Challenge names top 3 innovations for utilities

A “hands-off” heating and cooling strategy, an improved method for electronic power conversion and a system that “fingerprints” energy on the power grid have all been named the most promising clean-technology solutions focused on utilities.

EcoFactor, Ideal Power Converters and Power Tagging were chosen as the top three technologies from a field of 15 semifinalists in the Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries (CTSI) Utility Technology Challenge.

The winners were selected by a program committee that included Austin Energy, National Grid, Northeast Utilities and Lockheed Martin.

“The semifinalists this year were of exceptional quality, and our top three winners are outstanding,” said Patricia Glaza, CEO and program facilitator of CTSI. “They have solutions that meet immediate needs of our program committee and they are ready to demonstrate their technologies. We hope to see strong collaborations form as a result of this program.”

EcoFactor is a software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based residential energy management solution that works with any two-way communicating thermostat and broadband internet connection to develop a dynamic, hands-off residential heating and cooling strategy.

Ideal Power Converters provides a way to use commodity materials and components that can reduce the size and weight of products like photovoltaic inverters by more than 90 percent.

Power Tagging uses metadata to tag or fingerprint energy on the power grid for better utility intelligence, working as far upstream as the point of generation and as far downstream as the point of consumption.

The Utility Technology Challenge is an annual program that looks for solutions focused on areas determined by a committee of utilities and technology integrators.