Strategic Markets

Multifamily / Apartments: The Common MiddleWare Interface is not limited to the utility industry. ECN has developed innovative solutions for the multi-family (apartment and condominium) marketplace. These solutions not only include typical sub-metering and billing services, but also an advanced Vacant Unit Energy Management solution.

When an apartment unit becomes vacant, the property manager / owner can assign a “Vacant” status to the apartment through a web application. This procedure can also be automated with an interface to the owner’s property management software. A “Vacant Profile” allows our Energy Management System (EMS) to automatically raise the radio-frequency based thermostat in the summer and lower it in the winter; turn the electric water heater off, cycle the refrigerator on and off throughout the day, and even turn specific lights on / off or dim them as desired...all through a user-defined schedule.

In addition, the property manager has the ability to individually control or implement schedules for each apartment unit. The schedules may also be temporarily overridden to allow for maintenance or cleaning. It is estimated that EMS can save the owner up to $150 per apartment unit per year in vacant unit energy costs.

Utilities

Whether a utility is a small Electric Cooperative, a Municipal Utility, or a large IOU, all organizations have difficulty exchanging data between different departmental systems and databases. To compound the situation, many software / data applications are proprietary, written in old legacy-based computer system without the intention of communicating with other packages and certainly not the internet based technologies of today. ECN’s MiddleWare not only solves these data exchange problems but enhances the interoperability of the various systems with each other. In a great many cases this is performed by a single “click” of the mouse, replacing dozens of manual screen operations. For example, ECN’s Disconnection function can load/process 10,000 Disconnect commands in 1 minute & 40 seconds with a single server. With ten servers, this task can be reduced to 10 seconds although we have not discovered an AMI system capable of responding with a similar speed.

Pre-Pay Electric

Because of the current economic conditions and the rapid increase in energy prices throughout the US, Pre-Pay Electric service is becoming increasingly more popular. However, the Pre-Pay metering process has become significantly more sophisticated than the old “recharge card” meters used in Europe for decades. ECN’s approach not only includes Advanced Electronic Meters but also utilizes .NET web services and an elaborate back office applications with numerous real-time processes and over twenty (20) meter interface functions. There truly is no other system available in the market today. The procedure is so advanced in fact that ECN is in the process of seeking a patent for the approach.