Printers Do Not Know About Their Electricity Usage

The majority of printing companies are working in the dark when it comes to gathering accurate management information on their electricity consumption, according to Utility Auditing.

The majority of printing companies are working in the dark when it comes to gathering accurate management information on their electricity consumption, according to energy management company Utility Auditing.

That lack of knowledge is wreaking havoc with forecasting, budgeting, bill payment and the identification of waste, added the company.

But new Smart Metering technology is now offering these organisations a low cost solution to the problem - giving them access to consumption readings taken every 30 minutes, 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week, which can lead to cost savings, claimed Utility Auditing.

Information is downloaded via mobile technology to provide consumption information for the supplier to accurately invoice against.

The data can also be accessed in what is claimed to be user friendly graphical and tabular formats by the user to show half-hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual patterns of usage, said Utility Auditing.

Jeff Wealands, technical director for Utility Auditing, said: "Electricity is now one of the most costly business overheads and it is vital that businesses have access to detailed and timely management information to help profile consumption.

This can be used for a variety of purposes, including cost control and forecasting, waste minimisation and bill validation." He added: "This level of detailed information has previously only been available to half-hourly metered customers.

Smart meters open up this resource to smaller businesses, who often work on estimated bills and infrequent meter readings.

Using this sophisticated software we are helping companies to monitor and reduce their energy consumption - usually resulting in double digit savings." According to Wealands, smart metering is an essential tool in improving energy efficiency.

Monitoring consumption in minute detail, businesses can identify precisely when and where the waste is occurring and put measures in place to address the problems.

In addition, an alert function is available to advise the company of any significant increase in consumption so that waste can be tackled.

The meters can be installed at low cost in various parts of a building, enabling zonal monitoring.

That can help with energy efficiency monitoring but is also useful in apportioning costs to various departments, added the company.

Utility Auditing claimed that by using accurate data, companies can also make energy procurement savings as electricity suppliers do not need to guard against estimated consumption, or load factors and can provide a more competitive price.

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