The number of existing energy management and control systems (EMCSs) in both retrofitted and new commercial buildings is significant and growing. To assess benefits of this technology to building owners, occupants, operators, and utilities, the major characteristics of EMCS currently available on the market have been reviewed in terms of their hardware, software, and intra- and intersystem communications capabilities. Examples of data collection by two types of EMCSs have been given to show how the gathered information could be utilized by both building operators and utilities to document energy consumption and peak electricity demand in buildings. A brief discussion of the commonly offered load management software is presented. Finally, communication protocols that allow access to the data resident in the EMCS are discussed.

Units: I-P