Youngstown-based
Visualized Energy is tracking energy usage to help customers reduce costs during peak usage by anticipating them in real time and signaling automated systems to cut back.
Dr. Marv Schwartz, founder of Visualized Energy, says he came up with the idea after talking with an acquaintance in the energy management business.
Schwartz says his acquaintance was in need of cost effective technology that could monitor energy usage. “Basically, what you have to think about is that companies manage all kinds of things,” explains Schwartz. “They manage people, they manage raw materials, finished goods, schedules for manufacturing and shipping, yet when they receive a utility bill, they just pay it.” Schwartz’s solution with Visualized Energy was to show companies what exactly they’re paying for.
“We tie into the revenue meters that we supply, and we monitor utility use over time,” he explains. “So instead of having one data point a month – your bill – we give you real time data on a 15-minute interval basis.”
Clients of Visualized Energy, typically large manufacturers, have access to the user-friendly systems by logging into its website. On the site, energy usage is broken up by month, highlighting average and peak usage. Users can click on a month to see a daily breakdown, and then click on a day to see usage broken up into 15-minute intervals. The detailed display allows companies to ensure their systems are automatically turning on and shutting down at programmed hours of operation. Schwartz estimates $160,000 in savings with previous companies they’ve caught wasting energy outside of hours of operation. “One in the Youngstown area cut their electric bill by 40 percent,” he notes.
Besides cutting costs, Visualized Energy’s technology has helped companies receive energy efficiency grants. Considering the longstanding and immediate impact Schwartz’s startup has had, it’s hard to imagine the venture is just one of his many roles in and around Youngstown.
“I’m also Chief Scientist at the
Case Connection Zone,” says Schwartz. “And I’m the Chief Science Officer at the
Youngstown Business Incubator, as a way of giving back.”
Source: Dr. Marv Schwartz
Writer: Joe Baur