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Good for Business, Good for the World

Johnson Controls’ smart meters help reduce energy use

Nowadays, businesses are looking for every advantage they can get, from squeezing operating margins to reducing extraneous expenses—all in the name of fiscal responsibility and the bottom line.
But increasingly, businesses are looking at more creative ways to promote fiscal health. And that means taking a look at energy usage. Couple the need for reducing costs with an increase in sustainability objectives, and it’s no wonder that smart meters are a smart solution.
Smart meters take the place of regular energy meters and offer businesses a way to record energy consumption. By programming the meter, businesses can track hourly usage to determine peak energy consumption times. Best yet, the recordings can be programmed for a long duration so the business owner or management can track usage trends or look for unusual spikes in energy usage.
For example, if the smart meter records increases in energy usage when the business is in a production lull or is closed, management can root out the cause—perhaps machinery that is inadvertently left powered on, or computer systems that are left running with screen savers instead of in sleep modes.
Without the in-depth tracking, a business owner can only analyze a collective monthly bill and track month-to-month usage, not hour-to-hour expenditures.

Beyond Energy Use
Smart meters don’t just apply to electrical energy; Johnson Controls also makes and installs smart meters that track gas and water usage. Using a smart meter for water consumption could possibly identify leaks, since the business owner can track consumption down to the hour. And gas smart meters can help business owners identify malfunctioning equipment that is inadvertently using too much energy.

Saving Money
The meters also identify unauthorized usage areas and unusual peak demands. And tracking energy usage via smart meters has a side benefit. By understanding the hour-by-hour usage patterns, a business can see if the energy company is inadvertently charging the business. According to published reports, tests with major businesses using smart meters detected errors of over 60 percent on some gas bills and up to 50 percent on some electricity demands. That resulted in a correction for the businesses and money back.
What’s more, watching and reducing energy and water usage promote fiscal health and environmental sustainability. Now that’s smart.