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August 19, 2016Trashy News
November 3, 2016
Few would argue that increasing energy efficiency in Hilliard’s public spaces isn’t a worthy goal. But how do we improve our energy stewardship in substantial and quantifiable ways?
JadeTrack, a Columbus-based provider of technology-enabled energy and sustainability solutions, has built its business by strategically addressing this question with clients and they plan to do the same with their newest client, the City of Hilliard.
JadeTrack’s initial goal with each client is to give them a clear and comprehensive baseline for energy consumption. Currently, JadeTrack is tracking energy consumption in several Hilliard facilities, including the Municipal Building, the Community & Senior Centers, and the Aquatic Family Center. With tracking technology in place, JadeTrack’s reporting software is able to tell the story of how energy is consumed in each building it assesses, from the first lights flipped on in the morning to the last blast of A/C in a summer’s evening.
The peaks, valleys and plateaus of the charts JadeTrack produces can often reveal significant opportunities for clients to reduce consumption. Ryan Prestel, co-founder and CEO of the company, describes one client whose commercial dishwasher was burning through 4500 watts per day because a relay was stuck in its circuitry, leaving the enormous appliance constantly cycling on and off all day long. In another case, a peak of electricity consumption shown in JadeTrack’s reports turned out to be an air conditioning unit turning on daily… in February (Not a Hilliard building, thankfully!). The unnecessary cooling was due to a faulty sequence in appliance’s programming.
While their truly innovative tracking and reporting technology is instrumental in the initial assessment phase, JadeTrack’s employees also make good use of their eyes and ears: they always complement their technological investigations with a thorough site check. Prestel mentioned one observation that came out of his site check of Hilliard’s Community Center was a large light bulb being controlled by a breaker rather than by a switch, which would allow for more nimble, on-demand usage.
Tracking is a starting point for JadeTrack and Hillard. The process of responding to the initial energy consumption reports began on August 22, when Prestel and JadeTrack presented to the City Council. Two of the first recommendations made were to swap out older lightbulbs with LED replacements and to increase automation of HVAC and lighting functioning to limit unnecessary expenditures of energy. The partnership between the City of Hilliard and JadeTrack is about channeling enthusiasm for energy efficiency into strategic action and the most recent city council meeting was an exciting, tangible step.
Stay tuned with Go Green Hilliard as we follow the progress made by the City of Hilliard to increase energy efficiency in its public spaces!
