Energy Analytics: Everything You Need to Know

Energy analytics is becoming an increasingly common term in the energy industry but what actually is it? In this article, we'll tell you everything you need to know, from the definition to how you can leverage analytics to optimise and automate your energy management strategy.

What is energy analytics?

The Oak Network's Energy analytics dashboard.

Energy analytics or energy data analytics refers to a process of collecting, analysing and visualising consumption data using energy analytics software to gain valuable insights into usage trends and patterns. The data can be collected by energy management systems, smart metres, building management systems (BMS), utility bills or Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

By leveraging sophisticated energy analytics software, businesses understand:

Energy consumption patterns: Identify peak load periods, equipment that consumes maximum energy and variations in consumption patterns across different departments.
Energy efficiency: Effective measurement of energy usage, while identifying areas of inefficiency that can be improved further.
Cost drivers: How a range of diverse factors such as weather, occupancy levels and various operational practices impact energy costs.
Potential energy savings: Detection of areas where energy is wasted through faulty systems, inefficient equipment or human behaviour.

Benefits of Energy Data Analytics

Energy analytics can offer a plethora of opportunities for your business growth and promises a strong return on investment (ROI). Let us take a look at some of the key advantages:

Energy Savings

The most compelling benefit energy analytics offers is the possibility of substantial energy savings. By understanding areas of energy waste, businesses can take targeted measures to bring down consumption.

A report from Carbon Trust in 2023 shows that businesses in the UK could achieve an average of 20% energy savings through effective energy management practices. This leads to significant cost reductions on utility bills & improves your bottom line.

Analyse Energy Consumption

Energy data analysis gives you a comprehensive picture of energy usage across operations. See exactly where you need to optimise energy usage to see the biggest savings in costs and carbon footprint from lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), to individual pieces of equipment.

This granular analysis allows leaders to make data driven energy management optimisations.

Energy Demand Forecasting

Energy analytics software helps you predict future energy demand by leveraging historical consumption patterns, weather predictions or even upcoming changes in occupancy or production levels.

This allows you to optimise the energy procurement strategies. For instance, businesses can leverage time-of-use tariffs offered by energy suppliers, where electricity prices often fluctuate, depending on peak and off-peak demand periods.

Predictive Maintenance

By analysing consumption data, you can identify anomalies in energy systems that may be indicative of potential equipment failures. For example, our energy management system identifies maintenance needs up to 3 months in advance with over 90% accuracy.

This proactive approach allows you to schedule maintenance before breakdowns happen, lowering production costs and making project management easier than ever before. According to a Deloitte report, companies that adopt predictive maintenance practices have the potential to achieve a 70% decrease in equipment downtime.

Reduce Energy Cost

Example of OAK energy management system dashboard.

Energy analytics empowers you to make informed decisions to significantly reduce your energy costs. By identifying and addressing energy inefficiencies, optimising energy procurement strategies, and implementing targeted energy-saving measures, businesses can achieve substantial cost savings on their energy bills.

Cost Per Unit Insights

Compare your energy Cost per Unit (CPU) with the industry benchmarks while highlighting the areas that require improvement. This can be extremely beneficial for companies that are operating in energy-intensive industries such as manufacturing or other heavy industries. Moreover, it will make project management much more easier.

Energy Bill Validation

Energy bills can be complex and at times riddled with errors. By leveraging energy analytics, you can compare your actual consumption with the data used to generate your electricity bills. This way, you can detect any inaccuracies and avoid being overcharged by energy suppliers.

Improved Employee Energy Awareness

Collecting and presenting energy data in a visual format that's easy to digest can raise awareness and empower employees to take responsibility for their energy usage.

Showing employees the tangible benefits of turning off lights and equipment when not in use, using smart meters, adjusting thermostats and being mindful of energy usage during daily operations has played a huge part in our clients' success.

Does your business need energy analytics?

Image of Energy management for multiple sites using OAK.

Regardless of which industry you belong to or the size of your company, energy analytics offers important insights and multiple benefits for any business which is looking to optimise their energy efficiency and reduce costs across the entire energy sector.

Here are some specific scenarios where energy analytics can be particularly impactful:

Businesses with high energy bills: If your energy bills are a significant expense for your business, energy analytics can help you identify areas for significant cost savings.
Businesses with large facilities: Managing energy consumption across a large facility, such as a manufacturing plant or office complex, can be challenging. Energy analytics provides a centralised platform to monitor and optimise energy use across different zones and departments.
Businesses with multiple locations: Energy analytics allows you to compare energy performance across different branches, offices, or retail outlets. This enables you to identify best practices and replicate them across your entire organisation.
Businesses in energy-intensive industries: Industries such as manufacturing, food processing, and chemicals typically have high consumption. Energy analytics plays a crucial role in optimising energy use in these sectors, leading to significant cost savings and environmental benefits.
Businesses with sustainability goals: Energy analytics is a crucial tool for businesses committed to reducing their environmental footprint. By tracking energy usage and implementing energy-saving measures, companies can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and attract environmentally conscious customers and investors.

Energy Analytics Made Easy with OAK

Example of OAKs "insights at a glance" dashboard.

We're committed to making energy analytics as easy possible for businesses. With OAK, you can access live energy data on a simple, visual platform without any technical training.

Get live alerts when consumption anomalies or optimisation opportunities are detected and see the tangible ROI of your energy management strategy.

Our user-friendly platform allows you to: