Using Smart Metering to Cut Energy Costs

A ONE-DAY WORKSHOP

USING SMART METERING TO CUT ENERGY COSTS

0.8 CEU / 8 PDH
 
$480
 
LOCATIONS & DATES

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 / Chicago, IL
(held in conjunction with WEEC 2011)
Seminar held at Navy Pier
 

9:00 am - 5:00 pm
 
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

‘Smart’ meters (also called interval meters) measure and communicate electricity usage in near real time, showing how power is being used in short (e.g., 15-minute) periods. By accessing and understanding such data, facility managers, utilities, and contractors cut costs by trimming peak demand, uncovering hidden waste, and employing lower cost utility and market-based electric rates.

Through in-depth instruction, this seminar covers the basics of ‘smart’ metering, including its use in demand response and other cost-cutting utility programs, and ways to cut costs even without such programs. Lindsay Audin (CEM, CEP, LEED AP) walks participants through the catalysts pushing smart metering and the new tariffs they are fostering. When and how to deploy such metering at facilities will be covered, as well as the costs, paybacks, and specification of customer-owned interval metering. To demonstrate how to analyze interval meter data (both statistically and visually), many real-life examples are covered.

Participants receive and use several advanced Excel-based tools (not available elsewhere) for configuring, visualizing, and analyzing data from smart meters. While not essential, in-class use of a laptop equipped with Excel (versions 2000 to 2003 only) is encouraged during the afternoon half of the seminar. Hookup to power strips will be available.

 
WORKSHOP AGENDA OUTLINE
Introduction to Smart Metering and Interval Data
  • What is ‘smart’ metering?
  • Who/what is pushing it, and why?
  • Cutting cut costs with them
  • Profiles we will create today
 
Power Usage Patterns and Their Impacts
  • Basic load profiling and interval data
  • Developing/understanding energy usage patterns
  • Ways to cut peak demand
  • Overview of time-sensitive electric rates
  • Turning numbers into information
  • Load factor as a limited shorthand
 
Smart Metering, Data Handling, Logging
  • The technical essentials of smart meters
  • Data acquisition systems and support services
  • Ways to pay for metering hardware/software
  • Securing and formatting interval data files
  • Macros & templates to simplify the job
 
Integrating Smart Metering Into Operations
  • Wholesale energy pricing and demand response
  • Using load profiles to find and fix problems
  • Correlating usage with hourly temperature data
  • Eleven examples of problems and fixes
  • Tips for anomaly analysis
 
Hands-on Exercises and Excel Tools
  • Starting with a sample meter data file
  • Creating 2D/3D profiles and load duration curves
  • Pinpointing anomalies
  • Correlating with other variables
  • Quantifying potential savings
  • Using charts to train personnel and improve operations
 
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Lindsay Audin is the president of Energywiz, Inc., an energy consulting firm serving large energy users, government agencies, energy suppliers, and other consultants, both in the U.S. and abroad. His clients include many well-known companies, institutions, and consulting firms, as well as EPA’s Energy Star program.
 
Audin has been named Energy Manager of the Year by three different national or regional US organizations. In 1993, the Association of Energy Engineers named him their International Energy Manager of the Year, and in 1996 inducted him into its Energy Manager’s Hall of Fame. He also holds certifications in energy management and energy procurement and is a LEED AP. In 1999, he developed new techniques for developing and analyzing interval metering data that are now used by hundreds of practitioners. His metering-related work includes designing, specifying, and managing large submetering systems covering electricity, steam, chilled water, and gas meters, writing NYSERDA’s 2003 “Primer on Smart Metering,” and teaching his techniques in both live and online seminars. His energy efficiency work has been featured in over a dozen publications and videos, and garnered many awards and citations.
 
His 35 years in the energy services industry include 8 years as energy manager for Columbia University and 12 years with private engineering and energy consulting firms in New York City, prior to founding Energywiz in 1996. Since 1991, Audin has authored hundreds of columns on energy issues for Architectural Record, Engineered Systems, and other trade publications. He has also been a contributing editor to Building Operating Management magazine since 2002 and sits on the editorial board of High Performance Buildings magazine (an ASHRAE publication).