As an Energy Solutions Provider, Empower Energy offers a proven strategy for superior energy management with our Empower Edge Program. We help you each step of the way. Our guidelines for energy management can assist your organization in improving its energy and financial performance while distinguishing your organization as an environmental leader.

As the saying goes, “time is money” and that is particularly true for any business. However, not taking time to save energy can mean big money – lost. Reduction in daily energy costs and monthly utility bills for the lifetime of your business can make it well worth the time needed to pursue effective and efficient energy upgrades.

Commitment

Organizations seeing the financial returns from superior energy management continuously strive to improve their energy performance. Their success is based on regularly assessing energy performance and implementing steps to increase energy efficiency.

No matter the size or type of organization, the common element of successful energy management is commitment. Organizations first make a commitment to get started and then make a commitment to allocate staff and funding to achieve continuous improvement.

Evaluate

Navigating in any situation requires you to know where you are. Understanding current and past energy use is how many organizations identify opportunities to improve energy performance and gain financial benefits. We begin with a review of your power bill to determine usage patterns, rate plans and where we can quickly extract savings.

Assessing performance is the periodic process of evaluating energy use for all major facilities and functions in the organization and establishing a baseline for measuring future results of efficiency efforts. This is an essential step and sets the stage for all of our conservation, management and production solutions.

Key Aspects:

• Data Collection and Management
• Baselining and Benchmarking
• Analysis and Evaluation

Assessing your energy performance helps you to:

• Categorize current energy use.
• Prioritize poor performing areas of your operation.
• Understand the contribution of energy expenditures to operating costs.
• Develop a historical perspective and context for future actions and decisions.
• Establish reference points for measuring and rewarding good performance.

Advise

Successful organizations use a detailed action plan to ensure a systematic process to implement energy performance measures. We develop and provide a plan that allows you to strategically use energy within the parameters of your utility’s rate plans. While the scope and scale of the action plan is often dependent on the organization, the steps below outline a basic starting point for creating a plan.

• Evaluate technical assessments and audit results. Identify gaps between current performance and goals, by reviewing the results of the technical assessments and audits or progress evaluations.
• Determine technical steps. Identify the steps necessary for upgrading and moving facilities from current performance to the desired level of performance as defined by the goals.
• Create performance targets to track progress towards achieving goals.
• Set timelines for actions, including regular meetings among key personnel to evaluate progress, completion dates, milestones and expected outcomes.
• Establish a tracking system to track and monitor the progress of action items.

Design

Our engineering staff develops solutions tailored to your business – combining engineering, operational and aesthetic excellence. Empower takes great pride in providing our clients with a specialized and comprehensive, engineered design for the specific needs of their business and project. We look at your immediate needs as well as your needs in the future based on growth and expansion plans.

Our commitment at Empower during the design and engineering phase is assuring the highest level of performance and reliability once the project is completed. We get it right from the beginning.

Build

Project Management is part of our Empower Edge offering. Experienced, licensed electricians and contractors install your solutions with the highest attention to detail and uncompromising safety.  And we do it with minimal interruption to your daily business routines. Large or small, our expertise and experience in project management pays dividends to you … time saved, money saved, hassles eliminated, downtimes avoided, and no worries for you during the project so you can stayed focused on your business and making money.

Optimize

We test and optimize so you get all the benefits and efficiencies available to you while maintaining all of your business needs.  Our goal is to maximize efficiency to reduce energy use, cost and environmental impact.

Monitor

We monitor your energy systems to ensure that you enjoy long term savings, allowing you to focus on your business operation and success. With the right energy monitoring systems, your organization can protect data and applications while optimizing the power delivery infrastructure for efficiency and lower cost. New supervisory, connectivity and protection capabilities provide an envelope of protection for your entire energy infrastructure.

Contact us today and learn how the Empower Edge can help your company conserve and manage energy and be prepared for any power emergency.

Reduce your business operating costs with the Empower Edge Solution

Business competitiveness depends partly on smart resource use, including energy consumption. Energy optimization depends on energy flow monitoring, measurement, and verification. These are essentially management pursuits, distinct from making large capital investments for advanced technology. Energy flow data should foster greater communication and collaboration among all personnel. Efficiency techniques contribute to desirable process attributes such as speed, flexibility, and product quality. These impacts are often more valuable than fuel bill reductions. The strategic application of business energy efficiency:

* Reduces expenses;
* Builds revenue;
* Controls risk; and
* Improves the bottom line.

Energy efficiency policies and programs should complement industry’s core business priorities. At Empower, we encouraged every business to construct a business philosophy that clearly explains how an efficiency program will contribute to current business needs and challenges. Applied energy efficiency helps to offsets the challenges we all face in today’s business environment. Efficiency plays a role in reducing exposure to the challenges of utility deregulation, fuel price volatility, power quality and continuity, and evolving emissions agendas.

Contact Empower Energy today and let us show you how to get the Empower Edge.

Our E² Program encompasses peak demand control, conservation, efficiency and on-site production solutions that are optimized to your specific energy demands to save you the most money while meeting your Energy needs and goals.

The benefits of the E² program are multi-faceted:

• An energy foundation for an “Always On” business environment.
• Peak Control
• Reduction in energy use.
• Protection from ever-rising energy prices.
• Increased energy efficiency.
• Energy management plan.
• Staff energy education and team development.
• A Greener business for a Greener World

Our expertise and experience has shown us that today’s business owners sincerely desire to control their energy costs and most want to become Greener. It has also shown us that many business owners are just too busy managing their operations to devote the necessary time and resources to these tasks.

This is where Empower Energy Technology can help. We will show you how – step by step. The first step in taking control of your Energy consumption and expenses begins by contacting us today.

Empower Edge Program

Evaluate

Navigating in any situation requires you to know where you are.  We begin with a review of your power bill to determine usage patterns, rate plans and where we can quickly extract savings.  We follow with a detailed on-site evaluation of your energy usage to understand what you use, when you use it, and what is operationally necessary for your company’s success.  This is an essential step and sets the stage for all of our conservation, management and production solutions.

Advise

We develop and provide a plan that allows you to strategically use energy within the parameters of your utility’s rate plans.

Design

Our engineering staff develops solutions tailored to your business – combining engineering, operational and aesthetic excellence.

Build

Experienced, licensed electricians install your solutions with the highest attention to detail and uncompromising safety.

Optimize

We test and optimize so you get all the benefits and efficiencies available to you while maintaining all of your business needs.

Monitor

We monitor your energy systems to ensure that you enjoy long term savings, allowing you to focus on your business operation and success.

As the old saying goes, “Life use to be a lot simpler.” The reality is that we live in an age and time where a lot of what we do in our personal and business lives revolves around the use of electrical power. That is reality. Being prepared does not have to be complicated. It’s just a matter of analyzing your situation and doing a risk assessment.

There was a day when deciding on standby power systems was a simple process of evaluating electrical loads and staying within local, state and federal codes. The decision was usually based on the minimum requirements: operate elevators, alarm systems and make sure employees and customers could get out of the building. This was before businesses became so reliant on digital technology. A few minutes of standby power was sufficient for most facilities.

An outage today can cost tens of thousands, or even millions, of dollars. Today, sizing and specifying standby power systems is becoming a business decision, driven by economic risk assessment and a continually growing dependence on a virtually perpetual source of electric power.

Now we need to look at how much a utility outage will cost per hour in terms of lost production, lost products, lost revenues, lost data or even lost customers. The question to ask now is this, “How much is my company willing to invest in a standby power system to reduce our risks to zero?”

According to research by many contingency planning organizations, the cost of an electrical outage can exceed $1 million per hour for the average large business. In certain industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, energy production and telecommunications, losses may reach $2-$3 million per hour or higher. Given these high-stake risks, business owners and managers are forced to evaluate new options for providing a continuous supply of power. The fact that we have virtually a 24/7 dependency on electrical power causes us to take a long hard look at the risk assessment of being without power – even for a limited amount of time.

Empower Energy Technology believes every company needs to conduct an economic risk assessment before making any decision on a standby power system. We can assist you in this assessment. Every business is different and we have the expertise, experience, and knowledge to perform a thorough assessment that will be right for your business. From design and engineering to maintenance and support, Empower Energy Technology is here to assist you stay Always On. Contact us today.

Upgraded lighting can save money through reduced energy use, and result in increased occupant comfort and sales. The most efficient light is the light not used.

Lighting consumes 25 – 30% of energy in commercial buildings, and is a primary source of heat gain and waste heat. Excess heat and energy can be reduced by implementing an energy-efficient lighting system. Upgraded lighting systems can also improve lighting quality to increase occupant comfort and productivity.

Benefits of a comprehensive lighting upgrade:

• Highly profitable energy savings and low-risk investment.
• Maximize energy savings opportunities for subsequent building systems upgrades.
• Successful lighting upgrades can increase management and occupant acceptance of other energy-efficiency projects.

A comprehensive lighting upgrade achieves your qualitative lighting objectives while maximizing efficiency and profitability. With rewards beyond the sum of its parts, this process integrates equipment replacement with deliberate design, operation, maintenance, and disposal practices. This whole-system approach takes what is frequently regarded as a complex system of individual decisions and unites them into a strategic approach that ensures that each opportunity is addressed and balanced with other objectives.

Avoid implementing only the easiest and quickest payback opportunities. While this may seem appealing, you will forgo quality-enhancing and savings opportunities that result from comprehensive upgrades. A simplified upgrade may yield faster payback, but you will sacrifice long term energy savings over the life of the system.

High-quality lighting design includes a comprehensive lighting analysis and the coordinated selection of lighting, fixtures, fixture placement, controls and room finishes (e.g., high reflectivity paint) to result in improved lighting quality and reduced energy use. To achieve the best quality and efficiency from any new lighting system you install, it is best to consult a lighting professional with experience in energy efficiency. And that’s Empower Energy. Contact us to day and we’ll show you how to start saving money through reduced energy use in your lighting. Call Mark Bell at 404.681.3270 or email at mbell@empoweret.com.

Read more on Lighting Efficiency – click here.

Regardless of the business you operate, controlling and cutting costs is important for success. Reducing energy use and increasing energy efficiency is a proven strategy for cutting and controlling costs with good returns.

Even with good returns, energy waste is still prevalent throughout organizations. Consider that:

• A 400% variation in energy use intensity of buildings in the United States exists that is not explained by age, technology, hours, size or climate.
• Little improvement of overall energy consumption has been seen although building components are 30% more efficient since 1980.
• Oversizing building fan systems, on average, occurs by 60%.
• Most chillers are oversized by 50–200%.

Unfortunately, capturing energy waste has been hampered by a lack of focus on energy management. Too often energy management is characterized as:

• Decentralized
• Poorly-coordinated
• Focused on paying bills & running the powerhouse
• Reactive
• Undervalued
• Considered capital intensive

Organizations that have adopted effective energy management strategies and built successful energy programs have had different results. Consider the following:

• Ford Motor Company has saved over $75 million through effective energy management.
• USAA Real Estate has realized a 5% annual energy savings and increased the asset value of a California building by $1.5 million due to energy efficiency upgrades.
• Eastman Kodak saved more than $8.6 million in operating costs in 2002 from its energy management efforts.
• Hines estimates the difference in operational costs between its energy efficient buildings and inefficient buildings at more than $13 million.
• Fairfax County Public Schools estimates an annual energy savings of $4.5 million from energy efficiency improvements.

The value of strong energy management as a proxy for overall organizational management is increasingly recognized by financial analysts. Recent studies by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors found that leaders in energy management achieved superior stock and financial performance over laggards in energy management.

Whether you own your building or are a tenant, you typically need lighting, heating, air conditioning, power for office equipment, and other services to stay in business. There are a lot of resources available to help you become more energy efficient in your small business – including our own company, Empower Energy Technology.

Contact us today and learn how you can improve your company’s financial performance by reducing energy waste and energy costs, while protecting the earth’s environment.

Many energy-efficient upgrades typically save you money that can be used to pay for the cost of projects. A well-designed upgrade can provide your business a positive cash flow from energy savings while paying off the capital investment for new equipment. Remember – even a longer return-on-investment on energy efficiency results in new, more reliable equipment that will pay for itself with energy savings. Strategic energy efficiency investments are your hedge against the certainty of higher utility bills that you cannot control.

Whether you are seeking to upgrade your data center backup power systems for improved efficiency and “Data Center Green”; looking at sustainable energy power sources such as Solar PV for your business; conducting an lighting efficiency analysis; wanting to monitor your power systems; or maybe you want to conduct a total energy audit … give us a call – Empower Energy can help you in many ways.

Saving More Than You Know

When you invest in energy efficiency, the benefits go far beyond saving energy and money, and protecting the environment by helping prevent pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Potential to Improve Employee Productivity: Enhanced comfort and improved lighting conditions may contribute to improvements in staff productivity.

Reduced Operations and Maintenance Costs: Many energy-efficient technologies significantly decrease your operations and maintenance requirements, saving not only money but also staff time.

Increased Customer Comfort: Building upgrades will improve your facility’s appearance, present your products or services in a comfortable, well-lit environment, and help your customers enjoy their visit. This can increase sales and encourage repeat business.

Increased Asset Value: Efficient business properties have higher market values than those with higher operating costs.

Enhanced Public Image: Your contribution to environmental protection very positively differentiates your business from your competitors.

To learn more about how Empower Energy Technology can help your business become more energy efficient, contact Mark Bell at 404.681.3270 x302 or email to mbell@empoweret.com.

But there are a number of important reasons for you to consider Going Green with your business.  The most significant being that preserving the world’s natural resources is the responsibility of every individual – both at work and at home.

You, like many other business owners, may have no interest in the environment.  However, many owners and customers are passionate about nature or climate change or social ethics.  And most are somewhere in between.

A good bottom line in any business is directly related to meeting your customers’ needs. Many individuals, companies big and small, local authorities, charities and public sector bodies already consider environmental matters when choosing their suppliers.  Some local authorities require tender applications to be supported by environmental policy statements.  Showing that you care about the environment can lead to more potential and actual customers.

And your employees will also be happier (in some cases amazed!) when they see you take actions that benefit the wider world.  It sets a positive example for employees which may boost morale and company loyalty while providing a cleaner and healthier work environment.

Investors, banks, insurance companies, landlords, tenants and even the taxman are increasingly encouraging businesses to take positive actions that benefit the environment.  To ignore environmental issues is to ignore your businesses reputation.

The cost?  Many environmentally friendly actions improve efficiency, increase moral, reduce operating costs and lessens your taxes.  Some actions require just a different way of working.  Some actions cost money.  But all will return benefits to your business.

Going Green can be an incremental process. As with many other business efforts, there will be easily attainable action steps and more advanced requirements. It is impossible to say how far along the Green path any business should travel, but a focused effort can have a meaningful impact.

There has never been a more appropriate time to Go Green. Its value is recognized more so now than ever before.

Contact Empower Energy and we’ll show you the many ways your company can develop and implement a Green strategy now and for the future.

With Eaton behind us, Empower Energy offers a power quality portfolio that encompasses a comprehensive offering of power management solutions. This includes uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), surge protective devices, switchgear, power distribution units (PDUs), remote monitoring, meters, software, connectivity, enclosures and services.

Eaton 5130 Series UPS

Eaton’s New 5130 Series of battery backup is ideal for protecting small business equipment ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 VA. The rack/tower lineup consists of five different 120V models. All five models protect against what Eaton considers to be the five most common power anomalies: failures, surges, sags, under-voltage, and over-voltage. Regardless of power rating, all of the 5130s house their batteries internally and fit within a 2U form factor. They all include power management software for control and monitoring, and they’re all covered by a three-year warranty and $150,000 load protection guarantee.

A unit like Eaton’s 5130 enables compelling price advantages over offline backup, while enhancing the power protection of standby UPS systems. The 5130s are all line-interactive devices—an important step above the standby solutions common on the desktop. A line interactive UPS is able to respond to continuous brownouts and surges without consuming battery power thanks to a variable voltage transformer.

Learn more >> Read the White Paper: Which UPS is Right for the Job? – download pdf 2.5mb

For more information on UPSs, contact Chuck Clarke at 404.681.3270 x301 or email to cclarke@empoweret.com.