When the Internet took off 15 years ago, it wasn't by accident. The Web boom was the byproduct of computers, which had grown increasingly sophisticated yet less expensive, and faster communication links around the world.

According to several experts, a similar pattern is emerging today in energy management, as more efficient and environmentally friendlier systems for overseeing the way energy is being measured and utilized become available. With the use of software and more advanced controls, companies can better harness an increasingly volatile cost to their operations.

But just as important is what's happening on a conceptual level. Companies are changing the way they think about energy. Instead of it being a fixed cost -- and one that is increasingly rising -- new trends suggest a greater push toward understanding energy costs and the different ways in which those costs can be measured, optimized, automated and sustained.

Industry has been wrestling with energy management for far longer than phrases such as "sustainability" and "carbon footprint" have been in vogue. According to Peter Martin, vice president of performance measurement and management for automation provider Invensys Process Systems, tremendous amounts of cost and effort were put into energy programs over the last 10 to 15 years. The problem is that those programs no longer work because the energy equation has changed.

"The problem is very subtle," says Martin. "Most energy management initiatives have been geared toward reducing energy consumption overall, which means cutting back and using different fuels. But the premise of looking at consumption is that the price of energy is fairly stable over long periods of time.

Lighting is the No. 1 source of energy consumption in any building, says energy management specialist Schneider Electric. It also represents one of the easiest sources of savings.

"The big change that I see going on today, is the price of energy -- meaning, the actual amount of money per unit consumed -- is changing multiple times per day," he says. "So you have two real-time variables: real-time consumption and real-time pricing."

Rethinking the way a company uses its energy also means gaining a firm understanding of its energy practices. Schneider Electric, which offers energy management products in power, industry, buildings and IT, suggests it all begins with a thorough audit.

"Understanding what the cost is represents probably the biggest hurdle to jump," says Amy Huntington, COO at Schneider Electric. "By doing the audit, you see a lot of things that pop up as opportunities for improvement, starting with how you buy energy, the infrastructure that distributed energy, and the ability to meter and understand how you use energy. From there, you have a pretty good idea of how to fix the basics."

View article on one page