Energy Monitoring Systems
SMA SUNNY PORTAL CONSUMPTION MONITORING
Energy monitoring is the collection of real-time or interval data on your energy consumption. Energy monitoring is essential for the efficient management of energy usage throughout your buildings. This monitoring can be installed as a standalone system or integrated within onsite power generation systems, such as solar power installations. Energy monitoring allows you to track the performance of your buildings and make the right decisions for your energy consumption. Measured energy consumption and reductions are often a prerequisite of grant approval for energy efficient upgrades, and can be used to prove savings in real-time.
Energy monitoring can encompass electricity, natural gas, LPG, and water consumption data. At DNX Energy we specialise in electricity energy monitoring for commercial and residential premises, with and without solar PV or battery storage. For most of our clients, electricity consumption is something “invisible” until the bill arrives. Our monitoring systems make your consumption visible and measurable. Once it’s visible, it is easy to identify hidden electricity consumption and the large consumers in your household or organisation. Energy monitoring allows our clients to track their energy consumption and forecast budgets appropriately.
How it works:
An energy monitor takes measurements of the amount of energy used, in real-time or over set time intervals. In the case of electricity energy monitoring, sensors measure the flow of electrons from the electricity grid to your buildings, and report how much electricity is being used at that time. These reports are delivered to a screen inside the building for onsite management, or through the cloud (Internet) to energy managers located offsite.
SMA ENERGY METER
Inline energy monitoring equipment, such as the SMA or Fronius energy meters, are installed between the electricity grid and your building to provide an accurate report of electrical energy consumption. These monitors are perfect for providing real-time load data and can be combined with onsite solar or battery storage systems. Clients with these devices can plan their daily behaviour and act in the most economical manner for the greatest electricity bill savings.
WATTS CLEVER SMART METER MONITOR
Premises with smart electricity meters can take advantage of this new technology to measure electricity consumption by counting the pulses emitted by each smart meter. The advantage of this type of energy monitor is that the monitoring is as accurate at the Western Power meter itself, and installation is so simple that it can be completed without a qualified electrician.
ENVOY S METERED MONITOR
Modern CTs, or current transformers, can be used by energy meters to accurately record the flow of electricity to your property. Monitoring systems such as the Enphase Envoy S Monitored can make use of modern CTs to provide real-time consumption data in addition to solar power monitoring data for display on your computer or smartphone.
WATTS CLEVER ENERGY MONITOR CLAMP
Simple clamp-on energy meters are suitable for households and small businesses with older, “spinning disk” style electricity meters. These meters employ sensors around each live wire between the grid and building, and measure the electricity flow on single- or three-phase supplies. Clamp-on energy monitors provide a great value for money and are fantastic for encouraging changes to wasteful behaviours in your household or small business employees.
Monitoring data helps you to get the most out of onsite generation by matching usage and generation patterns for significant savings. This information can then be used to tailor solar power systems to suit the electrical load, or direct programmable loads such as hot water systems to operate when the load is small.
Energy monitoring also provides early fault-finding capabilities for equipment. If an appliance or plant is operating inefficiently, or suddenly draws more power than usual, this will be reflected in the energy monitoring report. This information is invaluable for avoiding bill shocks or damaging equipment by operating below peak efficiency.