An old saying in the energy industry is “if you can’t measure it, you can’t save it”. Like many old sayings, it contains some truth but not necessarily the whole truth.

Analyzing existing energy usage is a key element in any Energy Efficiency Plan. A great deal of information is available from energy bills and the ‘interval’ data that utilities use to generate them, but more detailed information may need to be gathered by direct measurement.

Historically, the cost of measurement has been substantial and couldn’t always be justified. Modern technologies have come to the rescue, however, and it is much easier to capture operational data inexpensively today using small digital logging devices. These data-loggers are about the size of a pack of cigarettes, and can measure power consumption (volts, amps and kilowatts), temperature, humidity, vibration, hours of operation etc.