ABSTRACT
ADVANCES IN NEW EQUIPMENT, new processes and new technology are the driving forces in improvements in energy management, energy efficiency and energy cost control. Of all recent developments affecting energy management, the most powerful new technology to come into use in the last several years has been information technology—or IT. The combination of cheap, high-performance microcomputers together with the emergence of high-capacity communication lines, networks and the internet has produced explosive growth in IT and its application throughout our economy. Energy information and control systems have been no exception. IT and internet based systems are the wave of the future. Almost every piece of equipment and almost every activity will be connected and integrated into the overall facility operation in the next several years.
