In today’s competitive global economy with soaring energy prices, increasing environmental awareness and technology-based decision making, your profitability depends on the ability to analyze and control operating costs. Better energy management saves money and translates to an improved bottom line. Energy Management commonly known as Enterprise Energy Management (EEM) or Energy Management Information Systems (EMIS) is the key to smart energy use and cost control. It consists of collecting, storing, analyzing and reporting data that is used to optimize energy performance and efficiency. EEM gathers data from inputs like meters and sensors as well as secondary sources like a company’s historical database. It uses software and hardware to store the data and produce analytical reports, giving end users the information they need to make smart, effective energy decisions.

EEM can provide answers to a full range of operating issues. The ideal system is comprehensive and integrated, but just as important; easy to use by both technical and non-technical decision makers. EEM not only aids long term planning; it serves as a help desk for day-to-day needs like:

• Why are we using so much energy during the weekends when we are closed?
• What caused that surge in energy yesterday?
• Are the company’s chillers at the optimum setting?
• Is equipment being left on overnight?
• How can we departmentalize our cost centers?
• How can we reduce our carbon footprint?
• How can we compare our energy consumption with set benchmarks?
• What is our real cost/sq foot for energy?
• Are we billing our tenants correctly? Are we providing them sufficient information so they can control their costs?

EFT Energy's Tips For Choosing An Enterprise Energy Management System
A comprehensive, integrated EEM system should have these ‘top ten’ capabilities and functionality

1. User friendly at every level of the enterprise.
2. Comprehensive and scalable. Collects data from an unlimited number of metering points, sensors and secondary sources.
3. Flexible. Reports are totally integrated with the system and not dependent on third party software (i.e. Crystal Reports)
4. Automatic reporting. EEM pushes reports to users
5. Real time reporting on all energy components
6. Completely “open” system - runs on any network and interconnects to 3rd party databases
7. Has an instant alarm notification system (email, SMS, database)
8. Monitors carbon emissions
9. Has automatic utility bill preparation and reconciliation
10. Can perform energy, baseload, building performance, degree day and budget analyses