Monday, November 19, 2007

Software, hardware firms switch to energy uses

By Efrain Viscarolasaga

Wireless sensor networks were originally developed for some of the dirtiest and unheralded jobs in industrial automation -- monitoring vibration, tracking heat and the like.

But over the past year, cleaner applications -- such as monitoring a facility's power efficiency or reducing a company's carbon footprint -- have become the "killer apps" of sensor networks, and a bigger piece of business for local companies making the switch.

"I think (energy efficiency) is going to be the home run for wireless sensor networks," said Gary Ambrosino, CEO of Needham-based Sensicast Systems Inc., which makes wireless sensor networks and the software to run them.

In one high-profile project, Sensicast provided the sensors for the recently completed New Jersey headquarters of Ferreira Construction, which has been heralded by the U.S. Department of Energy as the first "net zero electric" commercial building in the country. The facility uses a solar array to provide power, and Sensicast's network to allocate where the electricity is delivered on the premises.

And Sensicast isn't the only one. Software, hardware and chip companies in New England are developing in-building energy-management systems. Most are focused on commercial and industrial environments, but some are also looking at residential applications.

The wireless sensor networking market is expected to grow 30 percent to 40 percent year over year "for the foreseeable future," mostly on the heels of energy applications, according to Harry Forbes, a senior analyst with ARC Advisory Group in Dedham, which focuses on manufacturing automation.

Investor interest is also growing. Sensicast has raised two rounds of institutional investment, totaling $16 million, and is on the funding trail again, looking for $10 million to help take advantage of what Ambrosino sees as a growing opportunity. "I've been very pleased with the amount of attention we've been getting (from VCs)," said Ambrosino. "I don't think that would have happened 18 months ago."

And Boston's EnerNOC Inc., which makes energy and power management software platforms, went public in May in a $99 million offering, and then added $135 million in a pair of offerings. The company's share price has been up about $20 since its IPO.

Wireless chip maker Ember Corp. in Boston, which focuses on a wireless standard called ZigBee and makes the chipsets used in wireless communications, and has also been moving into the clean energy field, providing the communications hardware for demand-response systems and remote meter-reading programs, according to Ember vice president of marketing Bob Gohn.

The residential market is also a target, but whether such technologies would penetrate in the near term remains to be seen. Ember has had some success with its remote meter- reading product in Europe and Asia, but the technology is still in its pilot stage domestically, according to Gohn.

Andover startup En-Home Inc. is developing a wireless sensor network system for homeowners, but that product is still in its prototype stage.

At the same time, not all energy-management companies have been able to make a go of it: In Cambridge, WebGen Systems Inc., offered energy management software to both commercial and residential buildings. But after raising $23 million in venture funding, the company wasn't able to keep its early customers and was forced to close its doors last spring.