Direct Energy Business Signs Partnership Agreement with BuildingIQ

Direct Energy Business signed a partnership agreement with BuildingIQ to offer a cloud-based software solution to Direct Energy Business customers to reduce heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) energy costs, and to improve the carbon footprint in commercial buildings.

The software uses advanced algorithms to learn a building's patterns and to develop a model to improve the building's HVAC energy performance.

The software works with a building's management system (BMS) to automatically fine tune temperature and pressure set points. The solution is deployed as a web-based SaaS product, a common delivery model for many business applications, and continuously obtains data on the local weather forecast, the occupancy for the building, energy prices, tariffs, and demand response signals. Based on these inputs, it runs thousands of simulations to arrive at the most efficient HVAC operating strategy for the next 24 hours, Direct Energy said.

"This solutions offering will give our larger customers the insights they need to take more control of their energy usage," said Todd Sandford, head of solutions, Direct Energy Business. "There is little to no upfront capital cost or expense, and the product can reduce HVAC energy expenses, resulting in a positive ROI in just a few months. This is another tool our customers can use for total energy management."

The software delivers automated control, not just reports and graphs, and provides a portal for a single operator to view and manage a portfolio of buildings. Additionally, there are sustainability benefits including several additional points for LEED, and up to five additional points for ENERGY STAR, Direct Energy said.