A Remote, Affordable Solution for District Energy Monitoring – Case Study
A district energy utility company produced steam, hot water and chilled water at central plants, and pipes with energy for heating and cooling buildings around the city. For years, their system utilized leased lines to keep track of the pressure being provided to utility customers. The information from remote locations around the city was displayed on a single, aging computer running an old DOS operating system. Eventually, the company began looking to expand its infrastructure and to monitor more buildings. In doing so, they discovered it was expensive and difficult to get leased lines installed, and that it was difficult to find supporting technology. In addition, they wanted to monitor information from any device remotely.
The company turned to Data-Command for a monitoring solution. They elected to install Data-Command compliant products themselves at two locations to get started. Within a few days the units were installed and sending information to Data-Command’s data centers. The client then configured their custom displays, validated their information, and set up notification schedules and system trends. With the implementation of the new monitoring system complete, the utility company decommissioned its old computer.
Through Data-Command’s Info-Portal™ the client’s employees were able to view real-time and historical information from wherever they had an internet connection. With the cost saved by avoiding the leased lines and through proactive responses to alerts and constant access to information, the client achieved a return on their investment in less than a year.
