2,520 kWh of Unnecessary Heating Consumption Identified per Month
While analysing the energy consumption of sites operated by a nationwide telecommunications provider, OMS24 Zrt. identified one technical site whose electricity use was noticeably higher than that of comparable locations.
The main meter could only show that the site was using a large amount of electricity.
It could not show what was actually consuming that energy.
We therefore installed submeters on the main consumption groups.
The starting point
The main electrical loads at the site were measured separately, including:
the telecommunications equipment;
the air-conditioning units;
and a distribution circuit labelled as the “lower circuit-breaker row”.
According to the labels in the distribution board, several smaller loads were connected to this circuit. At first, none of them appeared significant enough to justify individual metering.
This measurement structure was important because it allowed us to see not only the total site consumption, but also how much electricity each main group was using.
What did submetering reveal?
The measurements showed that the consumption of the “lower circuit-breaker row” was of a similar order of magnitude to the consumption of the core technology itself.
That was immediately suspicious.
For a circuit of this type, such a high level of consumption did not appear justified.
A more detailed investigation revealed that an electric heater was operating continuously on this circuit.
The measurements ultimately identified a load that had initially appeared insignificant, yet was responsible for substantial additional electricity consumption.
What was causing the unnecessary consumption?
A room that was being heated unnecessarily.
The electric heater was installed in a cable distribution room that employees entered no more than once or twice a day, typically for only one or two minutes at a time.
Continuous heating of the room therefore provided very little operational benefit.
In addition, the heater was too small to heat the room effectively, so it operated almost continuously.
In other words:
it provided virtually no meaningful operational value;
but it continued to consume electricity around the clock.
What did we change?
First, we reduced the heating. Then we eliminated it completely.
As an initial step, the radiator thermostat was turned down. The measurement data clearly showed that consumption decreased afterwards.
A few days later, however, employees turned the heating back up.
The submetering data made this change immediately visible as consumption increased again.
The final solution was to remove the radiator entirely.
This eliminated the unnecessary electricity consumption.
2,520 kWh of unnecessary consumption per month
According to the measurements, the affected circuit typically consumed around:
84 kWh/day
while the heating was operating.
Over a 30-day month:
84 kWh × 30 days = 2,520 kWh/month
This means that approximately 2,520 kWh of electricity per month was being consumed by equipment that provided no meaningful operational benefit and whose consumption could be eliminated through a simple intervention.
No new investment was required.
The solution was simply to identify the problem accurately and make the right technical decision.
What does this case show?
The main meter does not always make it possible to identify the cause of high consumption.
This case demonstrates that excessive energy use is not necessarily caused by the main technology or production equipment.
Sometimes the cause is a less obvious background load that continues operating unnoticed.
The main meter shows only the total consumption.
Submetering can also reveal:
where additional consumption is occurring;
when equipment is operating unnecessarily;
and whether a simple corrective action can eliminate the problem.
Could there be a similar hidden load at your site?
If a site’s energy consumption is higher than expected, that does not automatically mean a major investment is required.
In many cases, the first questions should simply be:
What is actually consuming the energy?
When is it consuming it?
Is the equipment really required to operate at that time?
Submetering helps answer these questions. It can reveal hidden consumption and show where meaningful savings may be possible.