Topic 1 Introduction to energy management

Sustainability plays an important role in enhancing the profile of a tourist destination in Europe and it is a key aspect of competitiveness. The engagement of key stakeholders is an essential component in developing a sustainable touristic destination.

In the field of energy, it is important to take into consideration both energy sustainability and energy efficiency. Sustainable energy can be assessed from the perspective of consumption/production or the impact it has on the environment and society. Energy efficiency can be described as the interaction between energy produced and energy induced/invested.

Energy cost is one of the major expenses that companies need to monitor, it is expensive and the prices fluctuate according to the nature of the energy. Energy efficiency is “using less energy to produce the same amount of services or useful output”. Energy management is “the strategy of adjusting and optimizing energy, using systems and procedures so as to reduce energy requirements per unit of output while holding constant or reducing total costs of producing the output from these systems” (Bureau of Energy Efficiency, 2005: 1).

1. Objectives of energy management

The objectives of energy management are to:

• Reduce energy costs/waste with no disruption of production/service & quality;
• Diminish environmental impacts.

To achieve these objectives, an energy management plan or programme should be developed. This programme starts with the decision-making regarding the energy used. After comes the energy auditing, which is done through data collection, energy balance sheet and specific energy consumption.The following step requires the identification of energy saving measures by conducting technical and economical feasibility.Later, these saving measures must be implemented in order to achieve the required results. In the end, like every process, this programme needs to be monitored and evaluated to give the best results.