HVAC professionals are indelibly
on the hunt for ways to
maximize value for their clients
and grow their own revenue
streams. A new opportunity
has emerged in recent years
with the advent of affordable
lightweight energy management
systems that can be
controlled on-site or remotely
– particularly those designed
specifically for previously underserved
small to medium
sized commercial facilities
like restaurants, convenience
stores, retail shops and bank
branch offices.
“Once the domain of such
large players such as Honeywell,
energy management systems
were cost effective only
for the largest of buildings and
came with high price tags and
multi-year payback periods,”
notes Gus Ezcurra, CEO of
Advanced Telemetry – developer
of the industry-leading
EcoView Energy Management
System. “Today’s energy management
and control systems
from specialized vendors designed
for small and mid size
commercial buildings are cost
effective to deploy, have low
starting price points and nominal
monthly fees, and provide
rapid return-on-investment in
just 6 to 12 months.”
HVAC companies interested
in distributing an energy management
system to its small
and medium-sized commercial
clientele should review Gus’ top 5
considerations when making
product evaluations, as follows:
1. Ensure the solution
specifically focuses on the
HVAC system.
Too many products on the
market today are unnecessarily
complex, which adds tremendous
cost while providing little
in the way of reduced utility bills
for customers. Other products
are too simple to achieve the
desired goal. To maximize
your customer’s energy savings,
minimize related costs
and provide a fast payback,
seek a product that specifically
focuses on the HVAC system
- the largest discretionary load
in small and medium commercial
buildings.
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By focusing on
the HVAC, as a trade professional
you not only play to your
strengths, but also provide your
customer base with the greatest
value and ability to lower
their energy bills. Additional
sensors to monitor and control
other sources of energy use –
such as lighting, security, and
office equipment - can always be
integrated into today’s flexible,
scalable products and offered
to those clients who desire it.
2. Seek a product that offers
both on-site and remote
measurement and control
During the work day, business
owners have time for one
thing – running their company.
Most owners do not have the
interest or capacity to manage
their energy consumption on a
daily basis, let alone an hourly
basis. So, not only should an
energy management system
be controllable on-site, but also
remotely by either assigned
company personnel or – even
better - the manufacturer’s
operations center professionals.
By connecting to the installed
system via the Internet,
manufacturers offering remote
capabilities, and dedicated
administration thereof, can
monitor your customer’s real
time energy consumption and
ensure that temperatures do
not go beyond the business
pre-set parameters. Such
continuous monitoring also
enables the immediate flagging
of consumption swings
and other anomalies, which
can indicate larger mechanical
malfunctions early on for which
your HVAC services would be
required. Ultimately, remote
monitoring better assures your
customers that the installed
product is being used to the
best of its capabilities and is
facilitating the expected energy
and cost savings.
3. Opt for a quick-install
system with low initial fees
and ROI in less than 12
months
Distributors of energy
management systems face the
reality of a struggling economy
and the sad fact that small
and medium-sized business
owners have been burned
by previous generations of
energy management systems
that were wildly expensive and
provided few of the promised
savings benefits. Such
businesses are understandably
reticent to outlay substantial
upfront capital with nothing
more than a promise of savings
and a long payback period.
However, the best commercial
energy management systems
on the market today can be
delivered and installed for
$2,000 or even less and with a
monthly service contract below
$50. When one considers a
monthly business utility bill of
$3,000, even a 15% monthly
energy savings would provide
a return-on-investment in
well under 6 months.
Some
companies also offer flexible
payment terms, such as a
higher monthly fee and lower
upfront payments – particularly
for multiple unit operators.
It’s also important to ensure
the system can be installed
rapidly by your company to
further mitigate your customers’
up front fees. A fast deployment
and the resultant low
installation fee can be crucial
in the customers’ decision on
whether or not to install a system
at all.
4. Obtain a product with a
robust yet user-friendly core
feature set
While small and medium
commercial operators may
not have the time to manage
their energy consumption,
they certainly want the option
to do so and have a
multitude of useful and relevant
functions that will help
them achieve their goals.
In
addition to graphical viewing
of real-time and historical
resource consumption, today’s
best-of-breed energy
control products provide
a robust feature set that,
among other capabilities, allows
users to establish thermostat
heating and cooling
limits and set points for different
times of the day, and
offer an automated “peak
shaving” option designed to
reduce consumption during
peak demand periods. Such
advanced systems can also
readily block unauthorized
access and changes to the
settings, and allow enabled
users to view and alter the
settings and presentation
information via the Web,
smart phones, or the on-site
display.
Your customers will vary
as to their technological
sophistication and interest.
Most will have some
background in controls,
even if only with a digital
thermostat. While your
customers may not use all
of the features available in
today’s products, they will
take heart knowing they are
available and at their disposal.
A strong feature set
adds value, and will serve
as a critical ancillary sales
point toward a prospective
customer’s desire to lower
utility bills and the company’s
overall carbon footprint
via reduced energy and
resource consumption.
5. Ensure the solution
is proven with an established
track record of
success
Many new energy management
systems for small
and medium sized commercial
buildings have emerged.
However, few of these
products have marketplace
traction. When evaluating a
product, it is imperative that
the manufacturer can point
to a critical mass of real world,
not trial, installations
in the field, and will allow you
to speak with not only satisfied
end user clients, but
also satisfied distributors.
When evaluating competing
products, be sure to ask
legacy distributors not only
about the quality and user friendliness
of the product,
but also its availability, ease
of installation, the hard cost
savings realized (and how
quickly), and the level of
support they receive from
the manufacturer.
With these 5 tips, you
can confidently add a high
margin energy management
system with a recurring
revenue stream to your
offerings that will provide
enormous value to your
small and medium commercial
customer base…and
boost your own company’s
bottom line.
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