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Optimum Energy® Q2 Announcements – New Sales Leadership and Hydraulic Model Offering

Optimum Energy® Q2 Announcements – New Sales Leadership and Hydraulic Model Offering

Published
16 May 2023

Seattle, WA – May 16, 2023 – Optimum Energy®, a global leader in HVAC optimization solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony MacDonald as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In his new role, MacDonald will oversee the company’s sales and marketing strategy, team development, and revenue growth, leveraging his extensive experience in the energy and facilities sectors. Anthony officially joined OE on April 17th, 2023.

Bringing over two decades of expertise to Optimum Energy®, MacDonald most recently served as Vice President of Enterprise Sales at GridPoint®. Prior to that, he held prominent energy and sales leadership positions at EnerNOC (now Enel) and Target. His proven track record in building efficiency solutions and leading high-performing sales teams positions him as a valuable addition to the Optimum Energy team.

“Optimum Energy is fortunate to attract talented individuals like Anthony,” stated CEO Larry Stapelton. “His experience in building efficiency solutions leading high-performing sales teams will help OE expand our global footprint.”

MacDonald earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Bethel University and holds certification as an Energy Manager in the Association of Energy Engineers.

Furthermore, Optimum Energy is proud to introduce their new Hydraulic Model offering, which enables a software-based approach to fluid system modeling and calculation. This innovative service provides clients with in-depth analysis of system capabilities, limitations, power cost assessments, and lifecycle system analysis. Overseeing this service is Dan Schaible, appointed as Director of Hydraulic Modeling. Schaible brings over 23 years of mechanical engineering and design experience in various sectors, including pharmaceutical, mission critical, institutional, and commercial markets, with a specialization in central utility plants over the past 15 years.

“We are excited to announce Optimum Energy’s newest capabilities using PIPE-FLO,” said CTO and Founder, Ben Erpelding. “Combined with our engineering expertise, Optimum can now provide customers with a digital twin of their distribution piping. By creating a digital representation of your chilled water, hot water, condenser water, or steam distribution system, OE can establish hydraulic limitations, improve optimization and decision-making, and provide root-cause analysis of problem areas. This is a natural extension of our engineering capabilities, our quest for the highest customer reliability and resiliency, and our suite of optimization products for chilled water, steam, hot water, and net zero operation: OptimumLOOP and OptimumHEAT.”

 

About Optimum Energy®

Since 2005, Optimum Energy’s patented software and engineering expertise has helped customers reduce energy use in heating and cooling systems, the largest consumer of energy in buildings, by up to 50%. Our solutions combine technologically advanced HVAC optimization software with powerful cloud-based data analytics and world-class engineering support. It’s a proven, measurable approach that verifiably reduces energy and water usage, while also resulting in significantly improved operations. From dramatic energy reductions to improved business continuity, from better asset management capabilities to powerful tools and engineering support that augment your existing facilities staff capabilities, Optimum Energy has the complete solution for maximizing your HVAC system’s operational efficiency.

Optimum Energy Awarded EcoVadis Bronze Medal for 2023 Sustainability

Optimum Energy Awarded EcoVadis Bronze Medal for 2023 Sustainability

Published
01 May 2023

Optimum Energy’s Sustainability Efforts Recognized

SEATTLE, 5/1/2023– Optimum Energy, a leading provider of energy optimization solutions, has been awarded a Bronze Medal by EcoVadis for its sustainability performance. EcoVadis is a global platform that provides sustainability ratings and assessments for companies, enabling them to manage their sustainability risks and improve their overall sustainability performance.

EcoVadis assessed Optimum Energy’s sustainability performance in four key areas: environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. Based on the assessment, Optimum Energy was awarded a Bronze Medal, which places the company in the top 50% of all companies assessed this year. This recognition not only confirms that Optimum Energy is taking significant steps towards achieving its sustainability goals, but also highlights the company’s willingness to improve its environmental and social impact continually.

About Optimum Energy
Since 2005, Optimum Energy’s patented software and engineering expertise has helped customers reduce energy use in heating and cooling systems, the largest consumer of energy in buildings, by up to 50%. Our solutions combine technologically advanced HVAC optimization software with powerful cloud-based data analytics and world-class engineering support. It’s a proven, measurable approach that verifiably reduces energy and water usage, while also resulting in significantly improved operations. From dramatic energy reductions to improved business continuity, from better asset management capabilities to powerful tools and engineering support that augment your existing facilities staff capabilities, Optimum Energy has the complete solution for maximizing your HVAC system’s operational efficiency.

Join Us at IDEA Campus Energy 2023 in Grapevine, TX

Join Us at IDEA Campus Energy 2023 in Grapevine, TX

Published
23 February 2023

Optimum Energy is excited to be live in person next week at the upcoming 2023 IDEA Campus Energy Conference in Grapevine, TX on February 28 to March 2, 2022. If you are attending the conference in person, will have the honor of co-presenting with the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Galveston.

Ben Erpelding (Optimum Energy) and Colin Hartwell (UT Medical Branch Galveston) will tell the story of how our partnership improved efficiency and enhanced reliability at UTMB.

So, join us on

Wednesday, March 1, at 8:30 AM EST.

Session: 4E: System Optimization

Title: Increasing Reliability And Resiliency Through Chilled Water Plant Optimization Presenters: Ben Erpelding (Optimum Energy) and Colin Hartwell (UT Medical Branch Galveston)

While you’re at the conference, please come by our booth (#135) to discuss how Optimum Energy optimizes HVAC systems to deliver energy savings of up to 50%, reduce carbon output, and reduce water consumption, while improving an organization’s business continuity and overall operational efficiency. You can either drop by during the dedicated “Exhibit Hall” time or set up an appointment to speak with us at another time of your choosing.

TECO: A deep dive into optimization data yields unexpected savings

TECO: A deep dive into optimization data yields unexpected savings

Published
16 May 2022
Photo courtesy of Thermal Energy Corporation (TECO)

 

Layered efficiencies drive down costs while maintaining reliability

This article originally appeared in Districted Energy Magazine

Michael P. Manoucheri, P.E. is TECO’s president and CEO; and Ben Erpelding, PE, Chief Technology Officer, Optimum Energy

A three-phase initiative to explore and implement cost savings across the largest district cooling system in North America has paid off handsomely and quickly bringing significant system improvements even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Efficiency gains have been seen in condenser management, chiller operations, and thermal energy storage.

The project’s genesis can be traced to IDEA’s annual conference in June 2019, when representatives from Thermal Energy Corporation (TECO) and Optimum Energy struck up a conversation about the pitfalls of drawing electricity from the grid in the sweltering heat of a Texas summer.

The TECO team wondered if the company could decrease electrical consumption from its main site before June 2020, the start of the next peak demand season. Customer chilled water demand was growing rapidly enough to soon exceed on-site generation resources.

TECO needed a solution that would maintain reliability, keep costs down and conserve resources. That initial conversation, in 2019, turned into a multiphase, plant-wide optimization journey that now saves TECO $550,000 and 16.1 million kWh of energy annually – even as customer demand for chilled water continues to rise.

TECO, named IDEA’s System of the Year in 2019, provides chilled water and steam to Texas Medical Center in Houston, which – as the world’s largest medical campus – requires reliable, economical heating and cooling and has growing needs.

Peak chilled water demand has increased by 9,000 tons over the past four years and is expected to grow by an additional 9,000 tons over the next three years. TECO has found that the most cost-effective way to manage district growth while maintaining its historical reliability of 100%, with no unplanned outages since 1992, is to layer on new efficiency measures.

Partnering with Optimum Energy, TECO’s engineering team developed a three-phase plan. First, for the condenser water system to conserve more energy and reduce costs; second, to have the chiller staging procedures better handle changing loads; and third, to take advantage of real-time electricity pricing for the thermal energy storage (TES) tank dispatch.

Two years down the road, TECO has improved control over the energy balance of its CHP system and its TES tank, reducing the chiller plant’s electrical demand. In the first seven months of optimization – from June to December 2020 – TECO lowered peak demand by 2 MW, saving nearly 10.5 million kWh, and reducing the plant’s energy consumption by 6%. Now, TECO can avoid spot-purchasing power from the sometimes unreliable public grid and more easily keep up with customer demand. By reducing peak demand, TECO also bought time to develop a new master plan, including how and when to add power production capacity.

Read the full article here

We are excited to welcome Jason Whittier, our new Senior Director of Product Development

We are excited to welcome Jason Whittier, our new Senior Director of Product Development

Published
23 November 2021

We are excited to announce that Jason Whittier has joined the Optimum Energy team as our new Senior Director of Product Development. Jason received his BS degree in Computer Science and then attended Arizona State University earning an MS degree in Information Management. For the last twenty-five years, Jason has been in the software development and intelligent building space, working to make buildings smarter, better integrated, and more energy-efficient. Prior to coming to OE, Jason lead engineering teams at Buildings IoT in the development of a cutting-edge building systems platform. Prior to that, Jason spent fifteen years at Tridium in various positions, building a strong foundation for his follow-on leadership roles in smart building technologies.

When he’s not working on industry-leading software projects, Jason enjoys some serious road and off-road cycling, supporting his daughter at chess tournaments and swim meets, or perfecting his chef skills with his backyard smoker.

We are thrilled to have Jason on the Optimum Energy leadership team!

Join Us at the SRAPPA (Southeastern Region of APPA) Conference in Mobile, AL

Join Us at the SRAPPA (Southeastern Region of APPA) Conference in Mobile, AL

Published
06 October 2021

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Optimum Energy is delighted to be returning in person to the SRAPPA Annual Conference in Mobile, AL from October 9 to 13. At this conference of leaders in educational facility stewardship, we will be sharing our stories of successful HVAC optimization implemented at prominent campuses like Georgia Tech, UT Austin, and Baylor University. If you’re going to be at the show, stop by booth #9 to learn first-hand how our chiller plant optimization software solutions can significantly reduce your campus energy costs and increase your facility’s operational efficiency. leading

For more information on the conference, visit the SPAPPA website

We are excited to welcome Chris Sidwell, our new Project Manager III

We are excited to welcome Chris Sidwell, our new Project Manager III

Published
27 July 2021

 

We are excited to welcome Chris Sidwell, our new Project Manager III. In 2002, Chris received his PMI certification as a Project Management Professional and has worked as PM for well over 20 years in multiple disciplines. Prior to Optimum Energy, Chris worked for several major control’s companies including Danfoss, Novar, Alerton, Teletrol, and Daintree. Chris’ experience spans many technical positions, from fieldwork, to programing, to program/project management. Chris has a strong background in HVAC/R, spending many years performing mechanical work and working on controls systems.

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When Chris is not immersed in HVAC technology, he is enjoying the outdoors camping with his family and friends. Chris is also busy taking advantage of his time with his son, who is about to start his 1st semester of college. Somehow, Chris also finds time to build street rods and explore his creativity through his laser engraver.

Optimum Energy maintains a strong security focus by, yet again, passing the AICPA SOC 2 Audit in the Trusted Services Criteria

Optimum Energy maintains a strong security focus by, yet again, passing the AICPA SOC 2 Audit in the Trusted Services Criteria

Published
29 June 2021

We are extremely pleased to announce that Optimum Energy has yet again passed AICPA SOC 2, Type 1 audit of our systems and organization controls relevant to security and availability.  This effort included months of reviewing and providing evidence that not only do we have established policies and procedures, but those are closely followed.  The auditor’s review touched every department in the organization, all hosting environments including Digital Fortress, GCP and AWS, all vendors that are in contact with customer or employee data, software development, HR, and a deep-dive through security policies and procedures. The SOC 2, Type 1 audit is a very powerful example of our commitment to our customers, their data, and the availability of OptiCx.

For more information about our cybersecurity click here.

Optimum Energy’s total customer water savings have just surpassed 400 million gallons

Optimum Energy’s total customer water savings have just surpassed 400 million gallons

Published
02 June 2021

We are tremendously excited to announce that our total customer water savings have just surpassed 400 Million gallons. The collective cost savings translates to over $200 million dollars and a carbon reduction achievement of more than 1.35 Million metric tons. Optimum’s software has also reduced energy use by over 1.9 billion kWh to date. This savings data is tracked in real-time and viewable via a counter displayed on the Optimum Energy home page.

The data draws from Optimum Energy’s software installations across four continents, optimizing the cooling and heating of over 310 Million ft2 of space in a variety of facility types. From pharmaceutical labs to semiconductor fabs, universities to hospitals, office buildings to data centers and more, customers around the world continue to rely on Optimum Energy’s software solutions to help them meet their financial and sustainability goals.

We are excited to welcome Kristin Yao, our new Mechanical Engineer.

We are excited to welcome Kristin Yao, our new Mechanical Engineer.

Published
12 May 2021

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We are excited to welcome Kristin Yao, our new Mechanical Engineer. Kristin has a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington. Prior to Optimum Energy, Kristin acquired hands-on experience with HVAC systems during an internship with the Seattle commissioning company Wilson Jones Commissioning. Kristin has engaged in the commissioning of new buildings, troubleshooting of mechanical and fire safety systems, and evaluating HVAC and architectural plans. When she is not immersed in HVAC technology, Kristin is on the slopes enjoying snowboarding or, heads down and pushing the limits of her video game skills. Just to add a little life balance, Kristin also started vegetable gardening this year.