ECHO: Managing demand and energy costs by offering timely solutions and bottom-line benefits

Expanding upon its portfolio of energy conservation and efficiency services, ECHO, the sustainability management enterprise of Energy New England, LLC, has unveiled two distinct offerings that offer timely solutions and bottom-line benefits. The first of these dynamic offerings is ECHO Analytics, a propriety energy dashboard that provides users with real-time insights into their facility demand and electrical usage. The dashboard, which is web-based, is easy to navigate and it offers many compelling features, including: real-time estimated cost summaries for both kW and kWh by billing period; demand thresholds; demand alerts to help mitigate demand cost; the ability to compare and contrast multiple sites; the ability to isolate energy spikes and anomalies; dispatch stack profiles; the ability to export monthly peak and interval peak into various formats to review and syndicate. All of this with no impact on the customer's IT infrastructure and no meter change outs, either. ECHO Analytics provides customers with real-time visibility and the insight required to mitigate onerous demand charges. Many customers aren't aware that demand charges often comprise a significant percentage of their monthly bill. And, they also don't realize that steps can be taken to reduce their peak and thereby capture quantifiable savings. No-cost and low-cost steps to reduce the impact of demand charges include staggering start-up schedules; sequencing equipment; load-shifting; load curtailment and similar demand reduction strategies. And, if a demand ratchet is applied by the utility, then the need to proactively monitor and manage a facility's demand is paramount since the customer could be paying for that demand peak for up to year. This testimonial says it best, "Thanks to ECHO Analytics, we have been able to reduce our peak demand by 6% (approximately 90 kW) during the summer period. That results in energy savings to us of several thousand dollars, as we have a seasonal demand ratchet... ECHO Analytics has helped us to better understand our electrical usage and demand, and we have been able to take corrective actions to permanently reduce our costs. We have become smarter users of energy and we have changed our behaviors as a consequence of this valuable service." - Dave Williams, manager, Holo Krome Industries,Wallingford, Conn. In addition to their energy dashboard, ECHO has also unveiled their Sustainable Schools Program (SSP). This turnkey program is designed to help school communities (primary, secondary and college) become more aware of energy matters, baseline energy data, the importance of conservation and, most important, the impact of behavior modification on energy and water consumption, as well as carbon reduction. Indeed, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that an active energy conservation program can reduce a facility's annual energy consumption by as much as 30%. Behavior is often the most critical factor in any energy management plan. Accordingly, the focus of SSP is to educate, empower and equip students and staff as a way to maximize energy conservation and to promote environmental stewardship. The program works with the school district to create a sustainable student group and further seeks to promote sound environmental practices through the adoption of an effective energy policy, including benchmarking; energy audits; conservation campaigns; and more. Moreover, the SSP recognizes the constraints, including financial, that many school systems face. The good news is that SSP is not capital intensive, and services can be unbundled, too. In fact, ECHO staff has successfully implemented like-minded programs in over 1,000 schools in the U.S. To learn more about ECHO and Energy New England, LLC, visit www.echo4us.com.