Energy Logging was set up in response to Shambala Festival’s need to work out the cost of fuel attributable to the trading element of the festival. Festival trader power is traditionally sold either directly, from the electrical supplier, or indirectly where the cost is built into pitch fees. Power is sold by the size of connector – but this system doesn’t give any indication of usage, only maximum available power.

Traders being scattered throughout the site complicated the process of gathering individual trader power data, as no one generator supplied them all. As no such metering equipment was available Energy Logging stepped in to manufacture the units. The resulting meters are simple to install waterproof, tamper-proof, cost effective and provide a start and end figure of kWh.  

Using data collected in 2017 the team at Shambala team decided to incentivise energy reduction by introducing a pay-per-use model. This model was put into action in 2018 and most users showed a reduction in usage, due to either investment in more efficient equipment (LED lighting and new fridges) or change in their cooking style.                           

In 2019, 52 traders were monitored as well as crew catering – which was metered to log the power use of individual appliances in order to provide data on the exact carbon footprint of an individual meal. The energy logging process has been rolled out onto other areas of the site to find out what energy a PA or lighting system uses. Energy Logging is now able to offer full real-time logging to build up a library of data showing not only what energy was consumed but when it was consumed, allowing further refining to be made to generator sizing, synchronisation and runtime.