Pushing the “Easy” Button: Leviton’s Submetering Solutions
Though the process of implementing submetering – which involves the installation of private metering equipment downstream of a utility company meter for energy management or tenant billing practices – may be considered complex by the market, it’s never been easier thanks to Leviton’s VerifEye™ line of submetering solutions and software for commercial, industrial, and multi-unit residential electricity applications.
“In the marketplace, submetering is often perceived to be a little complicated based on confusion over what these systems do and how they differ from utility metering systems,” confirmed Troy Hull, CEM, CMVP, Director of Leviton’s Measurement & Verification team. “In addition, electrical contractors don’t work with submetering every day, unlike lighting, load centers, wire, and conduit, so the fundamentals of proper installation and commissioning aren’t always front and center for them.”
Behind the “Brain”
According to Hull, however, the architecture behind submetering systems is relatively straight-forward.
“A project may require a submetering application to be installed within certain panels in a building for energy management and/or code compliance purposes,” he said. “The meters have to somehow communicate with another piece of technology designed to regularly poll those meters, capture their data, and then log it in time-based increments. Logging that data is important to all stakeholders – from third-party billing companies to energy managers and more – because it will capture not only how much, but when and where energy is consumed.”
“After the submetering ‘brain’ reaches out to a submeter via a wireless or hard-wired means to get data, it will log it in time-based intervals, store it, and push it out to any number of end user points (e.g., a third- |
|
party billing company, an energy service company, a building management system, etc.) via the building’s LAN using industry-standard internet protocols,” Hull said. “It will then deliver the data in an industry-standard CSV (plain text) file, which can easily be reopened in Excel for any of a number of uses.”
Hull said that three main drivers are currently fueling the growing demand for submetering.
“First, submetering helps divvy up energy usage for multi-tenant office and residential buildings, retail centers, and industrial facilities and enables precise billing of or accurate allocation of energy costs to the accountable end user,” he said. “Submetering also supports an organization’s enterprise energy management goals, such as when big box retail, healthcare, or other facilities are looking to find savings opportunities within their energy spend.” Finally, Hull confirmed that a huge push for submetering today is driven by the need to meet energy codes. “All major commercial energy codes (including California Title 24, ASHRAE 90.1, and IECC 2021) now mandate submetering of specific building systems in new construction applications,” he said.
“Leviton’s VerifEye™ submetering solutions capture and provide 15-minute interval data so that decision-makers can better manage their facilities for billing, energy management, and code compliance purposes,” Hull shared. “But the system doesn’t serve a purpose unless you use the data it provides -- it’s the action taken on the data that drives it.”
As for examples of the system’s application, “some tenant leases include the energy used from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., but tenants must pay for energy use beyond that window; in that case, the submetering system would accurately allocate costs to tenants after hours,” Hull explained. “And in the case of a retail chain with multiple locations, the submeter’s time-based data would allow the portfolio manager to assess energy performance from store to store or region to region, identify any outlier locations with higher or lower baseload energy usage than the norm, and look to determine why.”
| “Ultimately, submetering systems allow energy managers to ‘peel back the onion,’ see what’s really going on with energy consumption, and make informed decisions that can benefit the bottom line,” Hull said. “The data provides a baseline from which you can identify potential issues and/or opportunities, but organizations need to support this process by creating an energy management master plan, staffing the activity, and analyzing the data. Submetering is only as good as the end users operating it and faithfully reviewing and acting on the data that it delivers.” |
|
A Great Opportunity for Distributors
“Leviton’s submetering systems are incredibly flexible and can meet 95% of all of the applications contractors and distributors will encounter in the market,” Hull said of the VerifEye system’s robust design. “Leviton’s system is also value-priced, making it very competitive against other players in the space. And finally, thanks to our largely made-in-the-USA design and self-manufacture status, our VerifEye solutions are readily available and our national distribution centers are stocked.”
“Leviton has a strong and experienced team of regional submetering sales specialists, a great factory team overseeing design and technical support, and a renowned and trusted brand with a solid product that will last for a full generation with little or no maintenance,” added Hull, who said that Leviton also makes a number of incentives available for selling Leviton’s submetering and other products.
The bottom line?
“When it comes to submetering, distributors and contractors should put any concerns aside and place their trust in the experts at Leviton,” Hull confirmed. “Our team has a deep understanding of, experience and expertise in, and passion for submetering that distributors won’t find anywhere else.”
“Working with Leviton is like pushing ‘the easy button’ for submetering,” Hull concluded, “and we’ll get the job done for you and your customers.”
For more information on the Verifeye™ line of submetering solutions and Building Manager Online (BMO) web-based software, please visit us at Leviton.com/verifeye. For support with a project or to reach one of Leviton’s Regional Submetering Sales Specialists, contact your local Leviton electrical sales representative. |
|
