[Answer] Where to Find Providers of Integrated Smart Energy Management Solutions?

1 Overview of Smart Energy Management System (SEMS)

A Smart Energy Management System (SEMS) is a system designed in line with long-term industry development needs. It monitors and records energy consumption data of end-users—such as electricity, steam, water, natural gas, and hot water—visualizes energy usage, and, through analysis of energy data, guides and standardizes users’ energy consumption behavior.

This solution aims to provide a complete system方案 for building a SEMS for energy users. The main purposes of establishing an energy management system are to fulfill all the functions required for energy metering and facility efficiency evaluation, improve the level of automation in energy management, realize energy-use visualization, enhance energy efficiency and reliability, enable long-term monitoring of all types of energy usage, help users identify weak spots in energy consumption, provide intuitive and scientific evidence for implementing energy-saving and consumption-reducing measures, and support the establishment of an energy performance assessment system. This in turn improves the overall energy management level, reduces operating costs, makes energy use more rational, controls waste, and achieves energy conservation, emission reduction, and benefit creation.

By building and effectively using an energy management system, energy users can obtain significant benefits in the following aspects:

• Establish an energy management and metering system to realize energy cost accounting, and gain control over building energy consumption conditions.
• Optimize energy-use cost based on historic energy data analysis and planning of effective energy-saving measures.
• Plan energy consumption through monitoring and management, and continuously and effectively reduce energy costs.
• Through effective communications, continuously monitor sub-circuit and categorized metering data, and perform correlation analysis to realize evaluation and assessment of energy-saving measures.
• Improve the level of system energy-consumption management and reduce related labor costs for users.
• Greatly reduce users’ equipment maintenance costs.
• Provide a user-friendly, modern interface that directly reflects energy consumption status and improves the visualization of energy use.

2 Design Basis of Smart Energy Management System

• LEED 2009 for New Construction
• ASHRAE 14-2002
• Energy Management Systems – Requirements with Guidance for Use ISO 50001
• “Energy Management Systems – Requirements with Guidance for Use (BS)” EN 16001
• “Technical Specification for Heat Supply Metering” JGJ 173—2009
• “Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Public Buildings” GB 50189-2015
• “Energy Monitoring Standards for Public Buildings” JGJ/T 177-2009
• “Energy Management Systems – Requirements” GB/T 23331—2020
• “Energy Management Systems – Requirements with Guidance for Use (BS)” ISO 50001
• EN 16001
• “Technical Rules for Green Building Evaluation (Public Buildings)”
• “Code for Design of Intelligent Buildings” GB 50314-2015
• “Code for Design of Electrical Installations in Civil Buildings” JGJ/T 16-2008
• “Code for Acceptance of Intelligent Building Engineering Quality” GB 50339—2013
• International Standard for Information Technology Interconnection (ISO/IEC 11801—95)
• “Code for Design of Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning” GB 50019－2015

3 Applications of Smart Energy Management System

The Smart Energy Management System is applicable to public energy-use buildings such as schools, hotels, and commercial complexes. Based on users’ goals and requirements for energy metering and analysis, and on preliminary research into their energy management needs and current situation, Weisi Automation develops detailed implementation plans tailored to local conditions.

The Smart Energy Management System supports monitoring, metering, and optimization management of various energy subsystems such as water, electricity, gas, and heating.

4 Smart Energy Management System Software

Based on the actual conditions and needs of the energy user’s site, we use professional SEMS software modules to build the energy management system. The main features are:

• Automatic data acquisition and storage using industrial-standard network technologies, including wired and wireless communications.
• Support for multi-user simultaneous web browsing, with no client-side software required.
• Different security levels and customizable interface settings for different user roles.
• Real-time data and status monitoring, graphical interfaces, historical records and trends, event log, power quality analysis, alarm conditions and notifications.
• Customizable report functions; manual or automatic control of loads, generators, protection, and other distribution equipment.
• Reports and historical data can be freely exported in common data formats.
• Safe data sharing with other devices or systems conforming to ODBC, OPC, and PQDIF standards.
• Flexible, upgradable configuration via new system module programs to meet complex data processing and control requirements.
• Compatibility with devices supporting the Modbus protocol.

The energy management software is designed with a centralized management, distributed deployment model and a layered, distributed architecture. From top to bottom, it is divided into:

• Central Presentation Layer
• Business Application Layer
• Data Exchange Layer
• Field Monitoring Layer

1) Central Presentation Layer

The Central Presentation Layer is the main data display platform of the energy management system. Data analysis is performed within the energy management platform, and then the data is presented to users of different permission levels through local server interfaces, web browser clients, or other authorized terminal servers for monitoring.

The visual interface of the energy management system should support the following types of client interfaces:

• General Client: Embedded in IE browser, with conventional information analysis and management tools and charts. Daily analysis and information queries are all performed through this client.
• Configuration Client: Includes all functionalities of the General Client, and in addition completes configuration interfaces for typical application models and subsystems in the energy management system.
• System Administrator Client: Used by system administrators to manage, diagnose, and configure system services.
• It can also be used to complete daily management information publishing.

2) Business Application Layer

The Business Application Layer mainly contains various functional modules for energy management, the application services that implement those functions, and different functional databases storing relevant information. Its main functions include:

• Various application modules, such as energy consumption monitoring, power monitoring, energy analysis, energy reports, energy performance indicator analysis, and energy equipment analysis.
• Web services for interactions between application modules and clients, enabling all backend data operations for operator terminals, clients, and report query clients through standard system web services.
• Databases for storing application module information, including three databases with different functions: one for storing application models, one for storing records of energy consumption, and one for storing user-defined customization information.

3) Data Exchange Layer

The Data Exchange Layer serves as the data bridge of the energy management system, responsible for data transmission. In the SEMS, the data exchange layer handles communications between field devices and instruments, and data exchange between different subsystems, organically linking the field and the SEMS server to complete on-site data acquisition and the distribution of energy management data.

The data exchange layer is responsible for all data acquisition, processing, communications, and calculations. As the cornerstone of the entire system, its main functions include:

• Communication interfaces for energy metering devices and equipment
• Energy data acquisition and storage
• Energy data processing and calculation
• Real-time monitoring of energy operations and publication of alarm information
• Data exchange for energy information and management functions

4) Field Monitoring Layer

In the energy management system, the primary data to be collected comes from field devices. In the field data layer, different field instruments are configured according to different energy load types to perform on-site data acquisition.

The field monitoring layer consists of smart instruments from various disciplines, sensors, and I/O devices. These devices perform metering, control, monitoring, and protection functions required by field operations.

5 Smart Energy Management System Hardware

The acquisition of energy data is the foundation of the energy management system. The main purpose of the field device layer is to achieve categorized and itemized metering of energy. Itemized metering refers to metering and monitoring energy based on different uses. Depending on the actual project situation, electricity, cooling, and heating can be separately metered.

Measuring devices send collected data automatically to a Modbus TCP/IP gateway via RS485 communication interface using the Modbus protocol. The gateway then uploads the data to the central control room database server through a TCP/IP network.

The energy management network is used to complete the transmission of energy consumption monitoring data and status monitoring of metering instruments. We use high-performance, specialized Ethernet gateways for energy management to achieve energy data transmission. These allow various monitoring devices to connect to Ethernet and are suitable for communication conversion with various Modbus TCP/IP devices. They also provide the following functions:

• HTML web pages accessible via standard web browsers, used to display information from devices connected to the gateway, and to configure the gateway’s communication connections through the browser.
• Automatic detection of new and connected Modbus serial devices’ online status, with online device addition capabilities, facilitating system expansion.
• Data transfer to PC servers via E-mail or FTP.
• Password protection and access control configuration to ensure system access security.
• Gateway-based maintenance and access to connected meters and devices.
• Support for simultaneous access by multiple servers.
• Each gateway can connect to at least 32 devices (smart meters, protection relays, circuit breakers, protective relays, motor controllers, etc.).
• Support for online updating of firmware/driver core.
• At least 2GB of memory for storing collected data from field devices.

6 Functions of Smart Energy Management System

In the energy management system, users can define different access permissions. Based on the different perspectives and needs of various users, the monitoring information and energy report types they see will differ. These can all be customized by users or administrators and are reflected on web-based access pages. The system functions are introduced below.

1) Categorized Display of Energy Consumption Data

In the SEMS, the most direct and effective data analysis method is to meter loads by different types and units. After configuration of itemized metering requirements at the field monitoring layer, the system collects, filters, calculates, and aggregates data from field instruments, and stores the results in the central database.

The system’s data display and analysis tools provide maximum flexibility and measurability, increasing output while reducing failure risks. Users or system administrators can view reports via web browsers. Alarm conditions (single or composite) can be flexibly set, including energy price levels, power generation, cumulative energy export, and equipment faults.

For different application scenarios, categorized energy consumption data can be displayed via dashboards, HMI real-time interfaces, reports, and other methods. The system provides both standard report formats and flexible layout capabilities. Example interface style:

• Dashboard-style, category-based display interface.

2) KPI Key Energy Consumption Analysis

Based on data analysis, the SEMS can generate energy efficiency grading charts and define key energy performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are key parameters directly reflecting users’ energy efficiency utilization. Through KPIs, users can most directly and effectively evaluate their energy utilization efficiency.

Generally, key energy analysis parameters differ by industry. For example, in manufacturing enterprises, core KPIs may be energy consumption per unit of output. In buildings, common KPIs include energy consumption per square meter and per capita energy consumption. The SEMS can also provide customized KPI benchmarking tables for different load types to perform benchmarking analysis across different loads.

3) Benchmarking Analysis and Energy-Saving Target Analysis

The SEMS allows managers to track the actual progress of energy-saving initiatives. Based on a thorough understanding of energy consumption in various functional zones or key energy-consuming equipment, they can set energy-saving targets and track current power consumption against target power consumption.

Once the indicator system is established, the SEMS can calculate, display, analyze, and compare these indicators in real time. Trend analysis and horizontal comparison help identify weak links in energy management across functional areas and reveal opportunities for improvement. In longitudinal comparisons, the real-time energy consumption indicators of a functional area can be compared with its historical best performance to find gaps and improvement directions. Energy-saving target tracking supports timely evaluation of task completion and adjustments.

Using historical energy consumption data and key influencing factors—such as annual climate variation, sunshine duration, occupancy rates, etc.—the system can predict total building energy consumption, establish a baseline, and compare it with current-year actual consumption. This helps quickly detect potential issues in total building consumption and take effective preventive measures.

After the system is established, users can set energy-saving targets; the system will then compare actual savings with the targets to confirm completion and real energy-saving effects.

While performing target analysis, the system also supports KPI target analysis. After recording real-time KPI data, the system compares them against preset targets to effectively identify management loopholes and energy-saving opportunities.

Typical benchmarking analyses and energy-saving target analyses are displayed via curve comparisons, enabling intuitive visualization of energy-saving effects or abnormal data.

4) Power Consumption Statistics and Analysis

The SEMS can help users define corresponding energy consumption baselines for different energy-consuming devices. Through observation and comparison over a period of time, low-efficiency areas in the system can be identified and improved or upgraded accordingly.

For example, as shown in the sample chart (not included here), the system may reveal that the significantly increased energy consumption on the 31st is mainly due to air-conditioning equipment. Users can then combine other system data—such as visitor numbers, weather conditions, unusual temperatures, etc.—to further investigate the cause of abnormal consumption and identify energy-saving opportunities to improve energy efficiency.

5) Energy Consumption and Trend Reports

Based on management requirements, the SEMS can generate various energy reports for different areas. It can also calculate energy consumption and convert it into actual cost expenditure, and perform cost conversions for different time periods, providing strong support for decision-makers in budget planning.

The system provides comprehensive power and demand statistical reporting, including energy consumption in different time-of-use bands and for different feeders or users. It supports daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual statistics and records. Power reports can be aligned with the structure of utility bills, including peak, off-peak, and flat-period statistics and logging, with display, printing, and query capabilities.

6) Energy Alarms and Event Management

The system can be configured so that when energy-related alarms occur (e.g., power limit exceeded, tenant meter overdraft, etc.), it provides voice prompts, automatically pops up alarm screens or triggers necessary operations, and sends notifications to relevant personnel via email, SMS, or PDA and other mobile devices.

7) Historical Data Management

The system manages historical data using a database. All real-time sampled data and sequence-of-events logs can be stored in the historical database. Users can customize parameters, time ranges, or the number of recent records to query in monitoring interfaces, and display them in tables or curves.

8) Report Management

Reports can be generated based on existing system templates or newly customized templates. They can be generated manually, on scheduled intervals, or triggered by events. Reports are in XML format. They can be automatically sent via email or in HTML format, or automatically printed. The system can generate various energy reports for different areas based on management requirements.

9) Avoiding Abnormal Energy Consumption

Compared with time-of-use electricity pricing, high-peak power usage (too many loads turned on simultaneously) or penalties arising from poor power quality (e.g., low power factor) can be effectively managed. The system continuously monitors voltage, current, power, total load, and power factor, and issues alarms when abnormal energy consumption is likely to occur.

Using this tool, we can track abnormal consumption and take simple and direct measures to save energy. Typical abnormalities include:

• Loads remaining on when not needed (e.g., lighting left on unnecessarily)
• Incorrect automatic control settings for loads (e.g., wrong temperature setting for HVAC)
• Incorrect load adjustment with respect to time-of-use pricing, resulting in peak-time penalties (too many loads running simultaneously)
• Large loads being switched on during peak periods instead of moving non-essential or inertia loads to off-peak periods

10) Energy Management Reports

The system provides a rich set of management reports. Combined with the actual operation of the energy user, energy efficiency analysis is used to recommend reasonable facility operation and logistics management strategies.

In addition to traditional energy consumption data reports and queries, the system offers time-based graphical data query reports. Report contents can be categorized by different media (electricity, water, gas, heat, etc.). The following figure (not shown here) illustrates a typical data report; its contents can be configured, and users can adjust layout and items as needed.