Energy Management Dashboard

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Introduction

Organizations can now optimize power consumption, reduce operating costs, and support global sustainability initiatives by leveraging the insights provided on the Energy Management Dashboard. The dashboard provides visibility into energy usage trends and sustainability metrics, empowering organizations to make informed, data-driven decisions.

At the core of the Energy Management Dashboard are the energy metrics, which use data from two sources: Electricity Maps and the International Energy Agency (IEA). Electricity Maps offers real-time and historical insights into carbon intensity (kg CO2/kWh), energy mix, and renewable energy percentages. The IEA complements this with historical data on carbon emissions and electricity rates (e.g., USD/kWh), filling gaps where real-time data is unavailable. Initial estimates from power plants and energy providers are refined over time for greater accuracy.

In addition to external data sources, the dashboard also collects power consumption data from connected devices. This data is derived based on factors such as device type, firmware, and other variables.

The data collected aims to provide an accurate representation of the system's overall power consumption and takes into account both the device's energy use and any potential additional power losses.

Note: The Energy Management Dashboard is currently focused on PoE-enabled Meraki switches (MS series). Future updates will expand support to include additional Meraki and Catalyst devices.

The following are some of the key benefits of using the Energy Management dashboard:

Energy Insights: Get insight of how much energy your network consumes, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), broken down by switches, networks, and time periods.
Environmental Impact: Measure and track the carbon footprint of your organization in kilograms of CO2 equivalent (kg CO2e).
Cost Optimization: Estimate energy costs in your local currency (e.g., USD, EUR) and identify opportunities to reduce expenses.
Sustainability Goals: Align your organization with corporate and regulatory sustainability objectives to drive effective action.

Before You Begin

Enabling Energy Management (Early Access Program)

Enabling this feature will grant your organization access to the Energy Management dashboard and its early access capabilities.

Log in to your Meraki dashboard using your Meraki account credentials.
In the left-hand navigation menu, go to Organization menu.
Select Early Access from the menu.
Browse the list of available early access features.
Scroll down to find Sustainability Early Access.
Toggle the opt-in setting next to Sustainability Early Access to enable this feature for your entire organization.

Accessing Energy Management Dashboard

You must first enable the Energy Management feature through the Early Access program, as outlined in the Before You Begin section.

From the Organization menu, select Energy Management.
Select a network. From the Network Picker, choose a specific network or select All Networks to view aggregated energy usage, energy cost, and emissions data across all networks within your organization. When a single network is selected, metrics are filtered to show data only for that network.
Select a month. From the Month Selector, choose a month for which the data must be displayed. By default, the dashboard shows data for the previous month. Currently, you can only select data for one month at a time.

4. View the usage data in the widgets. The dashboard consists of three main widgets:

Summary: Provides an overview of energy consumption, cost, and carbon emissions for the selected network(s). If "All Networks" is selected, the summary displays aggregated data for all networks within the organization. The arrow in the summary indicates a change in metrics compared to the previous period.
- A red arrow pointing upward indicates an increase in cost, energy use, or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- A green arrow pointing downward indicates a decrease, suggesting improved efficiency or a reduced environmental impact.

These visual indicators help users assess trends and take corrective actions to optimize energy use, reduce costs, or minimize environmental impact.

Energy Consumption: Displays top energy usage trends with options to view trends by device categories, networks, devices, sensors, access points, cameras, switches, security appliances, or cellular gateways.

Depending on your selection in the Top energy usage dropdown, you can view metrics for the top five items (e.g., top five networks or switches), and select "View All" to access a paginated list of all available items in the chosen category.

The image below shows a paginated list of items. The paginated page includes a search bar that enables you to quickly filter and find specific devices, networks, or other items.

Total energy usage and cost trends: The Total Energy Usage & Cost Trends section provides a clear overview of your organization's energy consumption and related expenses for the month selected using the Month selector. Energy usage is displayed in kilowatt-hours (kWh), enabling you to monitor and compare energy consumption across selected networks or devices. The Cost tab displays the corresponding energy expenses, helping you analyze spending patterns and identify opportunities for cost optimization.

Total emissions trends: The Total Emissions Trends section displays the trend of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over time, measured in kilograms of carbon dioxide (kg CO₂). This metric reflects the total amount of CO₂ equivalent emissions generated by energy consumption across your selected network. Tracking GHG emissions helps monitor environmental impact and supports sustainability initiatives by providing insights into how energy usage contributes to overall carbon footprint.