Company
Zen Ecosystems
Design for Commercial Energy Efficiency
Zen Ecosystem’s product platform allowed managers of retail operations, hospitality, and rental properties to monitor and reduce their energy costs across multiple buildings and geographic locations. The system worked with existing building energy management systems, utility demand response systems and incorporates weather forecasts, occupant comfort, utility prices, and green energy availability.
Energy Usage Screen
The Usage screen provides the total energy consumption within a geographic location. The usage graph displays the total daily energy consumption and days where consumption was above a user-defined amount for all buildings within the location. This allowed the regional manager to immediately identify high-usage days before drilling down into causes.
Energy Usage Screen with Expanded Breakdown by Property
A single click expands the regional energy usage into a breakdown of energy usage by building with above-limit properties clearly identified.
Demand Genius Screen
Demand Genius presented upcoming utility DR events, abnormal weather, and green energy availability while also allowing the creation of
Demand Genius Screen - DR Event Specification Screen
Allowed the manager to avoid increased energy costs by utilizing pre-heating rooms during off-peak hours to avoid high on-peak rates.
Demand Genius Screen - DR Event Results Screen
The results of the DR event are displayed to validate the HVAC performance, thermostat set points, and resulting energy usage and cost during the event.
Sustainability Screen
Allowed the direct selection of desired green energy and fossil fuels mix as well as YTD sustainability performance and comparison to goals.
Devices Screen
Provided real-time status of all Zen thermostats within the geographic location, along with device alerts and breakdowns.
Devices Screen - Device Details
Clicking on any device provided current device status, notes, setpoint, and last 10 days of performance history.
Notifications Screen
Provided all notifications from the platform including exceeded thresholds, upcoming DR events, and performance summaries.
Zen Ecosystems Product Summary
Zen’s product suite allowed commercial building managers to monitor and optimize HVAC energy use based on demand (heating and cooling needs) as well as energy supply (fossil fuels vs. renewable energy.) This allowed customers to view and manage their energy consumption based on when the energy grid was greenest thereby achieving their sustainability goals and commitments. By allowing regional and building specific heating and cooling rules, Zen’s customers avoided negative cost impacts and excess greenhouse gas emissions from suboptimal use of unoccupied building rooms and zones.