Monitoring & targeting energy in practice: a field study

Panel: 5. The role of energy management systems, education, outreach and training

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Antony Hilliard, University of Toronto, Canada
Greg A. Jamieson, University of Toronto, Canada

Abstract

This paper summarizes a field study of Industrial Energy Monitoring & Targeting (M&T). Despite the enduring popularity of M&T methods, the experiences of practitioners remain undocumented. By contrast, in residential energy conservation domain, field studies have been influential and well-cited. This suggests an un-met need for direct descriptions of industrial energy management practice to complement existing instructional materials and "success stories”. Non-practitioners such as researchers, software engineers, or policy developers would benefit from case studies of M&T work.

The field study included eight weekly energy interpretation sessions and two interviews with five participants: two from an energy analytics company, two from an institutional site, and one from an industrial manufacturer. Results include qualitative and quantitative categorized observations and interview responses, such as:

• Participants without direct control authority envisioned software tools to help persuade colleagues and enhance credibility. By contrast, the participant with direct control authority emphasized informing daily control decisions, and attempted to adapt the M&T software to meet these needs.

• Participants spent roughly equal time assessing the trustworthiness of energy data and models as they did seeking efficiency opportunities. Assessing data and model quality was not well-supported by the software.

• All participants relied primarily on Cumulative Sum of Differences (CUSUM) charts, despite being uncertain about the underlying models.

• CUSUM charts were difficult to interpret, even for experienced analysts.

• On-site workers couldn’t assess energy performance models and over-attributed their sophistication.

Findings underscore opportunities for innovation in Energy M&T software and management processes. We hope it will motivate a discussion of challenges in energy management practice.