Early in my career, I discovered that what I learned in the Air Force about planes also applies to buildings. To fly a plane, a pilot must have actual real-time data presented in a clear and easy-to-understand format, via cockpit gauges. This same truth applies to buildings: No matter how sophisticated the facility and energy systems, the operators – not the energy audits, benchmarking, capital improvements and computer models – are the difference between success and failure. Without real-time data and software with sophisticated analytics, there is no way to operate energy systems at peak efficiency under all conditions.
In 2016, well into the Information Age, nearly every society, business, institution, machine, device and person in the modern world is continuously connected, sharing huge quantities of information and filling up massive servers. The energy establishment however, is still relying on the energy audit and other antiquated methods of collecting spot data and “estimating” energy use and savings that haven’t changed since the mid-1970s.
For more than 40 years, I have tried every way I could think of to share what I have learned with others and change the energy establishment. My most recent effort is my book “Unleash the Power of Cloud-Based Energy Monitoring in Your Facility.” It was published in January and is available as a free download at http://www.holmesautopilot.com/resources/energy-monitoring-book/
The reality of the situation is, however, that even in 2016, a lot of people, utility companies, government programs, energy auditing and other training and certification programs are making a lot of money by perpetuating 40 year-old methods. Trying to change the energy establishment is analogous to trying to turn the Exxon Valdez oil tanker by dragging a 400-page energy audit along one side. The players don’t want to change; many would lose much (if not all) of their income. They are selfishly putting their interests ahead of their clients' and communities' interests as well as global interests.
