Commercial buildings in the United States waste approximately one third of the energy they consume and squander about $36 billion annually. According to the U.S. Green Business Council, buildings also emit approximately 39 percent of carbon dioxide in the United States. Powerzoa Inc. aims at measuring, managing, controlling, and reducing the energy consumption of commercial buildings by providing businesses a centralized and lightweight energy management system.
Powerzoa’s technology integrates three pieces to create its system: (1) Zoa hardware, (2) a software subscription service, and (3) a web application. The hardware, termed the ZoaCube, is installed between the device and/or appliance(s) and the source of electricity. The ZoaCube monitors the energy usage of every device to which it is connected; it then uses the information it has gathered to regulate energy input into the various devices.
The ZoaCube also communicates with a self-healing ZigBee mesh network, making communication of energy saving data possible. The data passing to and from the ZigBee mesh network is managed by a device called the ZoaBridge, which is a small powered network appliance that acts as a gatekeeper between the remote server and the ZoaCube. The software subscription includes programmable controls and suggests tailored recommendations for more efficient behavior and upgrades based on customer patterns. The web application allows managers to fully control energy use, set permissions and receive reports.
This intelligent data management system is capable of aggregating data and making specific recommendations for energy saving within industries, which is one of its biggest advantages. The other advantages of the system include, but are not limited to:
- immediate energy savings of up to 46%;
- an integrated granular energy management system; and
- non-intrusive efficiency investment with a low capital cost.
