The Great Lakes Energy Institute (GLEI) at Case Western Reserve University has entered into a one-year agreement with Johnson Controls to develop and begin marketing their ‘Energy Diagnostics Investigator for Efficiency Savings’ (EDIFES) – software which uses smart-meter electricity data sets to conduct a virtual energy audit of a commercial or retail building at about a tenth of the cost of on-site audits.
“A great deal of attention is paid to supporting renewable energy, but energy efficiency is commonly the cheapest way to reduce electricity usage and carbon emissions,” said Alexis Abramson, co-director of the GLEI. “Our joint partnership will enable further development of a data analytics tool that will make energy efficiency as easy to do as it is not to do!”
Standard energy audits involve going to a building, performing leak tests, infrared imaging, blower door tests, and other procedures. This can be expensive and time-consuming, and can disrupt normal business operations.
“We are able to conduct a virtual audit without ever setting foot on site,” said Chris Littman, commercialization and operations director at the GLEI. “We take smart-meter data, conduct our analysis and provide a report with detailed recommendations for the customer to make conservation measures–and perpetually save money.”
Case Western Reserve’s Technology Transfer Office negotiated the current agreement, which is an extension of a two-year partnership, and will work with GLEI to structure commercial deployment. Johnson Controls will pay the GLEI for the right to license the tool for a year and the company will work toward developing and marketing a dashboard for consumers to track their energy usage and savings.
