Signals from the energy edge.
Notes on utility data, trustworthy systems, interoperability and the grid. How we think about the hard parts, and what we're building.
Monitoring-based commissioning: keeping savings from fading
Monitoring-based commissioning uses continuous meter data to sustain savings that one-time retro-commissioning lets fade. What it costs, what it saves, and the data pipeline it needs.
Fault detection and diagnostics: what meter data adds to building FDD
How meter and interval data complements BAS fault detection and diagnostics: catching baseload creep, simultaneous heating and cooling, and scheduling faults, plus the savings FDD delivers.
Avoided emissions vs reductions: what Scope 4 can and cannot claim
Why avoided emissions are reported separately and never subtracted from your inventory, where the greenwashing risk lies, and how clean baseline data supports real reduction claims.
Emissions data assurance readiness: getting audit-ready for GHG disclosure
What third-party assurers check, the difference between limited and reasonable assurance, and why utility bills and meter data are the primary evidence behind a defensible GHG number.
Product carbon footprint from utility data: allocating facility emissions
How facility Scope 1 and 2 emissions get allocated to products and units of output, the allocation methods that standards allow, and where utility data feeds the PCF.
Hourly carbon-free energy matching: 24/7 CFE and your interval data
Why hourly (24/7) carbon-free energy matching exposes gaps that annual REC matching hides, and why granular interval utility data is the foundation for it.
Automating utility invoice AP: from hundreds of bills to a clean invoice-to-pay flow
The finance-ops case for utility AP automation: GL coding, cost allocation, approval workflows, catching errors before payment, and accruals, all built on structured bill data.
Standby charges explained: what utilities bill facilities with on-site generation
Standby, backup, and supplemental charges hit facilities with solar, CHP, or gensets. What they pay for, how reservation demand is calculated, and how to audit them.
EV fleet charging and demand charges: why depot bills spike and how to flatten them
Simultaneous fleet charging drives peak demand and triggers demand charges. How managed charging, load staggering, and interval data keep depot electricity costs in check.
Commercial solar and your electricity bill: net metering, net billing, and demand charges
How on-site solar actually changes a commercial electricity bill: net metering vs net billing, banked credits and annual true-up, and why demand charges usually stay.
Using utility data to plan building electrification
Electrification lives or dies on the details in your utility data. Learn how load profiles, fuel splits and peak demand reveal whether a building is ready to switch.
A facility manager's guide to utility data
Energy is the largest controllable operating cost in most buildings. This guide shows facility managers how to turn scattered utility data into decisions that cut it.
Reading load profiles: baseload, peak and load factor
A load profile shows how a building actually uses power through the day. Learn to read baseload, peak demand and load factor, and what each one tells you about cost.
Energy benchmarks compared: CBECS, ENERGY STAR, BOMA
CBECS, ENERGY STAR and BOMA BEST answer different questions. Here is what each benchmark measures, how the scores are built, and how to use them together.
Carbon accounting software still needs clean utility data
Carbon accounting platforms apply emission factors well. They do not fix bad inputs. Here is why activity data quality, not the software, decides whether your emissions number holds up.
Data center energy and emissions reporting
Data center electricity demand is set to double by 2030. Here is how to report it properly: PUE, WUE, location-based and market-based Scope 2, and the metered data underneath.
GHG inventory boundaries: operational vs financial control
Before you count a single tonne, you have to decide what counts as yours. This is how the GHG Protocol organizational boundary works, and how the control approaches change your number.
Financed emissions (Scope 3 Category 15), explained
For banks and investors, Category 15 usually dwarfs every other emission source. Here is how financed emissions work, how PCAF attribution is calculated, and why data quality decides the number.
Utility cost allocation and chargebacks that hold up
Splitting a master-metered utility bill across tenants or cost centers only works if the method is defensible. Here is how allocation, RUBS, and submetering compare, and what data each needs.
How to read a commercial electricity bill line by line
A commercial electricity bill is three bills in one: supply, delivery, and demand. This walkthrough explains every charge, where errors hide, and what each line really measures.
Utility budgeting and forecasting from bill data
A defensible energy budget starts with clean bill history, not a percentage bump. Here is how to build accruals, forecast spend, and explain variance from the data you already have.
Energy procurement strategies for commercial buyers
Fixed, index, and block and index pricing each move risk to a different place. Here is how commercial buyers match a procurement structure to their budget and their load.
Electricity delivery and regulatory charges explained
The non-commodity side of your power bill: distribution, transmission, regulatory riders, and fixed versus volumetric delivery, plus why delivery can now exceed the energy charge itself.
How to reduce natural gas costs in commercial buildings
A practical playbook for lowering commercial gas spend: review how you buy gas, cut heating load with setpoints and controls, tune the plant, and track it so the savings hold.
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