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Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform

Table of Contents
Foreword ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Identifying Your Energy Management Goals ................................................................................................ 4
Identifying the Key Obstacles ....................................................................................................................... 5
Implementation Tip #1: Overcoming the Connectivity Hurdle with the Energy Network of Things ......... 6
Implementation Tip #2: Simplified, Ubiquitous Connectivity Will Unlock the Value of Energy
Management Dashboards............................................................................................................................. 6
Implementation Tip #3: Local, Ubiquitous Connectivity Will Unlock the Value of Centralized Facility
Management (CFM) ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Planning and Preparation Selecting the Right Internal Team .................................................................... 8
Planning and Preparation Selecting the Right Partner .............................................................................. 9
The Connected Facility of the Future Can Be Yours Today ......................................................................... 10

Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform

Foreword
This implementation guide outlines a strategic direction allowing energy managers to reach more of
their energy management goals using an Energy Network of Things platform. The basis of the guide
focuses on the need for simplified, ubiquitous connectivity, how to partner internally and what to look
for in an external partner as energy managers consider how to develop technology approaches
necessary to meet energy management goals. Never before have energy managers been so empowered
and needed to impact the course of their organizations strategic direction. This is an exciting time that
will give energy managers more ability to create positive change inside their organizations and pursue
more aggressive energy management goals. Success to achieve your energy management objectives
hinges on careful planning.

Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform

Identifying Your Energy Management Goals

When it comes to driving energy management, three goals consistently make the top of the list:
1. Meeting Energy Efficiency Targets
Facilities that pursue energy efficiency initiatives find benefits in multiple areas. For example, their
efforts can help improve the organizations public perception, both globally and locally, or help meet
environmental impact goals. But environmental sustainability is not just good PR, it is also good
business. In a recent survey of facility energy managers, 79% said their management views energy
management initiatives as essential to creating a competitive advantage for their organization in 2016 1.
The simple act of reducing consumption also saves a lot of money. According to the EPA, commercial
and industrial buildings in the United States spend about $200 billion annually on energy. 2 With a 40%
increase in the cost of energy since 1995, reducing your usage by even a small percentage can have a
dramatic impact on your bottom line.
2. Fortifying Energy Resiliency Efforts
Increasingly, many facilities today have zero tolerance for power disruptions. With the mission criticality
of electrically charged gadgets from computers to data centers needed to run a business, the cost of an
outage can be devastating, and in some cases, irreparable. For some industries, such as healthcare,
power interruptions are life-threatening and therefore unacceptable. Other organizations may have
energy resiliency needs to keep medical and research lab facilities running. With power outages caused
by cascading grid instability on the rise, most have turned to back-up power generation as protection
against the threat of lost revenue. But as experience with Super Storm Sandy shows, generators have
not always been ready to respond when these organizations have needed them the most. Monitoring,
and testing generators, ATS switches, and batteries, as well as monitoring fuel management, are all
necessary to make sure the fleet is ready to respond.
3. Strengthening Self-Sufficiency Efforts
As a protection against power grid uncertainty and the rising cost of energy, an increasing number of
facilities are striving to become energy self-sufficient by generating their own power, and in some cases
have announced efforts to go off more of the grid all together. 3 In fact, 55% of Energy Managers
surveyed said their facility planned to generate their own onsite power in 2015. With new sources of
generation, technology and Retail Energy Service Providers able to offer new sustainability solutions,
these combined factors can help the energy manager protect their buildings against outages and the
rising costs of energy.

Motyka, Marlene, Andrew Clinton. Deloitte Resources 2015 Study: Energy Management Passes the Point of No Return. Washington DC.

Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions. 2015. Print.

2

EPA | http://www3.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/local/topics/commercial-industrial.html

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/04/21/apple-expands-renewable-energy-to-retail-stores-120-us-outlets-get-green-power

Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform

Identifying the Key Obstacles

As organizations try to take control of their energy management future, the first hurdle they must face is
the state of energy management data. Often, the very first question every facility must answer, is
Where is the data? According to a recent survey, 85% of energy managers say it is important to
improve performance in energy data collection in the next financial year if they are to succeed in
achieving their facilitys energy management program goals. 4 But most have found the quality and type
of data they need to be lacking.
So, how does an energy manager get access to the data to see where they are consuming the most
energy? The first method is not a high-tech solution at all. It usually requires opening the monthly bill
the utility company sends. Many turn to manually entering monthly bills in spreadsheets as a way to
track data trends. A slightly more high-tech response has been made possible through Energy STAR or
Green Button programs, but like the monthly utility bill, they only tell you what already happened and
are not much help at predicting what is currently happening or is about to happen.
As it turns out, your first challenge on the road to energy management will be how to get energy
management data and, this is where a dashboard-only solution could be big mistake. Without first
understanding what assets could be providing powerful data, installing dashboards first proves
meaningless.

Where is the data? According to a recent survey, 85% of energy managers say it is important
to improve performance in energy data collection in the next financial year if they are to
succeed in achieving their facilitys energy management program goals.

The root of the problem often turns out to be a network connectivity issue. Most dashboards are limited
because they can only communicate with a few energy systems. Your daily walk through your facility
reveals this point en masse and most likely reveals many stranded systems in the form of meters and
assets which are not providing the facility with useful, real time and accurate information. It turns out
the majority of your valuable energy management data is trapped inside infrastructure legacy
equipment just waiting to be tapped from boilers, chillers and HVAC system (which may be
monitored through a number of distinct Building Automation Systems) to generators, meters (water, gas
and electric) and onsite generation all varying in age, type and manufacturer. Its highly unlikely that all
Motyka, Marlene, Andrew Clinton. Deloitte Resources 2015 Study: Energy Management Passes the Point of No Return. Washington DC.
Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions. 2015. Print.
4

Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform
are being centrally monitored by one energy management system. And therein lies the rub. There is a
plethora of information potentially at your disposal. And, once tapped, this information could be realtime allowing you to get ahead of your monthly utility bill and begin to measure and validate some
positive change. But without connectivity, this reality remains unachievable.
The challenge has always been how to connect the infrastructure of varying makes, models, vintages
and types and get these assets communicating real-time data into one, industry-standard energy
management system. But, if most of these assets are legacy and were installed decades ago, how is it
possible to tap legacy equipment into a modern, open network if they were installed well before the
idea of an Internet was even imaginable?

Implementation Tip #1: Overcoming the Connectivity Hurdle with the

Energy Network of Things
Newly available Energy Network of Things platforms that provide simple, ubiquitous and vendoragnostic connectivity are now widely available and capable of helping facilities overcome the
connectivity hurdle. They provide a more common sense business model (based on a small recurring
connection fee rather than requiring a large upfront capital investment) coupled with cybersecurity, and
this powerful combination is disrupting the status quo within facilities. These platforms take an open,
standards-based approach to connecting existing facility energy assets, including meters (water, gas and
electric), generators, fuel tanks, automatic transfer switches, chillers boilers, HVAC control panels and
any other intelligent mechanical equipment regardless of make, model, vintage or protocol. Anything
that consumes, switches or measures electricity can be affordably connected into these platforms to
give energy managers the valuable real-time data they need to achieve their goals.
With Energy Networks of Things platforms, legacy assets can be quickly connected into secure energy
controls networks turnkey. There is no customized SCADA development or months of integration
necessary. There is no need to take on building a communications infrastructure or selecting sensors or
hardware. Networks are painlessly deployed by using auto-configuration tools available in a site survey
where all assets are inventoried during a walkthrough of the facility and the resulting energy network is
prescribed as a result. This dramatically cuts the costs and time of installation on average reducing
costs by 30% and deploying networks 75% faster.
And the goal is 100% uptime. With an Energy Network of Things approach, all of your assets can be
securely connected into multi-site networks that are monitored and maintained against the common
causes of stranded assets: loss of communication, sensor failure and out-of-date software.

Implementation Tip #2: Simplified, Ubiquitous Connectivity Will Unlock

the Value of Energy Management Dashboards
Your energy management data is a right not a privilege. Visualization of the data through dashboards
with basic trending and alarming capabilities is provided free of charge in Energy Network of Things
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Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform
platforms. By solving the connectivity problem first, these platforms are in a better position to get your
energy management program off the ground and open to allow you to add in more sophisticated
dashboards over time, as they become available in the market.
With ubiquitous connectivity available in Energy Network of Things platforms, it becomes possible to
collect energy management data from virtually anywhere and visualize this data into standard energy
monitoring dashboards that have been provided free of charge, as standard in every network
deployment. Imagine having 100% connectivity and a starting point for visualization in free dashboards
that can provide Energy Heat Maps, Portfolio Drift, Load Study reports, Peak Demand Management,
Period-over-Period comparisons and Water, Gas & Electricity meter monitoring!
As you look to fulfilling your energy management goals, dont jump the gun with the dashboard. By
looking for the Energy Network of Things platforms that can provide simplified, ubiquitous connectivity
and free dashboards, you can avoid the fatal flaw that kills most energy management programs dead in
their tracks.

By looking for Energy Network of Things platforms that can provide simplified, ubiquitous
connectivity and free dashboards you can avoid the fatal flaw that kills most energy
management programs dead in their tracks.

Implementation Tip #3: Local, Ubiquitous Connectivity Will Unlock the

Value of Centralized Facility Management (CFM)
With affordable local connectivity being deployed so easily, it will become possible to collect local level
information to change the way you manage your portfolio of facilities centrally. This trend, known as
Centralized Facility Management (CFM), is happening as many organizations look to consolidate
operational functions to run more effectively. Imagine having centralized management of capital, energy
and operational awareness over your entire facility footprint enabled by local, ubiquitous connectivity.
This knowledge can positively change how you run energy management programs by allowing you to
have real-time information from all buildings, compare and rank them on a set of regularly measured
metrics and trends. At the click of a button you can know if a facility thousands of miles away is in an
outage situation, participating in a demand response event or over-consuming based on a historical
benchmark. CFM unlocks true Return on Investment (ROI) by bringing all information up into a
centralized platform so you can strategically implement the changes that will impact the biggest savings.

Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform

Planning and Preparation Selecting the Right Internal Team

Energy management plans are only as good as the people planning and implementing them. It is critical
that you build a strong team. There are several key business unit leaders that are needed to assist you in
the planning and implementation portion and you should get them involved early.

Work with your facility management team. Connectivity will be the answer in unlocking the
valuable data the energy management teams needs to reach their efficiency and sustainability
efforts. Work with them to understand what dashboards they are looking to deploy, how they are
receiving data today and what data they need to make programs most effective in the future. There
is a good chance that there could be areas of overlap especially as Energy Network of Things
Platforms begin to offer energy management dashboards as a standard (free) part of their
deployment. You could bring a valuable tool to facility managers and save your organization buying
software that is already available in the connectivity platform

Work with IT leaders, as they control the network. When it comes to your IT department, there is
no doubt their antennae will be up at the mere mention of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT has been
a massive trend driving technology for many years now. However, they may not have much
experience in the building automation or energy management spaces. Share your goals, needs and
obstacles around data collection and management with them. Help them understand the
importance of connectivity and the role an Energy Network of Things platform can provide to create
this simple, cybersecure and ubiquitous connectivity. They will certainly want to get involved early
to understand your requirements (data you want to collect), what assets you need to collect data
from, what has traditionally prohibited connectivity and how new technology platforms solve this
need. They will have questions and most likely these energy networks will touch their systems, so
the sooner you can get IT on board as an advocate, the better off youll be. Many providers of
Energy Networks of Things platform will work directly with your IT department and help educate
them on how these systems work and what will be required of them in the process. This will help
you expedite your energy management program without getting bogged down in the IT details.

Your CFO and the finance team will be interested to learn of the applications that can save money.
Benefits that can be unlocked by Centralized Facility Management will allow your facility to take
advantage of cost savings across your entire building portfolio suite, reduce maintenance and
operational costs. All cost savings initiatives should be shared with finance who will become a strong
ally to drive value from energy management programs and articulate this at senior leadership levels
where many facilities management programs might be overlooked. Driving cost savings and
competitive advantage are precisely the incentives management will find useful in supporting when
it comes to driving advocates for your energy management program.

Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform

Planning and Preparation Selecting the Right Partner

The final member of your team is a strong external partner that can help you build your business case
and achieve your goals. This partner needs to understand what you are trying to accomplish, speak the
language of the industry, and be extremely comfortable in helping you communicate your facilitys
Energy Network of Things needs to your energy, IT and finance teams. The partner should understand
the data challenge and the role simplified, ubiquitous and vendor-agnostic connectivity can play as the
first step in driving energy management programs. They should offer dashboards for free, as standard in
their platform and come equipped with ways to easily prescribe auto-configured networks that avoid
costly custom development and 6-9 months of custom integration. Below is a checklist of questions you
can use to evaluate partners and if they are a right fit for your energy management programs.
Checklist - What to look for in a Building IoT platform:
Can they connect any asset regardless of make, model, vintage or type without customized
development?
Is it a SCADA network that is capable of making automated controls decisions?
Has the product been reviewed by a third-party security firm (ask for a letter of attestation, the
ultimate proof that the provider has taken all steps in their power to reduce risk of a successful
cyberattack)?
Are their data visualization tools available so you can have data mapped and visualized in dashboards
upon commissioning?
Is the platform open to third-party applications?
Can the platform prove they can be used in a multi-site (CFM) deployment?
In the implementation stage, do they have tools and a methodology to ensure projects are completed
on-time and within budget?
In implementation, do they have a collected knowledge of their cumulative deployments (look for
templates and site survey tools that can be performed quickly in a facility walk-through and produce
network diagrams and drawings)?
Do they provide turnkey implementation services so you are not left to hire your own electrical
contractors and find third-party sensors or communications equipment?
Do they have pre-packaged hardware retrofit kits that will work with your legacy equipment?
Can they provide post-deployment network management services to avoid stranded assets and
protect against the loss of energy management data?
Can you avoid high up-front costs by eliminating software licensing contracts?
In the pricing model, do you only pay for the assets you connect to the system?
Are they able to partner with your IT department to help explain the Energy Network of Things
platform in the language of an IT professional?
Do they speak the language of the facilities team and understand what it takes to connect any asset,
all assets, even ones that have traditionally been stranded assets?
Do they have customer advocacy programs to accept product feedback and allow users to collaborate
openly with other users?
Are they willing to introduce you to referral customers or conduct customer site visits before you buy?

Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform

The Connected Facility of the Future Can Be Yours Today

There is a misnomer that energy management requires a large upfront cost. You no longer need to be
saddled with the challenges of legacy equipment. With new Energy Network of Things platforms,
facilities will no longer be burdened with the high costs of replacing existing equipment, developing
custom programs and needing to build, secure and maintain communications networks.
The time to act is now. All of your assets can be connected and operate in an open framework where
dashboards are free and ubiquitous connectivity is simplified. Security is built-in to protect all of your
devices and equipment from potential attacks. Apps are interchangeable. Data is fed from all of your
connected devices into smart dashboards that provide incredible granularity. This data is yours, and
access to it is not a privilege its your right.
The Energy Network of Things is the game changer that will allow the facility of the future to reach more
of its energy management goals. You have the opportunity to lead this charge and leave a resiliency,
efficiency and self-sufficiency legacy at your organization.
Get started on this path today by talking to Blue Pillar. With our Energy Network of Things platform,
free energy management dashboards, ability to speak the language of key facility stakeholders and
relationships with Retail Energy Service Providers, you can be well on the path toward the achieving the
facility of the future much sooner than you thought possible.

Take control of your facilitys energy future today, learn more about our award-winning
Energy Network of Things Platform by visiting www.bluepillar.com

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Achieving Your Energy Management Goals with an Energy Network of Things Platform

About Blue Pillar

Blue Pillar is the leading Energy Network of Things provider for distributed energy networks. Our award
winning Aurora platform, and patented deployment methodology is the first solution to connect
behind-the-meter distributed energy resources by self-prescribing secure IoT networks that enable realtime control of assets and collection of energy data. Using Aurora, hundreds of the worlds most
complex facilities operators have increased their energy resiliency, efficiency or self-sufficiency efforts
including Duke University Medical Center, Tenet Healthcare and Houston Methodist. Energy service
providers have been able to offer new services to their Commercial and Industrial (C+I) customers by
centrally monitoring, managing, and dispatching behind-the-meter assets with Aurora. Blue Pillar was
recognized as one of the 15 fastest growing energy tech companies in North America by the Deloitte
Fast 500. Learn how Blue Pillar can help you take control of your energy future faster and more
affordably by visiting www.bluepillar.com or on Twitter at @bluepillarinc.

9025 North River Road, Suite 150, Indianapolis, IN 46240

888.234.3212 (Toll-free) 317.663.2218 (Fax)
info@bluepillar.com

0116-01-IG-01

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