Are you considering obtaining your ISO 50001 certificate? Or maybe one of your clients is about to start on their first energy management adventure? Congratulations!
ISO 50001 is an internationally recognised standard that you probably want to follow to ensure a successful and organised process for energy management. But getting ISO 50001 certified is not about going through the motions for a piece of paper you can frame above your desk. It’s about setting up an efficient and effective energy management system, to get all relevant stakeholders involved in the organisation, and to obtain demonstrable energy savings.
If I Buy Your Software, Will I Get ISO 50001 Certified?
This is a common question, whether having an energy management system like Spacewell Energy is enough to obtain the ISO 50001 certification. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Just having an EMS will not get you automatically ISO 50001 certified.
This question is common since the ISO 50001 certificate process can generate doubts between energy professionals and businesses. First, ISO 50001 certification is based on the ISO 50001 standard for energy management systems. We have a separate article for this.
Let’s focus on the requirements to obtain ISO 50001 certification:
- Engage top management, that shall demonstrate a commitment to the energy management plan
- Have a dedicated energy management professional (or team)
- Define an energy policy for the entire organisation
- Take energy efficiency into consideration when designing new facilities, processes or products
An energy management software like Spacewel Energy cannot be used as proof of your company’s C-Level commitment or as an energy policy document. But the EMS can help set the system in place and facilitate documentation tracking.
Here’s a quick view of the Energy Management System model proposed by the ISO 50001 text where we have added features from energy management software wherever they can be most useful in your quest for certification:
Think of an EMS as an invaluable tool to advance on your ISO 50001 certification process. It will speed things up for you by automating tasks you need to perform in your certification process, such as maintaining an energy record or tracking your EnPIs (Energy Performance Indicators). Let’s take a deeper dive into each concept.
An Energy Management Software Is Your Ally to Get ISO 50001 Certified Faster
We’ve said that software alone won’t help you obtain ISO 50001 certification, but an energy management software can help you pass the ISO 50001 certificate requirements.
It normally takes 6 months of preparation before you’ll be ready to meet the requirements. But it could take shorter (or longer) depending on the complexity of your organisation’s energy situation. Everything depends on the data you need to set a baseline and whether the quality or quantity of that data is sufficient.
One possible catalyst for this process is using energy management software, also known as aM&T software. Software is your best friend if you want to accelerate the ISO 50001 certification process because it:
- boosts the implementation of the system, reducing setup time
- automates monitoring (you don’t need to go to the facility and write down energy metrics on paper or take photos) and verification (with M&V tools)
- does the mandatory energy review required by ISO 50001 automatically
- helps you to set your baseline, recalculate it and compare it with historical data to track your progress
- is the easiest way to share progress with your energy team and the rest of the organisation using automated reporting tools
aM&T software like Spacewell Energy can do all of these for you and much more. Let’s review some real and practical examples of how it can help fast-track your ISO 50001 certificate.
Spacewell Energy for ISO 50001
Integration with Meters: getting Data from Anywhere
First of all, one requisite to getting ISO 50001 certified is that the energy management project must be a comprehensive process, involving the entire company. In terms of energy management that probably means getting readings from many different kinds of energy meters.
Spacewell Energy is a hardware-neutral platform. That means that we will never force you to work with any specific meter: you can choose the ones you prefer. Or use the ones already installed in the facility.
In addition, we offer an open API that gives you the incredible power to develop your own integrations – even with non-energy systems. That’s because ISO 50001 standard KPIs are not always measured in kWh/m2 or day degrees, but could be benchmarked in other ways such as occupation, number of units produced, sales, etc. With Spacewell Energy you can take that data from any type of system (CRM, ERP, etc.), or you can have our professional services team do it for you.
Measurement and Verification Tools for ISO 50001
One of the most important steps to getting ISO 50001 certified is demonstrating that:
- Energy management processes are in place
- All systems are working
- You have ways to track and monitor what is going on with your energy consumption, and a way to verify it
In the world of energy analytics software, we call these “measurement and verification” tools, or M&V.
Spacewell Energy M&V tools allow you to quantify savings across projects by tracking their performance according to a statistically estimated baseline or a specific time window. You can use the M&V tools to:
- use different variables that fit your project best to calculate the appropriate baseline
- create your baselines for energy consumption
- calculate your baseline automatically using operational data for a given time period
- see your project savings for any given time period to track progress visually
- determine your highest consumption days and best “savings days”
Comprehensive and Global ISO 50001 Projects
The ISO standard is very clear on this one: the energy management system you put in place will have to take ALL company activities into account.
When it comes down to energy, you need to avoid the most common mistake: thinking about electricity only. Many energy management software platforms focus mainly on electricity, forgetting about others like gas, water or thermal.
Spacewell Energy is not one of those. You can measure and analyse any energy source within a single platform.
Extend Your ISO 50001 Reach
Carbon Reporting and renewable energy
Further interesting functionalities of Spacewell Energy that you may not find elsewhere are the capability to track carbon emissions and microgrid for renewable energy projects. With growing requirements for carbon reporting across the EU and worldwide, you want to ensure that carbon reporting is a functionality offered by your energy management system.
Energy Reporting Capabilities
Reports are a big piece of the ISO 50001 puzzle. You will not only want to create reports to share progress with your peers and bosses but also to renew your certificate or share your efforts with local or regional authorities to get subsidies and other benefits.
Spacewell Energy offers an advanced suite of reports, as well as the possibility of creating your own based on your specific ISO 50001 needs. Ready to get started on your ISO 50001 journey? Download our free guide below to learn how to obtain the standard in the most (energy) efficient way possible:
PS: If you are interested in learning more about other ISO standards, read our blog article here.
