Information Technology Basics for Energy Managers- How a Web-based Energy Information System Works

Abstract

Advances in new equipment, new processes, and new technology are the driving forces in improvements in energy management, energy efficiency, and energy cost control. Of all recent developments affecting energy management, the most powerful new technology to come into use in the last several years has been information technology—or IT. The combination of cheap, high-performance microcomputers together with the emergence of high-capacity communication lines, networks, and the internet has produced explosive growth in IT and its application throughout our economy. Energy information and control systems have been no exception. IT and internet-based systems are the wave of the future. Almost every piece of equipment and almost every activity will be connected and integrated into the overall facility operation in the next several years.

The internet, with the worldwide web—or web—has become quickly and easily accessible to all facility employees. It has allowed the development of many new opportunities for energy and facility managers to quickly and effectively control and manage their operations. The capability and use of IT and the internet in the form of web-based energy information and control systems continues to grow at a very rapid rate. New equipment and new suppliers appear almost daily, and existing suppliers of older equipment are beginning to offer new web-based systems. Facility managers, maintenance managers, and energy managers are all having to deal with this rapid deployment of web-based equipment and systems, and need to be prepared for current and future applications of internet-based technologies in their facilities. In some cases, facilities are developing their own information and control systems or at least subsystems, and are trying to understand how to connect and interface new IT equipment to their older energy management or facility management systems.

The purpose of this article is to help prepare energy managers to understand some of the basic concepts and principles of IT. We hope that they can successfully apply IT to their facility, and have the knowledge to supervise the IT work of a consultant or a vendor. Knowing what is going on and what is involved is important information for energy managers if they are going to successfully purchase, install, and operate these complex, web-based energy information and control systems. Energy management is a very comprehensive area, and this article is the first in a series whose purpose is to address the most significant concepts and principles that the typical energy or facility manager might need. The emphasis of this series is on computer networking, use of facility operation databases, and sharing data using the web and the TCP/IP communications protocol. This first article will introduce basic principles, structures, and definitions needed for most facility IT applications. Future articles will cover general application principles and discuss specific software and hardware requirements for typical energy information and control systems.