Knowing how your utility company measures demand is important because it can affect how you minimize peak demand charges. Utility companies use two common methods to measure peak demand, rolling average and set average.

The Whitefish contract to restore the power grid in Puerto Rico has been making quite a splash in the media. The controversy stems from the high cost of labor being charged by an unusually small company (Whitefish Energy Holdings, LLC). The contract struck between the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and Whitefish is definitely suspicious, here’s what we know.

As utility costs continue to increase, many property managers are exploring submetering as an option to save money. Historically, multi-tenant properties would often bill each tenant for a fixed percentage of utility costs. The traditional approach actually benefits the least efficient tenants...

In 1890, the Western Union Telegraph Company utilized a battery storage system consisting of 20,000 zinc-copper cells. The installation was designed to provide power in the event of a utility failure. Modern battery storage systems are designed to meet the same goal. However, the technology has improved significantly -- the cost of batteries, controllers, inverters, and other necessary hardware has decreased to the point where battery storage systems (BSS) are a realistic option for many property owners. There are a number of key factors to explore when considering the purchase of a BSS, including:

One of the most frequent topics that I encounter while talking with customers about energy monitoring is the importance of measuring and correcting power factor. In a practical sense, power factor is a ratio of the amount of electrons actually being used by a system divided by the amount of electrons charged to you by your utility. These two values are often very different, especially in commercial buildings where you see large and/or inefficient equipment. While power factor correction gets the majority of attention, other opportunities can provide a less expensive means of achieving efficiency and savings, like demand optimization.