Telkonet Inc., a Wauwatosa-based energy management firm that also specializes in high-speed Internet access, has developed cutting-edge energy efficiency technology that not only controls the flow of power from outlets to devices but also monitors energy consumption.
The technology, comprised of the EcoSwitch and the EcoGuard, relies on occupancy sensor capabilities so that lights, devices and appliances do not consume unnecessary energy when a room is left empty.
“One of the largest advantages is to automate something that most of us know we should do but rarely do,” said Gerrit Reinders, executive vice president of global sales and marketing at Telkonet. “Most people know they should turn the lights off when they leave the room, but they rarely do.”
This is where the EcoSwitch comes in handy.
The EcoSwitch, which resembles a typical light switch, takes the place of a light switch and can stop electricity from flowing to lights when an individual leaves a room.
The EcoGuard, which resembles a standard wall outlet and replaces a wall outlet, deals with energy consumed by devices and appliances – anything from a desk lamp to a television. The EcoGuard is wired the same way as a typical outlet and can control and stop the flow of electrical current from an outlet to whatever device or appliance it is powering. Each individual plug in the outlet can be monitored and controlled independently of one another so that separate devices powered by the same outlet operate on their own.
The two devices collaborate with a room’s thermostat, what Reinders describes as the brains of the energy management system. Telkonet has two kinds of thermostats. The EcoInsight is hardwired to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit while the EcoWave is a wireless thermostat.
“When the room becomes unoccupied, we know that because there’s an occupancy sensor on the thermostat that detects both heat and motion,” Reinders said.
So when the thermostat senses that someone has left the room, it communicates that occupancy information to the EcoSwitch and EcoGuard, which function as end devices and prompt the halt of electricity. Communication occurs through a wireless communication protocol known as ZigBee.
“For us, occupancy is what it’s all about,” Reinders said. “And if you don’t detect occupancy accurately you cannot control the consumption of energy in the room accurately.”
The EcoSwitch and EcoGuard are also capable of measuring energy consumed.
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” Reinders said. “So one of the biggest advantages of the EcoGuard and the EcoSwitch is it allows you to measure. It allows you to understand how much energy you’re consuming, where and when.”
The EcoSwitch and EcoGuard record information about energy usage and savings from lights and devices in a room and send that data up through Telkonet’s EcoSmart network. The noted information, updated every 15 minutes in a cloud-based management platform called EcoCentral, includes voltage, amperage, kilowatt hours and cost among other metrics.
Each component of the energy management system – such as the EcoSwitch, EcoGuard, EcoInsight, EcoWave and EcoCentral among others – belongs to the EcoSmart Suite, Telkonet’s complete line of energy management products. The EcoSwitch and EcoGuard are the newest additions to the product line.
“The idea was to implement controls, light switches and outlets that would marry itself to the rest of the technology and enable you to control basically, comprehensively, the entire consumption of the room,” said Jason Tienor, chief executive officer of Telkonet.
The EcoSwitch and EcoGuard were released in June this year at HITEC, an annual conference targeted toward the hospitality marketplace. Both products are currently awaiting certification by the safety consulting company Underwriters Laboratories, which Telkonet projects will be complete by the end of the calendar year.
Telkonet is currently promoting this technology to clients in hospitality, education, the military, health care, retail, and apartment and condominium complexes. The technology can be particularly cost effective in hotels, where energy consumption can be controlled and monitored based on occupancy per individual room without compromising the guest experience.
“By keeping track of when energy is being consumed by these light switches and outlets, the property can be selective about what loads they can turn on and off based on the cost of energy they pay,” Reinders said.
