For facility managers who want to lower costs, energy information systems (EIS) might be the answer. EIS is an old concept. It began with spreadsheets developed after the energy crisis in the 1970s. In the end, those initial efforts at collating energy information became computerized. The technology continued developing into the energy information systems of the present.
EIS goes by many names. Facility managers are usually acquainted with utility tracking systems and energy accounting systems; all of these are types of energy information systems.
What is Energy Information Systems?
Energy Information Systems (EIS) is the collective term for the software, data acquisition hardware, and communication systems used to store, log, and display a facility’s energy records.
Metering data is very important to EIS. An energy information system gives facility managers and business owners daily, hourly or sub-hourly meter data, complete with graphical and analytical stats. The data is chiefly attained from a facility’s electricity and gas meters, but it can also use system-level data.
Benefits of Energy Information Systems
Energy Information Systems offers facility managers many benefits. Perhaps the most significant one is the ability to record how and where energy and resources are being used.
The benefits most frequently reported about Energy Information Systems:
- Recognizing efficiency opportunities
- Tracking performance
- Managing demand charges
- Authenticating utility bills
- Measuring project-specific savings
- Collecting and storing short and long-term data to create and track energy goals
An Energy Information System can help facility managers save their organization money and energy by simplifying facility processes.