HPLEMS: Hybrid Plug Load Energy Management Solution

Energy efficiency is a key goal for today's enterprises in their efforts towards achieving their sustainability goals, meeting stakeholder needs and concerns, and addressing environmental regulations for a greener tomorrow. Energy efficiency efforts in office and commercial buildings have so far focused on HVAC and lighting, which together constitutes about 60-70% of the energy consumption. With most companies having achieved a fair degree of optimization in HVAC usage, they now are turning their attention to plug loads, which constitutes about 30-40% of the enterprises’ energy consumption. Study conducted within Infosys and other entities shows roughly 40% of energy consumed by plug loads is wasted. By effectively managing plug load consumption, it is possible to save much of this wastage. However, there are not many plug load energy managements solutions in the market today that can cost effectively address the issue at hand due to a variety of challenges. In this paper, the challenges involved in plug load energy management and multiple options for addressing these challenges are discussed. Based on graded solution method, suitable technology for an appliance type can be identified with a payback period of less than 2 years.