Energy savings: Definition
Efforts are made to control energy consumption; specifically to protect non-renewable natural resources such as oil, gas, coal, and wood. Energy saving became a major issue at the end of the 20th century when two important observations were made: fossil energy sources are not renewable on a human time scale, and the CO2 released into the atmosphere due to fossil fuel combustion increases global warming.
How to detect energy savings?
There are different methods to detect energy savings on a property:
- traditional method: site-by-site analysis of energy consumption data;
- inter-site comparative method: comparing sites against a defined model;
- intra-site comparative method: analysis of the consumption history of a delivery point.
Read also: Energy management
Calculation of an energy savings
Whatever the resource concerned (human, natural, or energy), a saving is, in essence, a decrease in total consumption. It is therefore not directly measurable by specific tools afterward. How can we evaluate a saving? One way is by collecting the differences between the consumption observed before and after the saving strategy. A few rules must be followed for this measurement to be relevant.
Energy savings certificates
The Energy Savings Certificates (ESC) is a regulatory mechanism that obliges energy suppliers to be conscious of energy-saving strategies to adopt with consumers. For companies, this mechanism is a potential addition to the financial lever for their energy management projects. For example, thanks to this mechanism, energy suppliers can financially support the project owners.