The energy bill of a commercial building tells you how much you used in total. But which floor, which tenant or which installation uses the most? Hardly anyone knows. Submetering changes that.
What is submetering?
Submetering means placing extra meters behind the main meter. For example per floor, per tenant or per large installation, such as the HVAC system or the EV chargers. These meters send their data over the network to a central system.
What does it deliver?
- You see waste, such as installations that keep running at night or at weekends.
- You can charge tenants fairly, based on their real consumption.
- You have reliable data for reports to investors, banks or the government.
- You see straight away whether an energy saving measure works.
Where do you start?
Start with the biggest consumers. In most offices these are the HVAC system, the lighting and the server room. In commercial units and logistics buildings, machines, refrigeration and EV chargers are often added to that.
What to look out for
- Connection. Meters must be able to send their data reliably. Check whether there is cabling or a good wireless network where the meters will go.
- Central overview. Data nobody looks at delivers nothing. Make sure everything comes into one system.
- Security. Put the meters on the network for building systems, not on the tenants' network.
- Integration. You get the most out of it when the meters are connected to the building management system. Then the system can act by itself.
Next step
Want to know whether your building is ready for submetering? Take the free sustainability scan or download the smart sustainability checklist.
