Figure 1. Web Client Chilled-Water Main Display.
Source: HOTD.
HOTD’s Energy Manager 2000 Data
Collection System (EM2000) remotely
collects steam and chilled-water data
from customers to support billing and
meter maintenance. It serves as the parent program to the new FloWise Energy
Management Solutions Web Client System
available to customers.
Alarms. The EM2000 system has
settable alarms for steam flow high and
low and pressure high and low. HOTD
seasonally resets the alarms based on
data for the year. If a building optimizes
its energy use, HOTD resets the alarm
to a lower value. If a building is using
more steam than HOTD feels it should
based on history, HOTD notifies the building and sends out an engineering technician to check the meter and building
equipment (PRVs, traps, etc.) for problems.
For chilled water, the system alarms
for volumetric flow high and low and
inlet temperature high and low. All
alarms are set individually for each metering point, each with two complete ranges
for winter and summer use. The system’s
alarms can be set to show the alarm by
turning the metering point to red on the
active main display and identifying which
alarm criteria has been exceeded, or the
system can be set to print the alarm
and/or send a telephone call to report
EM2000 Basics
the alarm. All alarm instances are recorded
in the database as part of the meter history.
Pricing. EM2000 had a list price of
$75,000, including the hardware, software, installation, training and three
years’ maintenance on the system, plus
$25,000 for redundant hardware and
software. (The EM2000 system comes
preprogrammed with EMCO and
Kessler-Ellis communication protocols.
EMCO is a division of Spirax Sarco Inc.)
Data communication can be set up to
use wireless, TCP/IP via hard wires or
fiber optics, or analog phone lines for
each metering point. For HOTD’s system,
each customer provides an analog phone
line at the metering point. Therefore, the
communications for a metering point
would cost a maximum of $45 per month
for phone service borne by the customer,
plus a one-time cost of about $200 for
an analog modem, which is paid by HOTD.
As a result, the total cost for the EM2000
system with 100 metering points is $1,200
per metering point, plus phone service.
Communications. Since the system communicates using the meters’
own protocol, HOTD has been able to
reduce meter maintenance costs. The
EM2000 system identifies internal meter
errors and faults and allows the meter
technicians to perform directed rather
than preventive maintenance. The system
reading time
meter totalizer readings for water and
energy flow
current and average chilled water
volumetric flow
current and average energy flow
inlet and outlet water temperatures
Following is the steam data included
in the Web Client’s main display:
reading time
meter totalizer reading
steam flow
temperature and pressure for the latest
reading
divides the meters by meter technician so
each technician only sees the meters he
or she is responsible for. Over the past
10 years, HOTD has reduced the number of meter maintenance personnel
from five to two through attrition, saving
labor costs of approximately $375,000
per year or $3,750 per metering point. In
labor alone, the system pays for itself
three times per year.
Metering. The two meter technicians still go out to inspect the metering points, but because they already
know the status of the meters beforehand, the visits usually only involve visual
inspection of the equipment for leaks
and/or conditions in mechanical rooms.
If a problem occurs with a meter, the
EM2000 system shows the problem
immediately. The technicians usually have
a good idea of the problem from the
fault and error logs on the EM2000
system so they can usually do directed
repair taking the tools and replacement
components with them on the first visit
rather than making two site visits – one
long visit to discover and analyze the
problem and another visit to repair the
problem after collecting tools and parts.
Also, this eliminates extended periods of
time without a functional meter in place.
