ABSTRACT
The potential for savings with the installation of a comprehensive Energy Information System (EIS) has been well documented in the industry. However, only a small fraction of organizations has implemented a comprehensive EIS system. Many have hesitated due to the high up-front costs and long-term commitments, which are associated with the commercially available systems. These groups have simply not been able to justify the expense of a commercial EIS system.
The University of Central Florida (UCF) was one such group. Although cognizant of the tremendous energy savings that could be realized with a campus-wide real-time EIS system, the university was restricted by a limited budget. The solution was for the UCF energy department to develop a low cost, fully featured alternative—the Open Energy Information System (OEIS).
The OEIS was designed to match or surpass the features of commercially available EIS tools at a fraction of the cost. The OEIS is inexpensive, robust and web enabled. The system is easily accessible and understandable to both the energy manager and the individual building managers.
The methodology as well as the hardware and software components of the OEIS is presented here to enable the reader to reproduce the system in their particular campus environment. The end product is easily accessible and understandable to both the energy manager and the individual building managers within the organization. Although the options that were initially available had seemed quite limited (particularly within current budget constraints), the implemented OEIS at UCF has proven to be a tremendous EIS success. Its outcome may, in fact, have a long-lasting impact on the automated meter industry.
