STARTUPS SEIZE POWER OF CLEANTECH AGENDA
AI helps companies and consumers save on costs, Denise Deveau writes.
TORONTO Sometimes the secret to success lies in taking a “less is more” approach. That’s definitely the case in energy monitoring and management, where startups are finding ways to apply artificial intelligence to manage usage, reduce costs and minimize the need for additional generation capacity.
It all boils down to maximizing the power of data; the more data there is to be had and the more intelligence that is applied to it, the better the outcome.
Parity Inc. in Toronto has already been making significant inroads in tackling the multi-residential, multi-tenant market.
CEO Brad Pilgrim says when he spent some time working in the solar energy industry, “I noticed people tended to look on the production side. But I realized, if the need for energy is growing, who is looking at the other end? What are we doing to avoid this growth in energy demand rather than ramping up another industry to fuel it?”
Pilgrim and co-founder Brian McLeod established Parity in 2016. After six months of product development, they were ready to pilot their software-based offering that monitors mechanical equipment in buildings.
With Parity, artificial intelligence is introduced into a condo building ’s HVAC equipment. This central brain pulls data from the controls and sensors on the mechanical equipment, automatically setting controls and sending out commands to make adjustments. There are no upfront costs to customers; payment is realized through guaranteed energy cost savings.
In the first year, they secured 10 projects, generating $1.15 million in sales. The energy savings for developers and property managers has been consistently in the 25- to 40-plus per cent range. One flagship project, Kingsbridge Grand in Mississauga, Ont., realized a savings of $64,536 with a payback of 1.3 years. The project recently won the Alectra Energy Evolution Summit Inspiration Award.
Energy management solutions such as Parity are part of a thriving cleantech industry that is evolving in Canada, says Jon Dogterom, managing director of Cleantech Venture Services at MaRS.
“We are definitely punching above our weight in cleantech in a major way. In the Cleantech Group’s January 2018 ranking of the top 100 companies globally, 13 Canadian companies made that list. Based on our size and GDP, it should be less than one. When you look at the cleantech industry globally by country, Canada ranks fourth. Some Scandinavian countries are rated ahead, but not by much.”
There are two big drivers pushing the cleantech agenda, he says. First is the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “Going after electrical, heating and cooling is a big portion of that. The second driver is the continual rise of residential energy prices and the need to save costs for consumer.”
The advent of AI has been truly disruptive, Dogterom says. “We now have the ability to do things with data and AI that cleantech couldn’t really do before. Also, the ability to use software is not as capital intensive as investments in cleantech have been traditionally. It’s low cost and scalable, which is appealing to developers, builders and utilities.”
Ecotagious in Vancouver is another energy-saving innovator that has been growing. The company works primarily with utilities and energy retailers to deliver measurable saving results for residential consumers.
CEO Bruce Townson, who cofounded Ecotagious with Mike Walsh, says they started the company in 2010 with the idea of using data that was being generated by newly introduced smart meters.
Utilities and energy retailers pay for the service on a subscription basis. The solution disaggregates the data generated by smart meters based on the individual signatures of major appliances. With the findings, utilities can then advise residential customers on how they can better manage their energy usage.
Since AI has come into the mix, analysis is more granular than ever, Townson says. “AI helps us optimize the findings and identify more appliance loads more accurately.”
As technology evolves, they are integrating additional data streams, such as weather conditions and smart thermostats, to produce even more detailed findings.
This insight is crucial in an industry that is being mandated to meet energy savings targets and keep the average price of electricity down, he says. “If they can reduce existing demand, it minimizes their requirements to build new generation capacity.”
Today Ecotagious’ client list stretches across Canada and into California, Idaho, Connecticut, Australia and New Zealand. The momentum is continuing for the foreseeable future, Townson says. “We have been doubling every year for the past couple of years and plan to keep doing that for the next five.”
The best part, he says, is that it’s effortless for the consumer. “It’s incredibly compelling because people don’t want to think more about energy use. They want it taken care of for them.”
(Canada is) definitely punching above our weight in cleantech in a major way.