The UK government committed to and unveiled several decarbonisation and energy reduction policies in 2021 to help the nation meet its ambitious net zero goals. Some of these included the UK Net Zero Strategy, launching the green reporting scheme, setting requirements for businesses to reveal their own net zero goals, and more. The country also hosted COP26 in Novemb
Whilst saving money is an important outcome of good energy stewardship, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pursuing net zero targets through good energy consumption monitoring boosts corporate reputation as well.
Businesses have been called upon to help deliver net zero targets – and digital technology is the vehicle with which businesses can achieve their net zero goals. Advancing and emerging technologies have a significant role in decarbonising our economies and making our power consumption more efficient.
“Businesses have set up ambitious goals in line with global commitments towards decarbonisation and achieving net zero. Only a systematic change and approach can help them reach their targets. This includes strategically adopting cloud technologies, big data and IoT,” said Loganathan G. Bose, Head of Products at ClearVUE Systems.
Digital and IoT technologies have the ability to help organisation’s drastically improve their energy efficiency and carbon reduction goals without sacrificing economic productivity. Research presented by Vodafone titled “Connecting for Net Zero: Addressing the climate crisis through digital technology” suggests that widespread adoption of 5G and IoT in the key areas of manufacturing, transport, and agriculture would cut the UK’s overall emissions by as much as 4% per year.
Energy savings are more apparent than one may imagine. As much as 13% of average energy consumption can be saved through optimisation and reduction strategies. Digital technology synthesises energy data through different methods that can then be used to enact changes in our energy consumption behaviours.
One tried and tested method is to use comparative analysis. Comparing your energy use against other proven commodities will create a benchmark for your performance. From here, you can identify how energy can best be distributed and consumed throughout different operating hours and production requirements.
Energy management systems today benefit from the best of digital technology to help businesses target energy waste and develop energy efficiency strategies through data-driven analysis.
For example, energy management solutions like ClearVUE allow users to monitor their energy consumption patterns monthly, weekly, daily, and even hourly. Through data server and smart energy grid connectivity, tools such as live energy costing engines enable businesses to see costs for consumption and emissions directly from their supplier for every connected circuit in the business. This means businesses can review historical energy consumption data and produce reports of their business gas and electricity costs at any time.
Businesses are keen to realise their energy and carbon reduction strategies, and digital technology is paving the way for this to happen more easily and efficiently than ever before.
