Overview: The 3 Keys to Discovery are a direct complement to the 5 Simple Savers as they offer a concise, multifaceted approach to finding energy-saving opportunities—whether they are new opportunities or course-correcting previously implemented opportunities that are backsliding.

Reasoning: Effective energy management requires a multifaceted approach. These keys encapsulate essential strategies: direct, hands-on exploration, data analysis, and challenging the status quo. All together, they help ensure comprehensive opportunity discovery, as well as sustaining efficient modes of operation.

Guidance/Application: We encourage SEM teams to adopt these keys in their routine operations. Each is described briefly below.

• Boots on the Ground: This is about getting out, walking the floor, and involving the folks who are interacting with your equipment and processes every day. In other words, go to where the action is and engage the folks who do the work. This includes conducting periodic facility walkthroughs to spot inefficiencies.
• Eyes on the Data: Energy itself isn’t visible, but making your usage visible with data can be invaluable to finding opportunities. What data streams are available? Even raw energy use can yield insight. Can you pair usage with key energy drivers for KPIs and/or an energy intensity model? What about sub-system trends of large energy users? Can you involve key personnel with data analytic skills to help monitor trends to identify opportunities and/or prevent backsliding?

Question Assumptions: Every facility has a history; some reasons for how things were done in the past may not apply to how things need to be done today. This Key to Discovery is about being open to conversation and exploring whether there is a more efficient way to get the job done. When we introduce this to our participants, we highlight the value of fostering a culture where everyone is encouraged to ask questions about conventional practices and to not be satisfied with the answer, “because that’s how we’ve always done things here.”