At the Sanlam Sky Houghton building, Augos ran a multi-pronged programme: base-load optimisation cut total energy use 25% with a 1.5-day payback, power factor correction saved R9,000 to R10,000 a month, and bill verification uncovered systematic council overbilling. Backed by independently verified meter data and check metering, the evidence secured a R1.15 million credit from the City Council.
With Energy Intelligence meters in place, analysis of the consumption baseline revealed a significant opportunity in base-load, the energy used when the building is unoccupied. The building ran at roughly 200 to 220 kW at night, against 350 kW during the day.
An after-hours audit found the main cause was lighting with very few control switches. The fix was simple and low-cost: fit basic light switches and instruct security to turn off non-critical equipment. Night-time load fell to an average of 80 kW, delivering a 25% reduction in total energy use with a 1.5-day payback.
Given the low power factor on site and a municipal tariff that penalises it heavily through demand and reactive-energy charges, a PFC installation was an immediate opportunity. Augos fitted a comprehensive correction solution, reducing maximum demand and reactive-energy charges by R9,000 to R10,000 a month, with a project payback of about 11.5 months.
The greatest financial result came from billing correction. Using precise, independently verified data from the Augos meter, a systematic council overbilling was identified. After check metering irrefutably validated the Augos data, the evidence was presented to the City Council, producing a verifiable credit of R1,150,000 applied directly to the account.
Alongside the efficiency work, Augos investigated the discrepancies between measured consumption and the utility bills. That integrated approach, combining measurement, correction and verification, turned accurate energy intelligence into a substantial, recoverable financial return.
An after-hours audit found the night-time base-load ran at 200 to 220 kW, driven largely by lighting with few control switches. Fitting basic switches and having security turn off non-critical equipment cut the night load to about 80 kW, a 25% total reduction with a 1.5-day payback.
With low power factor and a penalising municipal tariff, a PFC installation reduced maximum demand and reactive energy charges by R9,000 to R10,000 a month, paying back in about 11.5 months.
The precise, independently verified Augos meter data revealed systematic overbilling by the City Council. Check metering validated the Augos readings, and the evidence secured a verifiable credit of R1,150,000 applied to the Sanlam Sky account.
It provided an irrefutable second source confirming the Augos data, giving the council no room to dispute the evidence behind the billing correction.
It was a low-cost operational change, basic light switches and a manual switch-off routine, rather than capital equipment, which is why the payback was just 1.5 days.
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