Delivering a market-leading, cloud-based EMS
Product name: Digitalenergy
Developer: Cloud Energy Software
Launched: 2015
Funding: £1M Venture Capital Backing
Customers: NHS, Siemens, Warburtons, Denbighshire Council
Introduction
Wholesale energy prices hit record highs in September 2021, triggering widespread concerns about the impact of spiralling costs in businesses across the UK.
And though energy consumption is likely one of your most significant budget lines, and therefore one you monitor closely, how confident can you be that what you’re looking at is an accurate reflection of consumption?
With myriad data sources using different standards and formats, making sense of the overall picture presents a significant challenge to drawing actionable insights from energy usage.
When we realised this was a problem – and an opportunity – for corporates, we set out to create a pioneering solution that would make it easier to analyse and reduce energy costs and consumption reliably.
Digitalenergy: a cloud-based solution:
Having secured £1m+ in VC backing, we launched one of the first entirely cloud-based energy platforms in 2015, Digitalenergy: a system that puts customers in control of their consumption, so they can keep on top of costs and manage energy compliance too.
Digitalenergy has become a market-leading product used by energy and utility businesses, manufacturers, and local authorities. Clients currently benefiting from the platform include the NHS, Siemens, Warburtons and Denbighshire Council.
So, how does it work?
From a user’s perspective, Digitalenergy appears deceptively simple, offering a range of features, from compliance and consumption analysis to powerful data collection and presentation capabilities.
But under the hood, things are more complex.
Digitalenergy can collect and store data from over hlaf-a-million devices: devices not designed to talk to each other. And to make it more complex, almost every source of data, be it a third-party API or a hardware meter, uses a different format and standard to share info.
So at the core of Digitalenergy, we built a sophisticated import engine, standardising incoming data into a consistent format for use across the platform.
We’ve also customised the platform for many of our clients, adapting Digitalenergy’s user interface and management dashboards to suit their particular business and brand requirements.
Success, baked-in
Sounds great, sure. But just how does Digitalenergy work in practice?
Warburtons is the UK’s second-biggest grocery brand, baking over two million products every day and employing 4,500+ staff across 25 sites.
It’s a significant operation. As such, Warburtons is rightly conscious of its energy consumption; the brand is committed to minimising its environmental impact. And, just like other manufacturers, rising energy costs present an ongoing risk.
For the business, having a system to analyse and manage energy usage became mission-critical: Warburtons needed a single energy management strategy – and the software and processes to deliver it – to understand consumption on the factory floor while improving reporting right across the business.
Warburtons identified that Digitalenergy was the perfect solution.
Integration, integration, integration
Working closely with Warburtons’ IT, Process Improvement and Procurement stakeholders, we delivered a customised platform that our team precisely adapted to the business. We enabled live data collection from sub-meters, connecting 800+ units across 12 factories, enhancing overall analysis and reporting.
One key metric for Warburtons is energy consumption relative to production. So, to give the company a means of reporting this measure, we integrated Digitalenergy with Warburton’s SAP (Systems Applications and Products).
As a result, Warburtons has successfully rolled out its energy management strategy. And it can now focus on continually improving the efficiency of its production line using the insights generated by our platform, with:
- Structured energy data on demand
- Visibility and measurement of manufacturing projects
- Increased stakeholder engagement throughout the company
- Reduction of risk from carbon compliance (CCA)
Energy costs and consumption managed: from a single online destination
Digitalenergy takes the complexity out of managing energy. By helping customers make sense of the data coming into the system, they can draw actionable insights into how their operations consume energy. And that means increased efficiency, greater compliance and, of course, reduced costs.
Is it time to re-think your energy management strategy?
To find out more about how Digitalenergy can benefit your business, please get in touch.