Because BACnet is an open, standard protocol, data from different systems is available in one common format — independent of vendor. This gives building owners a big competitive advantage. With open, interoperable systems, operational views of the entire building are easier to create — ensuring all stakeholders have access to the energy management information they need, where and when they need it.

Disclosing building performance data is a growing trend in the green building space that is gaining momentum.

Energy used in America’s buildings is responsible for almost 8 percent of global carbon emissions and costs Americans more than $500 billion every year — yet most owners and managers have a poor understanding of how energy is used in their buildings. Benchmarking and disclosure are proven ways to help identify opportunities for improving energy efficiency.

In the fall of 2011, CanmetENERGY in Ottawa kicked off a three-year energy management project focused on Building 3 of its Bells Corner Complex. The goal is to pilot the new ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard to evaluate its effectiveness in reducing energy use and resulting green house gas emissions.

Innovative and aggressive Energy Management Solution providers need to move quickly to find ways to tap into this large and promising energy management opportunity.

The secret sauce for InterRent is the upgrading of property utilities using smart submetering technology — which reduces overall operating costs and puts individual tenants in charge of paying for and managing their own utilities.

The following roadmap borrows heavily from Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The PowerHawk 6320 was our first submeter targeted at the revenue-grade metering market. The product first rolled off the production line 7 years ago. The meters installed in that first year came up for their 6 year verification period in 2011, which is the first point at which Triacta was eligible to have the 6320 reviewed for a possible seal period extension.

The new series is called the PowerHawk® 4000. It is built on our well-proven submetering platform — which has been deployed by submetering companies, property owners, building system integrators and Local Distribution Companies since 2003.

The first win is the elimination of multiple, multi-technology networks (building automation networks) in a building. The elimination of network duplication saves cost in equipment, software, and provisioning. It also removes artificial silos that result in replicated servers, disjointed operations, and the lack of information flow. Once information is allowed to flow freely, building managers and consumers are setup for their second big win — widespread access to energy consumption information.

According to the report, submetering provides the level of information detail and transparency necessary for more efficient management of energy resources in these buildings.Submetering exposes inefficient operations and uncovers opportunities for reducing energy consumption — offering building managers one of the quickest and most cost efficient routes to energy cost savings.

Since 2007, APS has saved well over half a million dollars through energy conservation and rebate programs — motivating it to find even more ways to spend less on energy and more on education.

APS Energy Consultant Tim "Bo" Bacon says the financial savings the school board is now enjoying are due to improved operational practices, increased teacher and staff education and awareness, and facility improvements. From school re-lamping projects to heavy participation in the district's Green Star Program, APS has found ways to make people more aware of the energy they are consuming and more responsible for conserving it.

Since that time, $204,000,000 worth of energy purchase has been diverted due to energy savings — an impressive number to say the least. Still, U of T is constantly moving their energy management program forward — looking for new and better ways to manage and save resources.

According to Attila Keszei of U of T’s Facilities and Services department, a big challenge going forward for is educating suppliers, partners, students, and staff about the energy management programs that have been put in place at the University — and how each of these stakeholders can contribute to future program success.

Intelligent Buildings integrate Building Automation Systems (BAS) with IT systems and metering platforms to provide a detailed picture of a building's state. This unified system tracks, informs, and controls resource use while integrating with business systems — allowing property stakeholders (building owners and others) to closely monitor and manage their energy consumption and participate in energy and Green House Gas (GHG) markets.

Intelligent Buildings provide granular control and monitoring of energy use in an open environment — with a fluid exchange of information between a rapidly evolving Smart Grid and the commercial systems owned by stakeholders. As the Smart Grid and commercial systems continue to progress, an Intelligent building needs to be able to adapt to these changes. Open systems that can integrate with multiple systems through standard protocols and interfaces are a must.

In Ontario the scenario is much the same, with the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) predicting that hydro cost for businesses, institutions and other non-residential customers will jump between 47.1 and 63.7 per cent by 2015.

Rising energy costs mean that organizations that delay energy management initiatives will lose more dollars year over year — significantly more.

From a risk mitigation perspective, the movement toward's real-time, time-of-use pricing and the potential for much greater energy costs in the near future, demands action.

Out of necessity, a broad framework for managing in these times is emerging. The smart grid, GHG management, Intelligent Buildings, and Demand Response are converging elements of this organic response to the issues and Institutions (government and schools) are on the leading edge of implementation.