Electrical distributor, Rexel, is debuting a brand new energy monitoring solution at Solar Power UK in the NEC, Birmingham. Nick Smith, Rexel UK’s Development Director and Alan Hector, Rexel UK’s Business Development Manager were on hand to talk me through the new ‘Measure My Energy’ service the company will be offering over the coming months.

As an electrical distributor, Rexel has continually seen energy consumption rise year-on-year. As a result, the company began to look at how it could develop an innovative energy monitoring system that would automatically provide up-to-date and detailed information on a property’s energy consumption. 

Rexel’s solution is to provide a dynamic, online portal that aggregates every possible aspect of energy usage and displays it in an easy to digest manner. The Energy Monitoring system is able to keep track of water use, gas use, power use (down to appliance level) and temperature level, as well as displaying the total energy cost and carbon footprint.  

A modern monitoring system is also required to take into account renewable generation and the Rexel system has been designed to work seamlessly with a solar PV array. The detailed statistics captured by the system will allow users to remotely log in to the system in order to check the current generation of a solar array. The system will also allow users to understand when the best time to switch on appliances will be in order to maximise the system’s benefit. 

Rexel is undertaking extensive trailing of its energy management system around its various warehouses and the flagship BRE Sigma house. I was allowed to take a peek at some of the live figures from a number of separate sites across the country. The results were impressive, the system was able to identify a rogue drinks machine that was left on over night as well as pull up the variable solar generation figures experienced on a cloudy Wednesday in Watford.

Rexel is showcasing the ‘Measure My Energy’ system at Booth B12. The company is aiming for a soft-launch of the system across the upcoming months.