Technomarket is a retail brand of K&K Electronics, a Bulgarian company. The Technomarket retail stores offer a wide range of consumer electronics, electric appliances, office equipment, and telecommunication products. The chain has been expanding its presence in the Balkans, with multiple locations in Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, and Montenegro. The company brand DOMO has a footprint in Romania.
The challenge: energy consumption optimization, meter readings verification, and cost reduction needed
The client has consistently identified electricity consumption of 18 kW at night and an average daily consumption of 578 kW in one of its stores. The store management is aiming to investigate options for energy consumption optimizations, as well potential cost savings, given the rising electricity tariffs. The client also needs to verify the power consumption billing by the commercial tenant, the MALL.
The ThingsLog solution: IoT based power consumption monitoring system based on proprietary data loggers
ThingsLog, an IoT technology solution provider, has been approached to propose a remote monitoring solution with capabilities for ongoing tracking and verification of the electricity consumption on the location. ThingsLog has installed a system of a controlling electricity meter coupled with a data logger that records the meter reading in 5-minute intervals. The data logger transmits meter readings to the ThingsLog SaaS platform (https://iot.thingslog-stage.lkjh.me/) via the GSM network. In the event of exceeding predefined consumption thresholds, configurable alarms are triggered. ThingsLog mobile app provides data visualization and flagging of critical events.
Benefits for the client: dramatic electricity bill savings through ongoing consumption tracking
A thorough analysis of the electricity consumption patterns after business hours has shown that:
- The air conditioning is set at 22°C and is not switched off at night, heating the empty premises when it is not necessary.
- Over a hundred TV sets and other demo appliances are connected to the electricity grid, generating excessive power consumption between 8pm and 8am.
The store management has addressed the identified issues. A test shut down of the redundant electric appliances has reduced the electricity consumption at night the staggering 6 times. In conclusion, the implementation of ThingsLog has produced electricity bills saving for Technomarket, which cover for the solution cost of ownership in less than 3 months.
The graph below clearly demonstrates the difference before and after.
