Less is more
A sustainable energy policy depends on two pillars.
- Renewable energy – increasing the supply of clean energy
- Energy efficiency – reducing demand by wasting less energy
The world needs both strategies, and the two pillars will coexist and reinforce each other. Our focus is efficiency through cloud-based energy analytics & energy intelligence software, which are rapidly becoming accepted as effective tools to manage energy and reduce costs. Several factors together create a compelling economic case to invest in improving energy efficiency throughout the economy:
- Costs of energy, long term, continue to rise rapidly as global demand from an more industrialized world outstrips supply.
- Costs of hardware (including sensors and other smart devices to manage energy) and network services (including wireless) continue to decline (Moore’s, Metcalfe’s & Gilder’s laws).
- Global standards for security, communication and information management processes have matured (Internet protocols, web services).
- Cloud computing and web-based software as a service (with information from web servers cached temporarily using computers, smart phones, sensors, etc.) enable rapid business model innovation with minimal up-front investment in hardware or software.
- A new generation of consumers, businesses, government leaders and NGO’s / nonprofits (the citizen sector) become increasingly comfortable with automation and technologies to address their energy management challenges.
- System integration firms have become more scientific and adept at managing systemic change, combining behavioral science with educational programs and simple (often low-tech) nudges, checklists, on-boarding procedures and incentives to encourage adoption of new systems.
- Business, government and the citizen sector alike recognize that installing innovative, tech-based / data-driven energy management systems can create large numbers of jobs and a more sustainable planet.
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