Office building
energy metering
Floor and branch sub-meters that split an office building into the zones people manage: floors, lighting, small power and HVAC. Installed around a working building, reported in one place.
THE PROBLEM
Much of an office's energy is used when nobody is there
In a typical office, a large share of electricity is consumed outside working hours: lighting left on, floor AHUs on fixed schedules, small power that never switches off. One building meter shows the total but cannot say which floor or which system is responsible.
Owners are also under pressure from green building ratings and disclosure rules, which ask for consumption split by end use. Facility managers end up estimating lighting and small-power figures from nameplates.
Installing meters in an occupied office is its own challenge. Riser cupboards are crowded, panel schedules are out of date, and shutdowns must be agreed with tenants weeks ahead.
HOW WE SET IT UP
Floor by floor, end use by end use
Confirm the panel-access plan
We review the riser drawings and panel schedules, then walk each floor with your electrician. The metering and panel-access plan is agreed before any work, including which boards need a short shutdown.
Branch and floor sub-meters
Connected sub-meters on floor distribution boards and their main branches separate lighting, small power and floor HVAC. That is the split ratings schemes and tenants usually ask for.
Out-of-hours views
RIOD Live compares each zone against occupied hours. Rules alert the facility team when a floor keeps drawing power after hours or over the weekend.
Central plant through Modbus
Chillers, pumps and the BMS are read through our Modbus gateway, so central plant and floor loads share one timeline and one report.
AT A GLANCE
Office metering at a glance
- Measured
- kWh by zone, floor and end use, with interval power for out-of-hours analysis
- Hardware
- Smart energy sub-meters on floor boards and branches; RS485 Modbus IoT gateway for central plant
- Connectivity
- Wi-Fi in risers, 4G where signal is better, Ethernet to the gateway
- Alerts
- After-hours consumption alerts by WhatsApp, SMS, email or push
- Data goes to
- RIOD Live cloud, or the platform deployed on your own server
- Reports
- Audit trails on every report, PDF and Excel export, AI access to the data through MCP
- Installation note
- The metering and panel-access plan is confirmed with your electrical team before installation
FAQ
Questions buyers ask us
How do you sub-meter an office building by floor?
Fit a connected meter on the incoming supply of each floor distribution board, then add meters on the lighting, small power and HVAC branches where they are separately wired. Work starts from up-to-date panel schedules and an agreed access plan.
Can office energy metering support green building certification?
Most rating schemes ask for consumption split by floor or tenancy and by end use. Floor and branch sub-metering provides that data, with audit-trailed exports for the submission.
How much office energy is used out of hours?
It varies widely, which is exactly why it is worth measuring. Interval data per floor shows the baseline at night and weekends, and that baseline is usually the first and cheapest saving to go after.
Will installing meters disrupt our tenants?
Some boards need a short shutdown for CT installation. We schedule those with the facility team out of hours, and floors where branches are already accessible can often be done without a shutdown.
Want an office building split by floor and end use?
Share the riser drawings or tell us how the building is fed. We will come back with a metering and access plan.