Combining Energy Management and Plant Management
Saving energy through system integration
Municipal buildings offer great potential for savings. However, isolated energy management is not enough. Only the combination with system management makes energy consumption explainable, controllable and permanently reducible - with measurable effects on costs and CO₂.
Thinking Energy Management and Plant Management Together: How Municipalities Can Save 20% or More Energy with Integrated Energy Management
Municipal properties have considerable untapped potential for efficiency. Schools, sports halls, administrative buildings, and other public facilities often have significant energy-related shortcomings. Experience from numerous municipalities shows that a structured municipal energy management can already achieve savings of over 10% - in many cases, savings of around 15% have even been achieved. For a medium-sized municipality, professional energy management can result in savings of six figures.
However, it is crucial not to view energy management and plant management in isolation from one another. A sustainable reduction in energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and operating costs can only be achieved if energy consumption and technical systems are systematically analyzed and controlled in conjunction with each other. Modern systems, therefore, combine energy management systems (EMS) with facility management and asset performance management, thus creating the basis for effective, data-based operation of municipal infrastructures.
From Measured Value to Impulse for Action: Why Integrated Energy Management and System Management Are Necessary
A classic energy management system provides transparency about energy consumption, but often stops at pure diagnostics. It shows anomalies, but does not answer the central question: Why do these consumptions occur and how can they be avoided?
This is where the system management comes in. It monitors operating states, efficiency indicators and fault messages from technical systems in real time. Only the combination of energy management and system management creates a closed, functional control loop:
- The system recognizes deviations.
- assigns these technical causes
- and can automatically initiate measures or inform operators in a targeted manner.
This turns pure energy consumption monitoring into an active control instrument for building operation. Without reference to the system, you only see increased energy consumption; with integrated system monitoring, you can see where and why energy is being used inefficiently - for example due to excessively high flow temperatures, incorrect control strategies or unsuitable operating times.
What Integrated Energy and System Management Must Achieve
Real-time analysis of all relevant consumption data in energy management
Continuous monitoring of electricity, heat, and water on a quarter-hourly basis. Deviations are detected immediately, and load peaks and standby losses become transparent. Digital energy management enables local authorities to take countermeasures at an early stage, rather than only reacting in the annual financial statements.
System management with monitoring & fault detection (FDD)
Central recording of temperatures, valve positions, pressures, and power consumption. The system management reports atypical changes immediately. Example: An increase in the power consumption of a ventilation system can indicate a blocked filter or faulty control. Technically induced excess consumption is thus limited at an early stage.
ESG, energy, and consumption reports from energy management
Against the backdrop of increasing verification obligations, such as those towards city councils, funding bodies, or as part of the EnEfG, integrated energy management and facility management platforms ensure consistent documentation. Key consumption figures, CO₂ balances, and successful savings can be called up at any time.
Support for ISO 50001 processes through digital energy management
Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles can be mapped with system support: Define target values, document measures, automate monitoring, evaluate deviations, and derive optimizations. Energy management and plant management together form the operational basis for certifications and internal control models.
The result is a continuous process:
Record energy consumption → Recognize deviations → Identify causes → Implement measures → Check savings success.
Outlook: Integrated Energy Management as a Pragmatic Lever for Municipal Sustainability Goals
Municipalities are faced with the task of reconciling rising energy costs, climate protection requirements and tight budgets. An integrated energy and facility management offers a realistic and effective approach to this:
short amortization times,
verifiable CO₂ reduction,
compliant regulatory requirements,
Resilient decision bases from energy management.
Cloud-based energy management and facility management solutions (SaaS) also make implementation easier: they do not require an extensive local IT infrastructure, are scalable and can be flexibly integrated into existing systems. Open interfaces enable connection to building management systems, sensors or municipal billing systems.
At the same time, municipalities strengthen their organizational structures with an integrated approach: responsibilities become clearer, processes more transparent and efficiency increases measurable. Funding can be accessed more easily, as energy management and monitoring are increasingly a prerequisite for funding approvals.
Conclusion: Energy Management and Plant Management as an Operational Unit
There are numerous reasons for municipal decision-makers to now rely on a combined energy management and plant management . The technologies are tried and tested, projects deliver reliable results and savings of between 10 and 20% are considered realistic - often even more(not verified, as dependent on initial state and degree of conversion).
The tried and tested principle in municipal energy management is therefore also: Dare to be more pragmatic Use solutions that work, make adjustments where necessary and thus pave the way for resource-saving, economical and resilient building operation.
An integrated energy management and asset management creates the operational data basis for well-founded decisions. With green.screen, the cloud-based software for strategic sustainability management from Arvato Systems, this energy and operating data can be centrally recorded, evaluated and used for reporting and verification obligations. In this way, operational consumption data is systematically transferred to higher-level sustainability and control processes.
Written by