Today, energy inefficiency is one of the main pains for many businesses. The rising energy costs for businesses in Europe are making companies go through a hard time. The current economic situation requires firms to use effective strategies in energy management. Small and medium-sized companies are particularly vulnerable. They often lack the financial stability or dedicated energy teams that larger corporations may have. Thus, they must optimize energy costs for smart resource usage and market competitiveness.
Digital transformation is a necessity for long-term business success. One of the popular ways to modernize business operations is to use IoT for real-time insights. IoT-based analytics in internal systems can help achieve operational effectiveness. Businesses can reduce energy costs thanks to informed decisions. This significantly impacts future energy optimization.
Keep reading to learn why IoT analytics outperforms traditional energy management methods. You’ll also find more details about the benefits of this innovative approach, with some insights from our experience with IoT energy projects.
Why energy efficiency matters for businesses today
Rising energy costs directly impact business profitability. As companies pay more for utilities, they inevitably face tighter margins. So, they must rethink operations, delay investments, or pass costs onto customers.
New sustainability and ESG compliance demands are raising the bar for energy accountability. By default, businesses are now expected to optimize their energy use. Moreover, for social approval, they must confirm it through precise, auditable data.
Organizations must adapt quickly to market volatility and shifting energy demand. Peak loads and price spikes need data-driven responses to avoid unnecessary expenses.
IoT energy optimization for factories is especially important. Industrial facilities are among the largest energy users. Even small inefficiencies lead to significant cost increases over time. There are many machines, systems, and shifts. And they all need to be tracked if the company strives for cost-effectiveness in energy use.
What real-time IoT energy monitoring is, and how it works
Many businesses consider energy usage data for after-the-fact reporting. This outdated method allows firms and utilities to make adjustments based on past data. But, with many new technological developments, switching to real-time energy analytics is wiser. It will enable decision makers to act instantaneously. As a result, companies can save money and help support the reliability of the electric grid.
IoT gives instant insights into energy usage across machines, lines, and entire facilities. Real-time energy monitoring with IoT involves tracking and analyzing energy consumption using connected devices. These systems combine smart meters, IoT devices, AI-powered monitoring tools, and legacy communication protocols to centralize and interpret data.
As energy systems grow more complex, implementing real-time analytics is challenging but crucial. Grid operators and businesses rely on these insights to balance supply and demand more effectively.
The typical workflow looks like this:
- Sensors measure energy usage in real time, including voltage, current, and temperature.
- IoT gateways collect data from many sensors and securely send it.
- Cloud platforms store and process the data for scalable access.
- Visualization analytics through maps, infographics, and dashboards helps spot trends with actionable insights.
So, real-time energy monitoring for small and medium-sized businesses offers many opportunities. It helps them approach energy management in a smart way. As a result, organizations can detect inefficiencies and optimize performance.
How IoT data enables better energy decisions
Relying on IoT analytics is an effective way of ensuring energy use optimization for businesses. With a relevant, continuous flow of data, companies can significantly improve reporting:
- Real-time data with industrial energy analytics for peak load reduction
- Avoid fixed or unfavorable tariffs, thanks to clear comparisons of contract pricing and the automated electricity contract switching IoT
- Automated actions mean there’s no need for deep technical knowledge, as the system can shut down idle machines or reroute energy
- Businesses are more confident in doing effective strategic planning
- Decision automation makes energy savings accessible to any SMB
All in all, the right data collection and tools can help reduce operational costs and improve efficiency. With IoT analytics in energy management, companies can make data-driven decisions. Organizations can better understand the actual economic viability of investing in batteries. They can transition to other energy sources or adopt new contracts by modeling ROI based on real IoT data using battery ROI energy analytics.
Real-time IoT energy monitoring: Key benefits for businesses
- Complete visibility into energy usage, even if the business units are scattered
- Smarter contract management allows optimizing energy tariffs, forecasting demand, and negotiating better supplier terms.
- Reduced operational costs through automated energy-saving actions, preventing overuse, and cutting utility expenses through real-time alerts.
- Faster ROI (Return on Investment) on green tech via monitoring the performance of energy-efficient systems and validating savings to accelerate payback and support ESG goals
Challenges in development and how to overcome them: Tips from industry leaders
Designing your own system for real-time IoT-based energy analytics is a great business decision. However, it comes with several challenges that must be taken into account. We gathered the most common issues and provided practical solutions from industry experts:
- Older machines and protocols may not support modern IoT tech. IoT gateways can help bridge legacy equipment with cloud platforms via protocol conversion, like Modbus to MQTT.
- Systems must grow with data volume and user demand. So, it’s better to build on a cloud-native backend, including microservices. This will help support elastic scaling and continuous availability.
- Data and systems often span multiple environments. Design hybrid APIs and use secure connectors to ensure seamless data flow between edge, on-prem, and cloud layers.
- Inconsistent or noisy data limits insight into quality. Implementing data validation pipelines and cloud ETL tools will help clean, merge, and structure data fragments for analytics.
- Protecting data and meeting legal requirements. Apply zero-trust security, end-to-end encryption, and partner with GDPR- and ISO/IEC 27001-compliant cloud providers.
- Upfront investment may seem high. It’s good for businesses to focus on ROI-first features that deliver quick wins and justify expansion. This includes predictive maintenance and load optimization, and so on.
With a reliable system, effectively processed data fuels smarter energy procurement strategies. As a result, your business will reduce dependency on grid electricity when costs skyrocket.
NetLS advantages in building IoT-based energy monitoring solutions
At NetLS, we specialize in creating customized systems for collecting sensor data to analyze electricity consumption. Thus, we help companies make better decisions for optimization, ultimately reducing energy costs.
Recently, we cooperated with a public-sector SaaS provider that needed to collect and process transparent and structured IoT-based analytics effectively. One of its core missions is to help customers reduce CO2 emissions through transparent energy management. We built a scalable, high-performance .NET Core energy management internal system. It enabled our client to provide better energy recommendations to European businesses and households. In the end, the company saw multiple improvements in its operations management internal system.
- Better decision-making based on real-time IoT analytics for energy optimization via digital twins.
- Revenue growth through better customer service, attracting new audiences, and market expansion.
- Successfully passed regulatory audits and CSRD, ESG, and EU Taxonomy inspections, thanks to accurate reporting, time- and location-specific energy data.
- Reduced IT infrastructure costs with app migration to the cloud and using customized, scalable solutions in web development.
- Increased productivity by deploying solutions to optimize internal processes and automate tasks, boosting efficiency and productivity.
- Digital transformation of business processes and better company strategy, thanks to our expertise in technology consulting, new technologies, and innovative solutions
- Smart analytical tools that provide deeper market insights, enable forecasting, and support better strategic decisions.
Every business has untapped potential to optimize its energy usage. The key lies in transforming data into actionable insights. Look at the IoT projects we’ve successfully done so far to see how different companies have already improved their operations. With our deep experience in IoT integration, cloud systems, and data analytics, you can confidently entrust us to modernize your energy management.
Yuliia Suprunenko