness against that.
Savings are effected in:
- Analysing your kWh consumption Profile:
-
Meteringonline presents load data in a highly intuitive chart and graph to provide a clear picture
of your company's energy usage. Your half hourly kWh consumption is presented to you in graphical format.
You may opt to display the profile by month, week, day or for what ever period you choose, including hours
in a day. This "custom" Profile can then be converted into monetary values by clicking on the "Statistics" button.
You are now able to determine exactly when the energy is consumed or not consumed if you have effected energy
efficiency measures.
The shape of the Profile allows you to understand what your base
load is, and what it costs you also when and by how much you peak during the day. You can compare any period's
consumption on line in monetary terms thereby realize your savings as well as understanding your business's
costs.
Meteringonline presents load data in a highly intuitive chart and graph to provide a clear picture
of your company's energy usage. Your half hourly kWh consumption is presented to you in graphical format.
You may opt to display the profile by month, week, day or for what ever period you choose, including hours
in a day. This "custom" Profile can then be converted into monetary values by clicking on the "Statistics"
button. You are now able to determine exactly when the energy is consumed or not consumed if you have effected
energy efficiency measures. The shape of the Profile allows you to understand what your base load is, and what
it costs you also when and by how much you peak during the day.
You can compare any period's consumption on line in monetary terms thereby realize your savings as well as
understanding your business's costs.
- Monitoring your Maximum Demand Profile and Power factor
-
In conjunction with your kWh energy profile, your kVA Maximum demand profile is also displayed. This immediately
tells you the half hour you reached your maximum demand and the corresponding power factor. By seeing the MD
half hourly values graphically displayed, peak periods can be analysed and immediately related to production
activity and decisions can be taken to manage the Demand which relate directly back to monetary values. Remember
at all times it is important to manage your desired output (saving Rands and cents!)
- Ensuring that you are being charged optimally and correctly - Compare Bills not Rates!
-
It is common knowledge that Structural changes within the Electricity Industry will be introduced in South Africa
very soon. Independent companies will be allowed to purchase their energy from a wholesale generation market
This means that there will be significant changes in the way electricity is bought and sold within the next
few years. Prices will fluctuate and interesting Time of Use tariffs will appear. Decisions based on sound
fundamental information will become essential.
Having the ability to use your Company's own actual energy data to evaluate the different tariffs "on line"
takes the guess work out of the decision and ensures that you are always paying what you should and you can
evaluate competing tariffs as they apply specifically to your own company.
If you have more than one operation and pay separate accounts, you will also be able to correctly summate your
energy across all these operations and negotiate bulk tariff rates with the Distributor as a consolidated entity.
meteringonline supports your budgeting process by providing you with hard Rand and cents data on which
to base your cost projections. You merely download the data from your site into a spreadsheet program (eg Excel)
and now you can manipulate existing usage data to see what you will save by implementing energy saving practices,
altering operations, or switching tariff rates.
[Table of contents]
What is the Magnitude of the Savings?
This depends entirely on the existing metering system installed, the tariff structure you are on and the
current energy management practices employed in your organization. You need to first understand the way your
company uses electricity. Basically, you are progressing from a situation where the amount you are paying for
your electricity is a number at the bottom of a Utility Account, showing vague kVA Demand and kWh consumption
numbers extended to Rands and cents, to a situation where you can see exactly how much you are using, when you
are using it and where you are wasting it and how much this is costing you. It therefore stands to reason that
because you now have the basis to make decisions regarding your energy consumption any action you take can be
evaluated in terms of Rands and cents. You are now managing the output.
[Table of contents]
Explain the yardstick to judge effectiveness?
Because everything relates back to the financial aspects of your consumption. You have an exact record of
where you are now. Any load management decisions, energy saving techniques etc. that are employed will
immediately be translated into monetary terms and you can continue managing the process from there. Currently
we are saying: Yes - we have installed Power Factor Correction equipment and it is running well, or we claim
that we have other sophisticated measures in place to control air conditioning, lighting etc. but at the end
of the day do we know what we are saving or exactly what effect these actions have on our bottom line. It is
therefore imperative to understand that before any of these decisions can meaningfully be taken, you must
know what your energy profile looks like, what you are paying for when and why. Without these inputs any
action you take is really guesswork.
[Table of contents]
What security measures does Meteringonline offer?
We understand how important it is, not just to protect customer data from unauthorized access, but to provide
customers with unequivocal assurance that their data is secure. That is why we utilize a series of security
measures including data encryption, password protection, and multiple firewalls.
Further, the database server cannot be scanned or "pinged" from the Internet, making it essentially
impossible to access customer data from the Internet without the proper password and account information.
There are also behind the scenes restrictions that prevent authorized logins from being hijacked or misused
to gain access to other customers' data.
[Table of contents]
What level of Customisation is available?
The basic structure and features of Meteringonline is fixed, but the "look and feel" of the site can be
tailored to fit your company's existing presence. Essentially, we will create an individualized web page for
your organization showing your logos and colour schemes. This is linked from the Meteringonline main page.
[Table of contents]
What is required to access Meteringonline
In order to access the load data and billing information available through Meteringonline, you only need
access to the Internet, a computer with 486 - level processor and Web browser software. For optimal performance,
though, we recommend a Pentium- level machine.
[Table of contents]
Who is using Meteringonline now?
Municipalities, Hospital Groups, Large Retail Chains, High density Shopping Centres, Numerous Large Power users
in Industry, Housing complexes, Mining Groups, Hotels, Casino's, - any organization or group of organizations
that consume more than say 100kVA per month
[Table of contents]
How quickly can Meteringonline be implemented?
Typical installations can take two to three weeks from project initiation to final testing. This period can be
even shorter, depending on the level of customisation, location of the sites and condition of the metering
system.
[Table of contents]
|
