6 Reasons why you should Track your Energy Efficiency Projects

Although some of the reasons below may seem obvious to you, many professionals do not take them into account during the project. As a result, they fail to achieve their goals.

So why is it so important to regularly track your energy efficiency projects? Mainly because with the information you will obtain during energy monitoring, you will be able to:

1. Knowing the real energy savings at different times of the project

Imagine that in your planning you have established a monthly review of the company’s energy consumption by building or installation. To carry out this task of measuring and verifying the savings obtained, one of the most widely used protocols among energy professionals is the IPMVP protocol.

This will allow you to really check how much you are saving and whether you are achieving the targets set according to the KPIs set.

Moreover, checking the real savings periodically will allow you to improve estimates and future savings targets, as well as to redefine the KPIs used so far, if necessary.

2. Quickly detect and resolve any deviations from expectations

Another benefit of carrying out savings measurement and verification tasks periodically during the project is to detect deviations from the forecast. So you and your team are able to adapt the planned actions to the actual needs, solving any deviations in time and avoiding money loss.

In addition, during the measurement and verification tasks, new savings opportunities are often detected where to apply some of the ECMs (Energy Saving and Efficiency Measures) that were already in the project. 

Extra tip: if your project has the characteristic of being flexible and being able to modify the established ECMs, remember that using the Energy Saving and Efficiency Pyramid will help you to decide where to start.

3. Know the status of the Return on Investment (ROI) of the Energy Efficiency project

Tracking during the energy efficiency project will allow you to know the status of the ROI at all times. That will let you know if the investment in energy efficiency that has been carried out is obtaining the expected results with respect to the agreed ROI, such as the reduction of kWh consumed, the reduction of final production costs, the reduction in CO₂ emissions, etc. 

If it’s not the case, and if it is well tracked, you will have the opportunity to make decisions to redirect the project.

4. Check whether you are efficient while maintaining users comfort and facility performance

When actions are taken to improve the energy efficiency of a building or facility, we must bear in mind that the latter must not lose users comfort, but on the contrary, maintain or improve it.

During the monitoring of the project, you will be able to check if the comfort is maintained after the ECMs have been carried out. 

For example, imagine that in your project one of the measures is the renovation of the most energy efficient HVAC system, which also improves indoor air quality. Being able to check the results after the installation of the new equipment will allow you to make the necessary adjustments.

5. Carry out effective and productive internal communication

When the project is underway, it is important to establish a system of continuous communication with the project stakeholders about how the project is going: investors, employees, partners, managers, middle management, those affected, those involved, etc.

To ensure that your internal communications are effective, you should prepare results reports with updated and clear data, schedule regular meetings, and make the most of the tools such as internal chats and emails.

This type of communication will help you to show the status of the ROI, as well as speed up decision-making when making adjustments during the project.

6. Gain synergies with other projects and departments in the company

Sharing the experience of the project with other teams will help you to develop other similar projects. In each project, you learn new things that enrich the following projects or those being carried out in parallel. And if this information arrives in real time, the more efficient will be the benefit you will obtain between the different departments. 

​​Conclusion: The greatest benefit of good tracking of your energy efficiency project is that you will be able to anticipate bad results and future problems by solving them as early as possible.

And remember: to be able to carry out the monitoring during the implementation of the project, it is essential that you have tools that make your job easier. 

In this case, having an advanced Energy Management Solution will save you time and improve the productivity of your team, in addition to obtaining more accurate information, as they have tools with which you can perform all of the above tasks more productively and reliably.

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