energy management

Energy management refers to all activities that deal with the issues of energy procurement and distribution, energy consumption and energy conservation. In some definitions, energy generation and energy storage are also included in energy management. In general, it can be said that energy management stands for cost-optimized energy procurement and consumption-optimized energy consumption.

Energy management is characterized by energy monitoring and energy controlling, whereby energy monitoring deals with the collection and monitoring of procurement and consumption data, and energy controlling deals with the analysis and evaluation of the data provided. With energy management, companies and private households can identify inefficient consumption devices, the energy drain in processes or due to structural conditions, and thus possible savings potential. They can thus replace energy-inefficient consumption devices, take measures to reduce energy outflows and cut energy costs.

The VDI has defined energy management as follows: "Energy management is the foresighted, organized and systematized coordination of procurement, conversion, distribution and use of energy to meet requirements, taking into account ecological and economic objectives".

Energy management systems record energy flows and control consumption according to demand. Examples include the Electric Power Management System( EPMS), which provides information on the flow of electricity in a power generation system or substation; the Energy Management System( EMS), which controls the complete energy supply networks from power generation through energy transmission and storage to the end user and improves energy efficiency; and the Home Energy Management System( HEMS), which collects consumption data and energy losses via smartmeters and restricts unnecessary energy demand.