Impact of Energy Monitoring and Management Systems on the Implementation and Planning of Energy Performance Improved Actions: An Empirical Analysis Based on Energy Audits in Italy

Abstract

The implementation of monitoring tools and energy management systems (EnMSs) supports companies in their long-term energy efficiency strategies, and they are essential to analyse the effectiveness of energy performance improvement actions (EPIAs). The first fundamental step towards increasing energy efficiency is the development of energy audits (EAs). EAs provide comprehensive information about the energy usage in a specific facility, identifying and quantifying cost-effective EPIAs. The crucial role of these tools in clean energy transition is remarked by the European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), which promotes the implementation of EAs and EnMS programmes. The purpose of this work is to better understand the link between EnMSs (specifically ISO 50001) and EAs in the EED Article 8 implementation in two industrial and two tertiary sectors in Italy. Moreover, the impact of company size, energy monitoring systems, and EnMSs on planned and/or implemented EPIAs is analysed. Our findings show that, albeit the complexity of the variables involved in energy efficiency gap, the “energy savings/company” and “EPIA/site” ratios are higher in enterprises with an EnMS and monitoring system. Thus, a correct energy audit must always be accompanied by a specific monitoring plan if it is to be effective and useful to the company decision maker.

From Energy Audit to Energy Performance Indicators (EnPI): A Methodology to Characterize Productive Sectors. The Italian Cement Industry Case Study

“…The presence of monitoring systems makes the available data very useful and enables an accurate and in depth analysis of sectoral consumption (energy performance indicators, sectoral analysis, energy-consumption trend evaluation) and technologies. Monitoring also makes the energy audit itself very valuable, as it makes it possible to identify energy cost centres and therefore favours the implementation of energy-efficiency measures in order to reduce energy consumption and make production processes more efficient [39]. The Italian transposition of the NACE codes (ATECO codes) introduces two additional levels (categories and subcategories).…”

Beneficial Impacts on Environment and Society Through Smart Sustainable Maintenance of Public Real Estate

“…Energy audit, or energy diagnosis, is a systematic procedure that identifies energy inefficiencies in buildings based on construction practices, the envelope, and the complex system of technological systems, quantifies the waste that results from it, and proposes technical solutions that allow them to intervene to improve their energy performance [4]. Energy efficiency improvement interventions, and thus the prosecutable savings, can concern the building's envelope or systems, but they can be integrated more readily to provide enhanced outcomes.…”

Energy Performance of Italian Oil Refineries Based on Mandatory Energy Audits

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