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Utility meters are devices to measure and record the consumption of utilities such as electricity, water, natural gas, and steam. Main utility meters measure the total consumption for an entire building or property. Submeters are additional meters installed to measure utility consumption in more detail, whether for a specific area, system or device, and are often used in multi-tenant buildings, commercial spaces and industrial facilities to allocate utility costs accurately and fairly among different users.
By measuring more detailed consumption information for different buildings in a multi-building campus, different floors of the same building, different tenants in a multi-tenant office or facility, individual building systems, electrical circuits, or even specific devices, submeters can offer a powerful insight into a building’s resource use, which helps to identify building inefficiencies, meet performance goals, and improve occupant awareness. Data from well-designed submetering systems can guide management strategies that result in significantly reduced energy and greenhouse gas emissions in buildings and portfolios. As the saying goes, “what gets measured gets managed.”
Embedded device metering measures resource consumption down to a specific device or piece of equipment. Examples of pieces of equipment that can be measured are an individual chiller or boiler. Embedded device submetering captures resource consumption data for a particular piece of equipment which can be used to track large energy consumers closely, inform energy performance trends for commissioning, replacement or efficiency measures, and life cycle cost analysis.
End-use device metering measures resource consumption down to a specific device or piece of equipment, such as an individual chiller, boiler, cooling tower, pump or motor, to capture data with high resolution for detailed analysis. End-use device metering allows large energy consumers to be tracked closely, enabling the identification of energy performance trends for commissioning, replacement or efficiency measures, and life cycle cost analysis. See Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s guidance [PDF] for metering best practices.
Panel or circuit metering is an important tool in resource management and sustainability efforts, as it allows for more granular insights into resource usage and facilitates targeted conservation measures. It is particularly useful in multi-tenant buildings, where accurate allocation of utility costs is essential.
Panel or circuit metering refers to the practice of installing individual meters within the panel or sub-distribution system. Panel or circuit meters can be placed at a single panel or individual circuit, or at multiple points within a panel system or branches of a circuit to measure resource use of multiple circuits. For electricity, it may be to monitor a specific electric load panel or group of circuits such as those serving plug loads. For natural gas, it may be to segregate individual boiler fuel consumption within a central plant. For water, it may be to segregate the cooling tower or irrigation system from the building-level metering system.
The purpose of panel or circuit metering is to provide more detailed and accurate data on resource consumption for specific areas or equipment within the building. This allows building owners, facility managers, and tenants to better understand and manage utility usage, allocate costs more accurately, identify inefficiencies, optimize operations and maintenance programs, and implement energy-saving measures. See Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s guidance [PDF] for metering best practices.
System Level Metering measures resource consumption for a building system, such as lighting, heating and cooling. Examples of systems that might be metered so that resource consumption can be tracked more closely include lighting panels, central boiler plants, or central chiller plants. System-level metering enhances operations and maintenance personnel’s ability to analyze, benchmark and optimize energy performance at the system-level and enables more refined project measurement and verification. See Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s guidance [PDF] for metering best practices.
Whole building metering is a comprehensive approach to utility metering in which a single meter is used to measure the total consumption of each utility for an entire building. By using meters to measure consumption and identify potential efficiency measures to reduce utility use, buildings can achieve higher resource efficiency, reduce their environmental footprint, and contribute to a more sustainable future. As a reminder, the meter itself does not save energy but can drive action based on review of the data.
Utilities that can be measured effectively at the building level
Learn more about metering best practices by reviewing Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s guidance [PDF].
Submeters provide the data needed for establishing a baseline and allow for benchmarking against performance standards and optimized operations and maintenance programs via fault detection and diagnostics, or FDD, and energy conservation measures, or ECMs. Choosing the right submetering placement for a building is largely determined by the anticipated benefits that help to meet performance goals. Below are the five main benefit categories that can be realized through an effective submetering program.
Many of the uses and benefits of submetering data can also be combined to achieve maximized outcomes and savings.
In a building, various utilities and systems can be submetered to measure individual consumption and usage. Submetering data provides additional granularity on resource usage, which can help with energy efficiency, cost allocation, identifying areas for improvement and reporting goal attainment.
| Electricity | Electricity usage for individual floors, units, or specific equipment like HVAC systems, lighting, or appliances. |
|---|---|
| Water | Water usage for individual floors, units or building systems. |
| Natural gas | Natural gas usage in commercial kitchens, water heaters, or other gas-consuming equipment. |
| Heat | Energy consumption from heating systems. |
| Cooling | Energy consumption from cooling systems, such as air conditioning units. |
| Chilled water | Chilled water usage in large buildings with central cooling systems. |
| Steam | Steam usage in industrial facilities or large commercial buildings that use steam for heating or industrial processes. |
| Lighting | Energy consumption from lighting systems. |
| Tenant space | Utility consumption from individual tenant spaces or rental units. |
| Equipment | Energy consumption from specific equipment, such as pumps, fans, elevators, or industrial machinery. |
Metering best practices involve the effective and efficient use of meters to measure and monitor various utilities and resources within buildings, facilities, or processes. These practices aim to ensure accurate data collection, promote energy efficiency, support sustainability initiatives, and optimize resource management. Here are some metering best practices:
U.S. General Services Administration