IP-Enabled Energy Management: A Proven Strategy for Administering Energy as a Service

Performing inventory and categorization

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Performing Inventory and Categorization

As in your pilot, you’ll have to inventory and collect data. When you first did the inventory for

the pilot, you could do a physical inventory and pretty much gather the data by hand. For a roll-

out to production, you’ll want to import this data from existing systems. In network and facili-

ties management, there’s a practice of auditing the systems. These audits have collections of the

data you’ll need. You’ll want to get the data for one rollout area into your system and then begin

the process of categorizing it.

For example, in Figure 6.2 we identified the following areas we wanted to roll out:

Commons

•u

Data center•u

Trading•u

Call center•u

Human Resources (HR)•u

Lobby•u

Let’s assume you want to roll out to the HR area first. You pick this area because it is a logical

grouping of elements for one team—the Human Resources employees. You can see from your

energy domain layout that this area is powered by com.example.panel-8-ldp6. So now you need

to inventory all of the powered devices covered by the energy domain in that area. Then you

can start to categorize them. The problem is finding out what these devices are. For the pilot, we

Figure 6.2

A building overlaid

with rollout areas

by social context

CommonsCommons

Data Center

Data Center

Trading

Trading Call CenterCall Center HRHR Lobby

Lobby

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CHAPTER 6 Pilot to Production

did a physical audit. Now what we suggest is to import or review audit data. Let’s take a look at

some of the sources of that data.

Audit Data

Usually, the word audit brings up dread, fear, and the formality associated with the IRS. The kind

of audit we are talking about here is merely a listing of the things in your network and facility.

With the convergence of facility and IT management, there is an opportunity to merge some

principles from both disciplines and add a third for energy management. A facilities audit and

a network audit are two traditional but very different types of audits. The good thing is that

your managers will already have information for these audits. So what you want to do for your

energy management rollout is to gather the information from facilities and network audits and

then create an audit of your own for energy.

Gather information from existing systems as much as possible. There is no need to track

TIP

data from scratch for your energy management systems.

Let’s a take a look at the information in these audits:

Facilities Audit Data A facilities audit is a way to collect maintenance and performance

information about a building. Typically, facilities audits produce formal documentation that

evaluates and lists information about the following:

Building foundations

•u

Mechanical plumbing and heating•u

Cooling and ventilating•u

Electrical service and distribution•u

Electrical lighting•u

Safety and fire concerns•u

Security•u

Network Audit Data The purpose of a network audit is to document the components, con-

nectivity, people, and processes involved in the operation of a network. Network audits are

typically divided into two parts—the physical audit and the connectivity audit.

The physical audit usually contains information about the following:

Wiring closet locations

•u

Wiring•u

Device types and manufacturers•u

Administrator contact information•u

Physical installed location•u

The connectivity audit typically contains information about the logical setup of the network.

This information relies on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. As follows:

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