Echelon Technology Supports Enterprise Energy Management Solutions

Echelon Corp. has announced broad support for Enterprise Energy Management solutions (EEM) based on Echelon's technology.

In a release, the Company noted that EEM encompasses multi-site energy management solutions that deliver cost savings and operational improvements to quick-service restaurants (QSR), schools, banks, retail and convenience stores, data centers and other locations. Based on Echelon's LonWorks control networking technology, and featuring the new i.LON SmartServer 2.0, EEM solutions are being used by companies worldwide, including Philips Lighting, EnerNOC, Invensys, SMA Solar Technology, Osaki Computer Engineering, and others, to significantly reduce energy use and operational costs.

Echelon said that its i.LON SmartServer 2.0 is an integral component of EEM solutions that enable businesses to improve operational efficiency and reduce energy costs by combining remote energy monitoring and management with local control. It acts as a smart energy manager that connects systems locally or remotely to enterprise software applications, energy service providers, and the smart grid over any IP connection using its industry standard Web services interface.

The SmartServer can be the first step in deploying a long-term EEM strategy across distributed facilities, connecting with legacy equipment or seamlessly integrating with a smart, LonWorks based control network.

Energy management solutions based on Echelon's LonWorks technology are used by companies worldwide in a broad range of markets and applications, including:

Data centers

"We apply LonWorks technology to data centers that we build, operate and maintain. LonWorks technology, and specifically the i.LON SmartServer, is at the foundation of our 'green IT' and energy conservation strategy," said Kenzo Takeda, deputy president and representative director, Osaki Computer Engineering. "With LonWorks technology, we see energy savings of up to 50 percent in data centers, and the cost of the system is recouped within 2-3 years, on average. Moreover, the equipment life is extended by approximately 40 percent thanks to the effective and efficient control of the cooling system."

Demand response

"The enhancements in the new SmartServer enable us to cost-effectively connect with customer equipment reliably and securely and allows us to develop and deploy localized smart grid software applications," said Terry Sick, vice president, product development and engineering, EnerNOC. "EnerNOC has more than 3,250 megawatts of demand response capacity under management, and the SmartServer is a key part of our solution that allows us to continue to scale our network quickly and dispatch load in real time to respond to changing conditions on the grid."

Remotely monitored streetlights

"Philips highlights the very significant energy savings and CO2 reductions to be gained from a new generation of innovative lighting technology. These technologies address some of the fundamental issues we face today--such as energy consumption, global climate change, and the need to improve European competitiveness. Today, energy efficient lighting is required in all sectors, including city streetlights, and our Starsense system meets this need," said Gil Soto Tolosa, global product marketing manager for road lighting at Philips Lighting. "We built our Starsense system on Echelon's platform because Echelon has a proven history of providing innovative, reliable products that let us build market-leading functionality into our systems. Working with Echelon, we believe we have created a future-proof solution that offers a significant improvement in functionality that also costs less to install and maintain."

Echelon Corp. is a company engaged in the transformation of the electricity grid into a smart, communicating energy network, connecting utilities to their customers, enabling networking of everyday devices, and providing customers with energy aware homes and businesses that react to conditions on the grid.

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