Energy costs: FM knows where the lever lies

The sharp rise in energy prices is currently causing many companies to look for untapped sources of energy savings. Valuable scouting services can be provided by their FM service provider. “In facilities management, we have virtually every energy consumer in the company on our radar,” says Michael Dehelean, authorised signatory of Dr. Sasse Facility Management GmbH. “We know the current state and possible sources of exaggerated consumption values. Eliminating these is an important task in technical FM.” The intelligent use of digital tools is playing an increasingly important role here, he says. “Where energy flows in and works, data flows out,” notes Dehelean. Analysing this data is extremely valuable for intelligent FM: “For some time now, we have been going a step further than just monitoring consumption: In the course of predictive maintenance, we make sure that no wear and tear or malfunction occurs in the first place that has a detrimental effect on consumption.” 

Dehelean reports a growing number of conversations with customers about the need for further optimisation at the moment. Especially those companies that have already installed and actively operated a far-reaching energy management system in the past need to look closely to identify potential for more efficiency in processes and plants where consumption has not already been comprehensively reduced anyway. 

“It is important to always see the potential interventions in context: For example, you cannot simply reduce the temperature of hot water without considering the consequences for safety in the system, keyword: legionella. The situation is similar with the adjustment of production facilities,” he says. “On the other hand, a price reduction can be brought about, for example, through a better and more even distribution of the load profile of plants. This is because energy suppliers usually orient themselves to peak values or demand surcharges for upward outliers.” Here, technical facilities management has the necessary operating data to counteract if necessary. 

Another aspect where the application knowledge from FM comes into play is the CO2 balance. Dehelean: “CO2 now has a precisely calculable price. Companies can calculate to the cent exactly how much a measure that reduces their own CO2 emissions will bring to the bottom line.” From his point of view, real challenges arise here not only on the purchasing side, but also to the same extent on the operational management and technology side – “in other words, exactly our profession”.