Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Energy management refers to the management of energy consumption. This means
improving the efficiency of powered devices, such as electrical equipment or
vehicles, and the development of renewable energies.
Multiple commercial companies offer specific product offerings that include
the term "EMIS" (energy management information system[s]) or "EEM" (enterprise
energy management), although the specific details of the products differ
widely between companies. In addition, educational institutions offer a
variety of energy management degrees, some offering EMIS or EEM certification
programs, although definitions between institutions vary. The overall concept
of computer-enabled energy management is quite large, and whether
organizations refer to them as EEM, EMIS, or variations of energy efficiency
improvement systems or power management procedures, we will refer to this
larger concept as EMIS for the duration of this report.
EMIS solutions are applicable for commercial, governmental, and nonprofit
companies in virtually every industry, although some industries fundamentally
use more power and have a greater need for EMIS solutions, such as
manufacturing operations and datacenters. There are many reasons for employing
formalized energy management, including identifying and eliminating
inefficiencies, saving revenue through energy efficiency best practices,
participating in various governmental and private incentive programs,
increasing the longevity of finite energy resources, and facilitating
certifiable adherence to energy management standards proposed by the ISO
(International Organization for Standardization) and other standards
organizations.
Although formalized EMIS solutions are not directly applicable for private
consumers, such as homeowners, historical analysis and decision support to
enhance energy efficiency of EMIS are frequently accessible through the EMIS
solutions employed by power providers. These power providers enable consumers
to become more informed and more efficient by providing historical and current
power usage or appliance-specific utility-usage data. Current data analysis
tools, such as data warehouse technology and other computing practices, allow
power providers to provide consumer power consumption data periodically and on
demand with the ability to secure other consumer information, or to group the
data in an endless variety of ways.
The technology-driven global economy has forced companies to become more lean
and responsive in their operations, and to identify and eliminate
inefficiencies in every operational and infrastructure area. EMIS is an
interesting growth field that includes ultra-conservative business leaders who
wish to optimize corporate performance in order to maximize operational
efficiencies, as well as ultra-liberal environmentalists who are intent on
reducing pollution caused by traditional energy production and consumption by
making alternative energy more viable through wider commercialization or
incentive programs.
With untenably high oil prices increasing operational costs for private and
organizational consumers alike, it is imperative for businesses to control
soaring energy costs in order to retain or regain profitability. In addition,
savvy leaders in every business sphere recognize the dangers of
over-dependence on conventional fuel supplies that may be unexpectedly
disrupted due to political or environmental events or policies.
Energy management practices, referred to with a variety of different
terminology in business, governmental, and industrial sectors, all lead to the
end goals of identifying and eliminating inefficiencies, realizing significant
energy cost savings, adopting best-business practices, adhering to better
environmental policies, and the ultimate bottom line of increasing
profitability. Individually scrutinized, EMIS and EEM programs, and other
specific energy management programs around the world have different
architectural, implementation, and outcome details, but all share the same
core elements, conceptually. For clarity, all formalized computer-enabled
energy management systems will be referred to as EMIS in this report.
There are many drivers for the EMIS market. Some of these drivers are
regulatory with international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such
as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UN
hosts these conventions periodically, and representatives from multiple
nations around the world discuss, establish and negotiate emissions-reduction
goals, and how they will be structured for world nations considered to be at
different developmental levels. This convention has divided the world' s
countries into three categories: Annex I, Annex II, and Developing.
Annex I countries are industrialized countries, Annex II countries are
developed countries which pay for the costs of developing countries, and
developing countries are not yet fully industrialized, and so are not expected
to be able to commit the financial resources to adhere to the guidelines of
the UNFCCC. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty originally
intended to set guidelines without mandates for emissions limitations. Instead
of mandates, the treaty was designed to periodically negotiate updated
provisions, referred to as "protocols." Perhaps the most well-known protocol
to emerge from the UNFCCC is the Kyoto Protocol, which we will discuss in
detail.
Additional regulatory drivers for EMIS implementation include the ISO 14000
family of regulations. According to self-reported figures from the ISO, over
750,000 companies worldwide have adopted ISO 14000 standards for their
organizations. ISO 14000 primarily relates to the implementation of
environmental management practices, which include minimizing harmful effects
on the environment and adopting practices that continually improve
environmental performance. Energy management is clearly an area that is
imperative in order for a company to achieve these goals, and for most
companies, implementation of a formalized EMIS system plays an essential role
in their overall energy management strategy.
The monumental effect that continually rising oil prices has had on virtually
every industry is another significant driver for the EMIS market. There are
few industries that do not have to consider oil prices in some aspect of their
operations, whether for transportation of their goods, or for infrastructure
operations in their buildings - from HVAC to lighting to computer networks and
large datacenters.
While smaller operations may be encountering a smaller economic impact because
of steeply rising fuel prices, their profit margins are more significantly
affected because they are already competing against larger corporations and
cannot simply pass the increased costs along to the customer without risking
serious sales losses. Larger operations that expend millions in energy costs
have been the early implementers of formalized EMIS programs.
There are many steps involved in EMIS implementation, and before these
implementation plans are started, some consideration should be made for
cost-justification of the EMIS. Some nonprofit and private organizations in
the U.S. and abroad offer EMIS needs-analysis services that include evaluation
of historical and current energy usage, business process analysis, and target
setting. These services generally deliver a set of recommendations for
appropriate EMIS implementation that fits the specific needs of the
organization.
Energy service companies (ESCOs) offer many energy-related services, including
scalable EMIS solutions to companies in a variety of industries. In general,
EMIS solutions are offered to energy producers and distributors, industrial
companies, business entities, and private consumers. Within each of these very
broad categories are multiple smaller segments, each with its own specific
energy needs. We will discuss several smaller subcategories of energy consumer
companies, including datacenters, which are centralized or distributed
computing centers that store, manage, and disseminate information pertaining
to a particular business or other organization.
Depending on the scale of the definition of "datacenter," every business
operating any type of computer network has a datacenter, because by its
nature, a server center fulfills the purpose of a datacenter. Datacenters have
particular power needs, because performance reliability, disaster recovery and
data redundancy have to all be weighed against unnecessary expenditure of
energy as part of the energy management process.
This report will explore the international market, economics, and technology
of the EMIS industry from all business perspectives, including regulatory and
policy drivers, EMIS system and service providers, and EMIS consumer companies
in a variety of business and industrial sectors, including datacenters,
industrial manufacturers, and implementation details for better energy
management practices.
SCOPE OF STUDY
This report contains:
- An overview of the worldwide energy management market for information
systems, including definitions, EMIS service concepts, and market segments
- Representations of historical and current market data, gathered from
various interviews and industry contacts
- Detailed market forecasts for the global market, including five-year
projections out to 2011
- An analysis of recent and upcoming technology as well as a detailed patent
overview
- Profiles and market shares for the major players within the industry.
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