Level 113 lessons · 111 min
Monitoring & Targeting (M&T)
Turn meter data into action: baselines, energy signatures, regression against drivers, exception reporting, and automatic M&T (aM&T) software.
01M&T Fundamentals
- 01Why Monitor & Target?The discipline of M&T and how it drives continuous energy improvement.8 min
- 02Collecting Meter DataWhat to measure, frequency, accuracy, and data systems.9 min
- 03Normalisation: Dealing with Weather & ChangesHow to account for degree-days and business changes in baseline comparisons.10 min
- 04M&T Fundamentals CheckQuiz on M&T purpose, data collection, and normalisation.5 min
02Baselines & Energy Signatures
- 01Establishing Your BaselineWhat a baseline is and how to set one that's valid and useful.10 min
- 02Energy Signatures & RegressionHow energy use varies with external factors; regression analysis to quantify it.11 min
- 03Decomposing Changes: What Changed & WhySeparating energy savings from changes in weather, production, or occupancy.10 min
- 04Baselines & Signatures CheckQuiz on baselines, energy signatures, and change decomposition.5 min
03Targeting & Reporting
- 01Setting Realistic TargetsHow to set energy targets that are ambitious but achievable.9 min
- 02Exception Reporting: Finding the AnomaliesHow to spot when consumption is higher than it should be and investigate.10 min
- 03Automatic M&T (aM&T) & Choosing SoftwareWhat automatic monitoring and targeting (aM&T) adds to manual M&T, how alarms and exception reports should work, and a vendor-neutral checklist for choosing aM&T software.10 min
- 04Dashboards & CommunicationHow to visualise and communicate energy data to drive action.9 min
- 05M&T CheckQuiz on targeting, exception reporting, and effective communication.5 min
Frequently asked questions
- What is monitoring and targeting (M&T)?
- M&T is the discipline of measuring energy consumption frequently, comparing each period's use against what conditions (weather, production, occupancy) say it should have been, and investigating the gaps. It finds faults, drift and waste that bills alone hide, and it needs no capital equipment to start: meter readings, driver data and a spreadsheet are enough for a first pass.
- What is automatic monitoring and targeting (aM&T)?
- aM&T is M&T with the mechanical steps automated by software: half-hourly meter data is collected automatically, compared against expected values calculated from drivers such as degree days or production, and exceptions are flagged to a named person. The judgement about what an anomaly means, and what to do, stays human; the software removes the data-handling drudgery and shortens detection from months to days.
- What is the difference between M&T and M&V?
- M&T (monitoring and targeting) is continuous surveillance of consumption to find and fix waste. M&V (measurement and verification) is the formal process of proving how much a specific project saved, usually against a baseline adjusted to protocols such as IPMVP. M&T tells you something changed; M&V demonstrates rigorously what a deliberate change achieved.
- How much energy does M&T typically save?
- Published UK guidance and practitioner experience typically credit a well-run M&T programme with savings of around 5% to 10% of annual energy spend, mostly from finding faults, control drift and out-of-hours waste faster than bills would reveal them. The return depends on someone actually investigating the exceptions: the analysis itself saves nothing.
- What data do you need to start M&T?
- At minimum, regular meter readings (half-hourly electricity and gas data can be requested from suppliers for most non-domestic UK meters) and matching records of the main consumption drivers, such as degree days for heating or production output for process load. Twelve months of history lets you build a defensible baseline; sub-meters improve resolution later.