Advanced Telemetry has taken an undisclosed amount of second-round funding from existing investors Quercus Trust and 21Ventures to continue developing its energy consumption management platform for residential and commercial use.
The San Diego company's lead product is a wireless panel called the EcoView that classifies energy consumption in a building as low, moderate or high. Some of the money raised in the recent round will be used to beef up its sales, with the rest going toward manufacturing low-cost components for its dashboards (instead of contracting another company to make them).
Much like Trilliant, EnergyHub, AlertMe, and the rest of the sensor-based energy monitoring systems with consumer-friendly interfaces, Advanced Telemetry says its product will help people conserve energy, water and other resources by helping them keep tabs on exactly how much they are using. The company even claims its technology can lower customers' utility bills by up to 25 percent.
Also, like many of its competitors, it gives its customers the ability to adjust their energy use remotely and in real time. Its wireless touch panel connects to the internet and draws in information from various appliances. Its EcoView Commercial product has some additional features, including a web-based interface allowing for remote thermostat control, automated load-shedding during peak use periods and actual account specialists responsible for monitoring clients' energy consumption, in addition to email alerts. The company already counts Burger King, Taco Bell and Arby's among its EcoView Commercial users.
This dashboard costs $499 for residential use and $750 on top of a $40 monthly fee for commercial applications. Uniquely, it works separately from utilities and smart meters. Advanced Telemetry says it made the decision to go independent because it didn't want its success to be dependent on how fast utilities can roll out smart grid technology.
Even though it differs in this respect, the company is still caught smack in the middle of a glut of energy-management products -- a situation that is likely to worsen when the smart grid stimulus money takes root. It wouldn't be surprising if a wave of consolidation defines the space in the upcoming year -- though that also depends highly on how fast utilities can adapt and roll out the new metering technology.