Has your organisation invested in commercial solar panels, or are you considering deploying solar power? If so, you might be looking for ways to maximise your return on investment (ROI).
In today’s challenging business environment, adapting your energy strategy is crucial. Objective tracking of your assets’ cost and performance is becoming increasingly important. Without this data, you could face additional pressure on your bottom line, complicating your budget amid rising costs.
The Power of Panoramic Power
Panoramic Power’s end-to-end energy management and intelligence platform can help you clarify your energy picture. The benefits of real-time data start from the very beginning of your solar system’s lifetime. Panoramic Power can help you track your organisation’s electricity demand and energy costs. With real-time alerts and reporting, you’ll be able to view energy usage for your entire site. This can help you identify opportunities to cut wastage and reduce your total energy demand.
Lowering Usage and Reducing Costs
Lowering your energy usage means drawing less energy from the grid. This allows you to meet more of your total demand via your solar system, providing more stable prices and accurate forecasts. If you invested via capital sale, this could even help reduce your solar system’s payback period.
If you haven’t invested in solar power yet, tracking your energy usage can still benefit your business. Reduced usage means you’ll need a smaller system, with a 25% reduction resulting in a roughly 25% smaller solar system. This can lower your upfront costs and free up your budget for other investments.
Achieving Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is a priority for many organisations. For some, energy monitoring can deliver quick wins and effective short-term savings. However, progress can stall without a more granular view of energy usage and cost.
With device-level insights, you can track exactly how much energy you’re using and where. Panoramic Power provides a detailed view of where and when you could reduce your energy usage. By uncovering opportunities to cut back on wastage, you can ensure that you’re only using the energy you really need.
Transforming Your Energy Strategy
Pairing energy monitoring with commercial solar power can transform your energy strategy, offering dual benefits. Bringing your energy generation onsite reduces your reliance on grid supply, shielding you from volatile electricity prices. By tracking your energy demand, you’ll know you’re paying the right price for the right amount of electricity.
In conclusion, data-driven energy monitoring and insights can help you maximise your ROI in commercial solar power. By collecting, analysing, and acting on data-driven insights, you can bridge the gap between commitments and implementation, achieve your energy goals, and build a more sustainable future.
How Total Utilities Can Help
Our expert team can help you unlock significant energy savings with a short-term return on investment (ROI). Typically, we can identify up to 25% savings with an ROI of less than 2 years.
We offer the easiest-to-install, and fastest for ROI energy management solution, that scales effortlessly from a few devices to full-site or multi-site operations. Experience actionable insights and real-time analytics that drive efficiency and sustainability. Our solutions work for everyone, helping your organisation kickstart cultural transformation towards a sustainable future.
Total Utilities partners with Kristin School to provide real-time monitoring of solar panel performance with our world-class energy monitoring solution. Read their story here.
Hidden inefficiencies are draining your profits and hindering your sustainability goals.
We’re not talking about dramatic equipment failures that halt production. Instead, we’re exposing invisible efficiency killers—machines that appear fully operational while steadily eroding your bottom line and inflating your carbon emissions. The culprits are your most commonplace industrial machines: boilers, hot water systems, compressors, lighting, HVAC and refrigeration systems.
Every unit of wasted energy means lost money and unnecessary emissions. As New Zealand businesses face mounting pressure due to escalating energy prices, for executives tasked with controlling costs, Panoramic Power represents a transformative ally.
The Invisible Problem: Why Inefficiencies Go Unnoticed
Many inefficiencies remain hidden because you can’t fix what you can’t see. Machines that appear operational can quietly drain profits and inflate emissions. Without advanced energy monitoring, these “silent thieves” stay undetected, eroding both financial performance and sustainability credentials.
Total Utilities provides a simple, cost-effective way to identify quick wins and the real-time visibility needed to expose these invisible efficiency leaks, equipping businesses with actionable insights to transform waste into measurable gains.
Excessive Steam Discharge: Can account for up to 30% of energy waste.
Scale Buildup: A 1mm layer can increase fuel consumption by 2–5%.
Faulty Controls: Malfunctioning thermostats or regulators increase inefficiencies.
Real-life example: A Panoramic Power client identified that 30% of their steam was wasted. Real-time insights enabled targeted fixes, reducing gas usage and emissions.
Sediment Accumulation: Reduces heat transfer, requiring more energy.
Corrosion and Leaks: Often unnoticed until damage is extensive.
Real-life example: Monitoring revealed a pump running four times faster than needed. Adjustments led to significant energy and cost savings.
Compressed Air: The Hidden Energy Monster
Air Leaks: Drain 20–30% of output.
Short-Cycling: Misaligned systems disrupt efficiency.
Improper Pressure Settings: Cause waste and operational disruptions.
Real-life example: A bottling plant reduced compressor pressure from 100 PSI to 96 PSI, saving energy and reducing wear without affecting production.
HVAC Systems: The Silent Energy Drainers
Unbalanced Airflow: Causes some areas to overheat or over cool, wasting energy.
Dirty Filters: Reduce efficiency and increase energy consumption.
Faulty Thermostats: Lead to inconsistent temperatures and energy waste.
Real-life example: A client discovered that their HVAC system ran 24/7 due to a faulty thermostat. Fixing it saved significant energy and reduced costs.
Lighting Systems: The Overlooked Energy Consumers
Outdated Bulbs: Older lighting technology consumes more energy.
Improper Scheduling: Lights left on when not needed.
Inefficient Fixtures: Poorly designed fixtures waste light and energy.
Real-life example: A warehouse switched to LED lighting and implemented motion sensors, cutting their lighting energy use by 40%.
Refrigeration Units: The Hidden Cold Costs
Door Seals: Worn seals allow cold air to escape, increasing energy use.
Defrost Cycles: Inefficient cycles waste energy.
Temperature Settings: Incorrect settings lead to higher energy consumption.
Real-life example: A food processing plant adjusted its defrost cycles and repaired door seals, resulting in a 15% reduction in energy use.
Total Utilities leverages Panoramic Power to turn hidden inefficiencies into measurable improvements. Using real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and customised dashboards, the platform:
Identifies inefficiencies across machines and systems.
Provides actionable insights to reduce energy waste.
This integration of visibility and intelligence empowers manufacturers to cut costs, lower emissions, and enhance competitiveness.
Why Panoramic Power Stands Out
Unlike generic energy monitoring tools, Panoramic Power aligns with executive priorities by translating data into strategic opportunities. The platform simplifies:
Inefficiency detection: Identify hidden energy drains.
Data customisation: Tailor dashboards to operational needs.
By addressing both cost savings and environmental impact, Panoramic Power helps users achieve measurable results and lead in sustainable innovation.
How Total Utilities Can Help
Our expert team can help you unlock significant energy savings with a short-term return on investment (ROI). Typically, we can identify up to 25% savings with an ROI of less than 2 years.
We achieve this by conducting a comprehensive site-wide energy audit (Type 1), examining everything from lighting and HVAC systems to chillers, boilers, refrigeration and other energy-intensive systems. Additionally, we install Panoramic Power our non-intrusive energy intelligence system, providing real-time device-level energy data visibility. For more information check out a brief overview of our service here.
Ready to start saving? Contact us today to schedule your energy audit and begin your journey towards greater efficiency and cost savings!
In today’s business landscape, whether your priority is energy efficiency, cost reduction, or sustainability, a successful long-term strategy relies on a degree of certainty about the future. When market conditions are volatile, a rigorous approach to data becomes more crucial than ever. Long-term uncertainty makes it challenging to plan and even harder to sell sustainability strategies within the wider business. However, a data-driven approach provides businesses with something tangible to build on.
The Role of Data and Analytics
For those looking to manage energy more effectively, data and analytics often focus on consumption, carbon emissions, and cost. Establishing baselines for all data sets and systematically tracking them as you make operational changes or implement new technologies is essential. This approach ensures you know what’s working, what isn’t, and why.
Addressing Energy Costs in New Zealand
With increasing pressure to control energy costs due to systemic market constraints in New Zealand, businesses must find ways to reduce energy usage. Simply absorbing costs is not a viable option. Understanding where your energy is going is crucial. By identifying operational inefficiencies, you can discover where savings can be made, helping you make smarter decisions.
Leveraging Real-Time Energy Intelligence
Combining self-powered, wireless sensors with real-time energy intelligence software provides the overview you need and allows you to analyse data to develop a data-driven strategy for the future. This approach can help mitigate costly downtime, reduce waste, enhance agility, and boost productivity.
Benefits Across Various Industries
Using end-to-end energy management tools to build energy intelligence offers benefits for various industries, types of operations, and facilities:
Industrial Manufacturers: Avoid equipment downtime by predicting failures, maximise energy savings, detect operational inefficiencies, and optimise overall equipment effectiveness. Typical results include reducing maintenance costs by 60%, equipment downtime by 50%, and equipment capital investment by 3-5% by extending the useful life of machinery.
Multi-Site Retail and Grocery Stores: Cut costs by reducing energy waste, optimise equipment and maintenance, enhance brand reputation through sustainability, and monitor the entire operation from one dashboard. Typical results include eliminating 30% excess energy consumption and a 10% reduction in energy costs, boosting net profit margins by up to 16%.
Commercial Buildings and Business Campuses: Predict failures and operational anomalies through real-time alerts, reduce energy waste, measure retrofit effectiveness, and continuously improve operational effectiveness. Typical results include cutting equipment maintenance costs by 40% and extending equipment lifetimes.
Panoramic Power: Your All-in-One Energy Intelligence Solution
Our expert team can help you unlock significant energy savings with a short-term return on investment (ROI). Typically, we can identify up to 25% savings with an ROI of less than 2 years.
We offer the easiest-to-install, and fastest for ROI energy management solution, that scales effortlessly from a few devices to full-site or multi-site operations. Experience actionable insights and real-time analytics that drive efficiency and sustainability. Our solutions work for everyone, helping your organisation kickstart cultural transformation towards a sustainable future.
Reducing waste costs is a crucial goal for many businesses. And the good news is, you don’t have to wait until your waste contract ends to reduce costs. Here are some effective strategies to help achieve this:
Conduct Waste Audits: Regularly analyse your waste streams to identify areas where waste can be minimised. This helps set reduction targets and track progress
Implement Recycling and Composting Programs: Incorporate recycling and composting practices into your daily operations. This reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and can lower disposal costs
Reduce Packaging Waste: Choose products with minimal and recyclable packaging. This prevents waste from being created in the first place and can significantly cut costs
Switch to Reusable Products: Use reusable bags, bottles, containers, and other products to prevent waste from disposables. This not only reduces waste but also saves money in the long run
Optimise Processes: Focus on minimizing resource usage, such as energy, water, and raw materials, by optimising processes and adopting lean production methods
Promote Reuse: Encourage the reuse of materials, equipment, and packaging within your operations. This can reduce the need for new purchases and lower waste generation
Engage Employees: Educate and engage employees in waste reduction efforts. A company-wide culture of sustainability can lead to more effective waste management practices
Invest in Technology: Consider technological advancements such as waste-to-energy systems and eco-friendly materials for more efficient waste management
Review and Refine Strategies: Continuously assess and refine your waste reduction strategies to adapt to evolving regulations and best practices
By implementing these strategies, businesses can not only reduce waste costs but also contribute to a more sustainable future.
How Total Utilities Can Help
In 2024, the team at Total Utilities successfully managed $13.7 million worth of Waste and Recycling tenders, achieving impressive savings of $3.5 million for our clients. These savings ranged from as high as 59% to an average of 26% and were made up of better contract terms as well as increased landfill diversion.
If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that unpredictability is the new norm. From gas shortages and hydro lake levels nearing rock bottom to record highs and lows in pricing, the year had it all.
One thing is clear: the current market structure isn’t serving commercial and industrial customers well. Short-term issues have impacted long-term pricing, forcing customers to pay a premium for future energy, even when conditions might improve.
In a previous article, I delved deeper into how coal sets the overall price in a largely renewable energy grid. You can read more about it here.
Looking Ahead to 2025
As we step into 2025, hydro storage levels are at 85% capacity, which is 22% higher than usual for this time of year. Wholesale electricity spot pricing remains low, with thermal generation contributing only about 3-5% to the grid. Current prices are around 4-5c/kWh, a significant drop from last January’s 25c/kWh. However, with limited natural gas availability and coal firming the market, price volatility is more pronounced, especially during dry periods when wind generation drops.
Average Daily Wholesale Spot Pricing
The ASX Energy Futures Market
Forward market pricing remains stubbornly high on the ASX Energy Futures market, which sets the overall forward price for retail contracts for large commercial and industrial customers. The current quarter (Jan-Mar 2025) is priced around 12c/kWh in the North Island and 7.4c/kWh in the South Island.
The ASX Energy Futures market is dominated by the big four generators: Contact, Genesis, Mercury, and Meridian. These generators offer volume into the market for participants, which can include other generators, retailers, major energy users, or investment houses.
Long-Term Pricing Trends
Over the past year, long-term pricing on the ASX has steadily increased as natural gas supplies dwindle. The market seems to be factoring in more risk as coal becomes the dominant fuel for managing limited hydro storage.
North Island pricing for 2026, 2027, and 2028 has risen by 19%, 26%, and 11% respectively since January last year. Similarly, South Island prices have increased by 28%, 35%, and 14%. Notably, pricing for 2028 only became available on the market from October 1st last year. The forward price curve has also shifted from a staggered reducing price to an almost flat price within any given year.
North Island Pricing ASX Energy Futures
The Future of Firming Fuels
This trend suggests that coal will remain the firming fuel of choice for the foreseeable future, despite calls for liquid natural gas imports as a lower carbon emission option. The industry appears divided on future firming solutions, adding to the uncertainty.
As we navigate through 2025, staying informed and adaptable will be key to managing the ever-changing energy landscape.
Navigating the Future of Renewable Energy and Market Volatility
The announcement of new renewable generation projects is exciting, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Much of the new capacity is in solar and wind, both of which are intermittent and cannot be relied upon for firming. While battery storage is becoming more economically viable, it hasn’t reached the point where it can fully replace traditional firming methods. New hydro or geothermal developments, which could provide the necessary baseload generation to support intermittent sources, are facing lower priority due to high costs and resource consent issues.
What to Expect in the Coming Year
As we look ahead, the energy market is expected to remain volatile. Both Transpower and the Gas Industry Company have warned that natural gas production may fall below demand during the upcoming winter. This shortfall will likely keep energy prices unstable. Additionally, the commissioning of new generation projects is progressing slowly, meaning the reliance on fossil fuels for firming will continue in the short term.
Preparing for Contract Expiry in 2025
If your electricity contract is set to expire in 2025, it’s crucial to start planning early. Seeking market pricing well in advance of your contract’s expiry date allows you to set realistic budgets and mitigate the impact of short-term volatility.
Consider exploring solar options, whether on-site or off-site. Both approaches enable you to purchase solar energy as a commodity, reducing your exposure to price fluctuations in the broader energy market.
How Total Utilities Can Help
Total Utilities is here to assist you in navigating these complexities. We offer advisory services to help you evaluate your options and make informed decisions about your energy contracts and renewable energy investments. For more detailed advice, you can read our article on managing utility contract expirations here.
By staying proactive and informed, you can better manage the uncertainties of the energy market and make strategic decisions for your business’s future.
Manufacturers can maximise energy and operational efficiency by leveraging the Panoramic Power end-to-end energy intelligence platform. This platform combines wireless sensor technology with advanced analytics software to provide real-time energy insights, enabling optimisation of energy and operational performance across an entire site, down to the device and equipment level.
Real-time energy data at your fingertips
By simply clipping wireless IoT sensors to energy-intensive assets at a circuit level, the captured data is analysed and visualised using an advanced energy management platform. This provides a 360-degree view of site-wide power usage at the required level of detail. Additionally, it is possible to monitor gas, heat, air flow, and water consumption, as well as on-site generators like solar systems.
Six Ways Smart Sensors Can Drive Manufacturing Efficiency Savings
1. Detect Energy Waste to Drive Efficiency and Cost Savings
By understanding what’s happening beyond metered data at a device and process level, hidden energy waste can be identified, driving efficiency improvements that can reduce skyrocketing bills. For example, unnecessary out-of-hours consumption, idling equipment, incorrect operation timetables, or opportunities to improve compressor cycling or production/process line sequencing can be detected. Benchmarking against other comparable sites or areas can also help detect anomalies and drive best practices. IoT energy insights can further inform and influence employee behaviour change to improve energy performance.
2. Improve Operational Efficiency
With on-demand access to real-time equipment and process performance data, new insights into operational improvement opportunities can be gained. Often, the resulting operational cost savings are higher than the energy savings. For instance, energy insights can detect air leaks from compressors and diagnose performance issues with cooling equipment or production lines. The technology can support the verification of manufacturer default settings and equipment controls, while also tracking operational trends from adjusting equipment controls in real-time.
3. Predict Equipment Failure and Trigger Maintenance Protocols
Energy analytics software can detect anomalies and faulty equipment or process vulnerabilities that could affect output or product quality. Smart technology facilitates the transition from scheduled maintenance to predictive maintenance by providing 24/7 alerts about potential issues, preventing them before they become points of failure. This reduces downtime, increases productivity, and extends asset life.
4. Decarbonise Your Business
Improving energy and operational efficiency also delivers carbon savings, helping achieve net zero ambitions cost-effectively. This allows manufacturers to stay ahead of increasing environmental regulation and carbon taxation while meeting the sustainability expectations of customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders.
5. Make Compliance & Reporting Easy
A data-driven energy monitoring strategy provides a clear view of energy and carbon performance. Accurate data is available at the required level of detail to support increasing regulatory and legislative oversight of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Device-level data also allows quantification of the energy or carbon intensity of production, such as how many kWh or t/CO2-e it takes to produce one widget. Similarly, if upgrading process heat requirements to heat pumps, device-level data can verify the carbon reduction impact of these upgrades.
6. Optimise and Monetise Energy Flexibility
Data gathered from wireless sensors can inform opportunities to use energy flexibly for cost reduction and revenue generation. By shifting loads to avoid peak time power costs, significant savings can be achieved by moving non-essential loads out of peak hours.
By implementing these strategies, manufacturers can significantly enhance their energy and operational efficiency, leading to substantial cost savings and improved sustainability.
How Total Utilities Can Help
Our expert team can help you unlock significant energy savings with a short-term return on investment (ROI). Typically, we can identify up to 25% savings with an ROI of less than 2 years.
We achieve this by conducting a comprehensive site-wide energy audit (Type 1), examining everything from lighting and HVAC systems to chillers, boilers, refrigeration and other energy-intensive systems. Additionally, we install Panoramic Power our non-intrusive energy intelligence system, providing real-time device-level energy data visibility. For more information check out a brief overview of our service here.
Ready to start saving? Contact us today to schedule your energy audit and begin your journey towards greater efficiency and cost savings!
