Sub-meter data gives you more than just the headline figure from a utility meter. A single main meter only shows total energy use. It doesn’t reveal which areas of the facility consume the most, which equipment is driving demand, or where waste is occurring.
Sub-meter insights uncover these variations across tenants, departments, or systems. Without them, hidden inefficiencies remain invisible. But raw data alone isn’t enough—too much detail can quickly become overwhelming. The real value comes from intelligent, automated software that interprets the information, learns patterns, and highlights the best actions to take. That’s exactly what EMMA AI delivers.
Why the main meter isn’t enough
Facilities teams often face the same recurring challenges:
• Bills that seem too high with no clear reason why.
• Disputes around tenant cost allocation in shared buildings.
• Systems like HVAC or lighting running when no one’s around.
• Difficulty in benchmarking departments or sites against each other.
Sub-metering solves the “where and what” by breaking energy down by load, zone, or responsibility. The real power lies in what you do next, turning raw data into practical action. But how do you make this automated, as nobody has the time to be analysing the huge amounts of data that sub-metering can generate?
From Circuits to Insights
Sub-metering can monitor:
• Tenant usage in multi-let buildings.
• HVAC, lighting, and other plant systems.
• Specialist loads such as EV chargers or IT suites.
• Power to remote areas like car parks or storage buildings.
On its own, this provides valuable visibility. Paired with EMMA AI, it becomes a powerful way to start saving a significant amount of money immediately. EMMA AI ingests sub-metering data in real time, then uses machine learning to:
• Flag abnormal usage patterns instantly.
• Identify systems running outside expected hours.
• Compare sites, tenants, or departments for benchmarking.
• Suggest targeted actions to cut waste and costs.
The clever part … it does this automatically, providing simple human-like guidance to the departments or individuals that need to know the most!
Smarter Management for Complex Sites
At Optimal Monitoring, we’ve deployed sub-metering across offices, universities, hospitals, retail centres, manufacturing plants and more – all environments with complex usage patterns and shared infrastructure.
Our approach ensures you don’t just collect numbers — you gain actionable intelligence:
• Recharge tenants fairly and transparently.
• Pinpoint underperforming systems before they fail.
• Focus investment on areas with the most significant return.
• Track progress against carbon and efficiency goals.
With EMMA AI integrated, the system continuously learns from your data and helps prioritise what matters most.
One System, End-to-End Support
A successful sub-metering installation is more than just hardware. We combine:
• Site-specific design and installation.
• Professional commissioning.
• Open, non-proprietary systems for flexibility.
• Full support and training.
Then EMMA AI takes over as your always-on energy analyst, ensuring the data is not only captured but actively worked with.
From Data to Decisions
Energy data without intelligence can be overwhelming. Sub-metering reveals the detail, but EMMA AI makes sense of it — highlighting inefficiencies, guiding action, and helping you stay in control.
By harnessing sub-meter data in real-time and combining it with proactive analytics, you unlock the ability to anticipate issues before they escalate. Operational teams receive clear alerts when usage deviates from normal patterns, enabling rapid intervention. This approach doesn’t just save energy—it empowers smarter budgeting, stronger sustainability credentials and measurable cost reductions across the board.
If your site has multiple tenants, unpredictable loads, or unexplained bills, combining sub-metering with EMMA AI will give you the full picture and the tools to act on it.
Discover more about EMMA AI and how it integrates with customised sub-metering solutions.