MONITOR, ANALYZE, CONTROL — The Software Side of Energy Efficiency

Many consider energy efficiency the easiest path to immediate gains in reducing carbon emissions and counteracting the ever-increasing cost of energy. As an example, Al Gore contends that turning American television sets fully off rather than using standby mode will eliminate the need for a 1,000-megawatt coal-fired generating plant.

Be it televisions or office lights, energy use can be dramatically curtailed just by improving the monitoring and control mechanisms through software-enabled solutions developed by today's entrepreneurs. Venture capitalists recognize the opportunity too, so investments in energy are up; energy efficiency leads the way with 39 funding rounds in first quarter 2010. We see the impact all around us here in California where policy makers and business leaders have understood the importance of energy efficiency for over thirty years, thus leading the nation in reducing energy use on a per capita basis during that period.

Now, a new wave of innovation emerges as increased incentives and market demand drive entrepreneurs to develop energy efficient solutions in which software plays a unique role. Many companies, both large and small, leverage the data-rich ecosystem where every point of energy use now can be monitored, analyzed and controlled. This access to data will change everything from building design to product development to consumer behavior.

Read more at: http://www.vlab.org/article.html?aid=345

Event Panel:

Moderator:
Eric Wesoff, Senior Analyst, Greentech Media

Presenter:
John Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, EcoFactor

Panelists:
Dharmesh Thakker, Vice President, Advanced Technology Ventures
Daniel Yates, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, OPOWER
David Hsieh, Vice President of Marketing, Emerging Technologies, Cisco

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• vlab
• venture lab
• mit
• stanford
• Dharmesh Thakker
• ecofactor
• Daniel Yates
• opower
• David Hsieh
• cisco
• Eric Wesoff
• Greentech Media
• John Steinberg
• technology