Energy monitoring guide
On-premises energy monitoring: your plant’s data stays in your plant.
Many energy monitoring platforms send every reading to a vendor’s cloud. On-premises monitoring keeps the meters, the records and the dashboard inside your factory. Here is what that changes, where the trade-offs are, and the questions to ask any vendor.
What on-premises means
In an on-premises system, everything that matters runs inside the plant: the meters on your panels, the gateway that reads them, the history it records, and the dashboard your team opens on any phone or laptop on the plant network. Your readings do not live in a vendor’s cloud account.
In a cloud system, the gateway forwards every reading over the Internet to the vendor’s servers. They store it and serve the dashboard back to you through a website.
Cloud and on-premises, side by side
Cloud is not wrong. It makes remote access and central updates simple. On-premises trades a little of that convenience for control over where your data lives and what depends on the Internet.
| Question | Cloud platform | On-premises |
|---|---|---|
| Where readings are stored | The vendor’s servers, outside the plant | On the gateway inside the plant, with a backup on a plant computer |
| When the Internet is down | The dashboard cannot be reached | Reading, recording and alerts carry on; the dashboard opens on the plant network |
| Access from outside | Built in, through the vendor’s website | Over an encrypted Zero Trust network, with no router ports opened |
| Detail kept over time | Set by the vendor; raw readings are often averaged down as they age | Kept on site; your backups keep full detail for as long as you choose |
| Who holds the data | The vendor, on your behalf | You |
What keeps working when the Internet goes down
- The gateway keeps reading every meter and recording the history.
- Alerts keep running, and the alert history is kept on the gateway, even when no browser is open.
- The dashboard opens on any phone or laptop on the plant network.
- Only access from outside the plant and remote software updates wait for the Internet to return.
A power cut is handled on site too. The battery-backed clock keeps time, logging restarts on its own when power returns, and any energy the meters counted meanwhile is filled in as estimated.
Remote access without opening your network
On-premises does not mean on-site only. Owners and managers can open the same dashboard on their phone from anywhere, over an encrypted Zero Trust network, directly or through a secure relay. No router ports are opened, the dashboard is never exposed to the public Internet, and only approved devices can connect.
Plants in different cities can appear in one dashboard over the same network, while each plant’s data stays in that plant.
Keeping the data safe
- Role-based logins. Admin, Operator and Viewer levels keep settings with the people responsible for them.
- Signed updates. The gateway installs only software updates signed for it.
- A backup you hold. An encrypted backup copy on a computer in your plant.
- Your data, exportable. Meter, billing and history data export to Excel and CSV for audits and finance reviews.
Questions to ask any energy monitoring vendor
- Where exactly are our readings stored, and who can see them?
- What keeps working if our Internet is down for a day?
- How long is full-detail data kept, and is it averaged down over time?
- Can we export all our history in a format we can open without your platform?
- How does remote access work? Are any ports opened on our router?
- How does the device check a software update before installing it?
How KONDUKTOR® EMS works
KONDUKTOR® EMS is on-premises by design. Gateways read the multifunction meters already on your panels, record the history on site and serve the dashboard on your plant network. Nothing is sent to KONDUKTOR or to any cloud server.
- Live readings, alerts, Maximum Demand and power factor tracking, bill estimates and savings, all from inside the plant.
- Years of history on site, with Excel and CSV export.
- Remote access for owners and managers, with no cloud server in between.
- No server PC to buy or maintain.
See why on-premises and which meters connect.
Common questions
Can we see the dashboard from outside the plant?+
Yes, on your phone or laptop, from anywhere. Access runs over an encrypted Zero Trust network, directly or through a secure relay, so no router ports are opened and the dashboard is never exposed to the public Internet. Only approved devices can connect, and the usual Admin, Operator and Viewer logins still apply.
Do we need a server PC?+
No. The gateways read the meters, record the history and serve the dashboard themselves, and any phone or laptop on the plant network opens it in a browser. A computer in the plant keeps the encrypted backup copy.
What happens during a power cut?+
Recorded data stays safe, and the battery-backed clock keeps time — logging restarts on its own when power returns. Any energy the meters counted meanwhile is filled in as estimated, so totals still match the meter.
Is on-premises monitoring less secure than the cloud?+
Not by nature. It takes the vendor’s cloud servers and online accounts out of the picture, so there are fewer outside systems to keep secure. What matters is how it is built: role-based logins, no ports opened to the Internet, signed updates and a backup you control.
See monitoring that stays inside your plant.
Book a live demo and see live readings, alerts and history served from the gateway, on meters like yours.