THE ENTERPRISE SMART GRID: THE FUTURE OF ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Until recently, many large commercial or industrial organizations did not place an emphasis on establishing an energy monitoring infrastructure, much less an energy management system. That mindset has changed. Energy management systems have become a necessity for efficient plant operations, to minimize costs, minimize downtime, meet environmental targets and decrease dependency on utilities. While energy management systems, at their core, are not a new topic. There has been a surge of technology that is reshaping what an energy management system is, what functions it can provide and has substantially lowered the barriers of entry. This paper describes the enterprise smart grid and how it is pulling energy management systems into the 21st century. The various aspects of the enterprise smart grid, Visibility - Control - Management, will be surveyed along with its applications in large commercial and industrial facilities.