“We have used the Streamlined Energy app since 2021 and I can honestly say all our operatives love it because it makes their life easier. I love it as it eliminates meter reading mistakes and enables all our reads to be stored in one digital place without any hassle. It’s been an absolute hit on-site and I really think other estates could benefit from knowing more about this low-cost solution.”
Thomas Store – Energy Manager, Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust – 150 meters across 4 sites needing to be read once a month. The meters are for several utilities (electric, gas, water & steam) and comprise of a mixture of billing and sub meters. The data needs to be collected by several operatives based at different sites.
The existing approach involved writing down the reads and typing them into ad-hoc spreadsheets. All the data had to be collated before then being loaded into our energy management software (Systems Link).
“There were issues relating to slow data gathering, accuracy and no evidence of the reading. Readings for fiscal meters were not being passed on to utility suppliers to check AMR readings. Having researched the cost of installing smart metering for the sub meters, it soon became apparent that this approach was going to be cost-prohibitive.”
Thomas Store – Energy Manager at Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust
After becoming aware of Streamlined Energy’s low-cost, app-based system, a brief free trial was setup.
“Setting up the trial was really easy– the staff at Streamlined Energy really know what they’re doing and are incredibly supportive. They took our existing meter spreadsheets and imported them into their system – we didn’t have to do anything.” - Thomas Store
The app was downloaded and, after registration, the meters appeared on the device. QR codes for every meter were supplied which were then attached on or near the meters. The labels are scanned by the app to bring up the meter’s details and then a photo of the meter display is taken (all from within the app). Processing a meter literally takes seconds – just scan & snap. Once all the meters have been processed, the photos are uploaded to the cloud and then, within a few hours, the data is ready. There is no manual data entry required at all. All the reads are validated to ensure they’re within expected values. Operatives at different sites were able to be set up so that they only see the meters at their own sites.
The benefits soon became apparent:
Meter readers saved a lot of time and hassle
No more inaccurate readings
A photographic record of each reading
Read data is linked with the energy management system for bill validation and analysis
All reads now stored in the cloud
The solution was rolled out to all four of the trust’s sites and is now used for all 150 of the meters across those sites.
If you are interested in finding out more about working with Streamlined Energy, please fill out our contact form and one of our experienced representatives will be in touch.
“Streamlined Energy is such an improvement on how things used to be done!” – Senior Energy Officer at NHS
“Streamlined Energy has been an absolute godsend! Now I can see exactly what is going on.” - FM Company PFI Hospital
