3. Provide a brief overview of the technology. Focus on explaining the conceptual description of the technology and key potential benefits and anticipated performance of the solution.
This description should succinctly convey responses to the core questions “What is it?” and “What is the value proposition?” and include an explanation of the problem (environmental or business issue) that this technology addresses or overcomes. (Limit 2500 characters)
Open Energy enables real-time data from building automation systems to be deployed as energy dashboard components in Drupal websites. This increases the energy efficiency of commercial buildings by empowering occupants with timely information to become active participants in managing energy use in their facilities. Open Energy connects the technology furnished by two of the world’s leading “open” communities; ASHRAE - in the form of the BACnet open communication protocol and Drupal - in the form of its open source content management system. Coupling these two technologies creates a new energy dashboard paradigm for connecting facilities with their occupants and incentivizes efficient energy use patterns in commercial buildings worldwide.
Open Energy connects building automation systems to Drupal using BACnet Web Services. Secure portals are created to embed real-time energy dashboards features by linking data from BACnet systems directly to Drupal websites. This technology enables responsive websites to easily relay building energy data to specific user communities thru mobile devices. Ubiquitous access to high value building data can capture efficiency gains through smart energy use, conservation and activating user driven demand response behavior. Open Energy uses the new BACnet module for Drupal, which is available for free download through the Drupal web site.
The present Drupal and BACnet communities are among the most active, talented and successful community of volunteers impacting the world today. The BACnet Community is part of ASHRAE (founded in 1894, it is a building technology society with more than 54,000 members worldwide). Additionally, BACnet® International operates as an organization to encourage the successful use of BACnet in building automation and control systems through interoperability testing, educational programs, and promotional activities.
The Drupal Community developed and maintains the Drupal software and is comprised of over 1,000,000 users and developers worldwide. It distributes Drupal under the terms of the GNU General Public License (or "GPL"), which means anyone is free to download it and share it with others. This open development model means that people are constantly working to make sure Drupal is a cutting-edge platform that supports the latest technologies that the Web has to offer. The Drupal project's principles encourage modularity, standards, collaboration, ease-of-use, and more. In short, Open Energy provides a mechanism whereby building owners can display building data thru their main web sites. Existing Drupal vertical markets include Governement, eCommerce, Non-Profit, Healthcare and Higher Ed. They can now easily be enhanced with Energy relevant data. If BACnet and Drupal are already in place, then real-time building data can be integrated as dynamic content into the flagship sites for institutions at no cost.