Meeting the Energy Efficiency Challenge in 2014
Intelligent Utility, February 7, 2014Across the United States, the utility industry is facing increasing energy efficiency goals for 2014 and beyond. To achieve these goals, utilities must tap into the market segment that represents the greatest opportunity for energy savings over the next 10 years – the commercial building market.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, buildings consume more than 40 percent of all US energy, with commercial buildings accounting for half of this total building consumption. Research shows that 30 percent of a commercial building’s energy use is commonly wasted. This waste represents a significant energy-saving opportunity – but utilities have yet to fully tap into this potential because of the extreme difficulty in understanding how a building uses and loses energy.
Forward-looking utilities are solving this problem by using big data and analytics to better identify, target and secure these commercial building efficiency opportunities. Here are four ways that big data and analytics are helping utilities meet tough new efficiency mandates by seizing the opportunity in the commercial building market.