Energy Management Information Systems (EMIS)

Environmental & Economic Research and Development Program The Role of Energy Management Information Systems

About the Research Project

This research project was conducted to create a foundation for Focus on Energy to begin develop and implementer energy management information system (EMIS) participation opportunities. Best practices and available products for EMIS-based efficiency and demand response were analyzed. The analysis was combined with modeling, stakeholder discussions, and interviews focused on the Wisconsin context.

Contributor: Slipstream
Project Timeline: December 2020- June 2021

Research Objectives:

Examine existing EMIS products currently available on the market, their features, and plans for features expected to be available in the near term to determine the potential market for this technology.
Review programs currently offered by Focus on Energy, as well as programs outside of Wisconsin that incorporate EMIS to identify best practices.
Develop a grid-scale model of the potential for EMIS in Wisconsin to estimate economic potential, utility bill savings, wholesale market savings, and carbon emissions reductions.
Identify sites in Wisconsin currently using EMIS and interview stakeholders to gather feedback on system successes and challenges.
Offer program recommendations for Focus on Energy, including an analysis of existing programs, potential pathways for a new program, and near-term possibilities for integrating EMIS into existing programs.

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Research Project Highlights

Key Findings
Three key benefits and three challenges were identified in this research.

Benefits

Realize increased savings from controls-based measures. While Focus on Energy currently offers incentives for controls-based measures, there remains significant opportunity to expand implementation of such measures. An EMIS program can create an umbrella to capture these savings without needing to develop programs or rules for myriad individual controls-based measures.
Increase the ability to discover additional measures for enrolled clients. EMIS assists customers in identifying savings opportunities such as broken equipment and mistakes in controls programming which would not easily fit into an equipment rebate program but would be covered by an EMIS program focused on holistic savings.
Increase client capacity to discover and implement their own measures. Often, clients who implement EMIS are already aware of some of the measures that need to be implemented. However, EMIS enables them to prioritize these measures and discover additional savings opportunities not apparent previously.

Challenges

EMIS is still new. Reviewed prior research provides a robust business case for EMIS; however, it is still a new and growing technology of which many stakeholders may be wary.
Upfront costs limit adoption. Due to a lack of familiarity with EMIS and its benefits, many potential clients are turned off by what are perceived as high up-front costs, a factor which many vendors identified as a barrier to adoption.
Long-term success requires client engagement. While a typical EMIS identifies energy conservation measures within one or two months, the greatest benefit comes from long-term engagement with the system. As the market matures, vendors are working to develop reporting structures that keep clients engaged over the long term.

Learn More

Project Reports:
Final Report

Resources:

Key Definitions:
Energy management information systems (EMIS) are software tools which collect and process data gathered about a building or campus to recommend, prioritize, or implement controls changes, repairs, capital improvements, or other changes to reduce energy usage, manage demand, or improve occupant comfort and productivity.

Questions?

Contact the Future Focus team at futurefocus@focusonenergy.com