We are thrilled to be part of the WegoWise team.  Together we can serve commercial building owners looking to track energy use and reduce their energy consumption utilizing Energy Star Benchmarking, Green Button, and other electronic utility tracking tools focusing on water, electric, gas and oil nation wide.  Below are links to last weeks press coverage.

National Coverage:
Forbes, Ucilia Wang. Utility Data Mining Startup WegoWise to Buy Melon Power. 12/18
GreenBiz, Derek Top. Energy analytics firm WegoWise buys Melon Power. 12/19 
Greentech Media, Katherine Tweed. WegoWise Buys Melon Power to Tap Commercial Energy Efficiency. 12/18 
Triple Pundit, Tina Casey. How Energy Efficient Can Your Buildings Be? WegoWise and Melon Power Have the Answer. 12/18
Ecopreneurist, Priti Ambani. WegoWise Acquires Melon Power, Expands Building Energy Performance Services, 12/18
PR Newswire, Wegowise Acquires Melon Power to Expand Services to Commercial Buildings, 12/18

Boston Coverage:
Boston Business Journal, Don Seiffert. WegoWise acquires Washington, DC-based Melon Power. 12/19
Boston Herald, Ira Kantor. Boston’s WegoWise to buy D.C. firm. 12/19
BostInno, Walter Frick. Energy Analytics Startup WegoWise Buys Melon Power. 12/18

DC Coverage:
InTheCapital, Carl Pierre. Boston Startup Scoops Up Standout DC Energy Entrepreneur, Melon Power. 12/19
Washington Post, Steven Overly, A Power-ful Start-Up 12/23
Washington Business Journal, Bill Flook. Energy IT startup Melon acquired by WegoWise. 12/18

Strategic acquisition bolsters commercial building capabilities in WegoWise platform

BOSTON, MASS. (Dec. 18, 2012) -- WegoWise, a leading building performance analytics provider, today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Melon Power, an award-winning analytics platform for the commercial building sector. WegoWise will extend its platform with Melon Power’s methodology, which leverages Green Button and other utility data to help commercial buildings affordably and easily receive Energy Star benchmarks. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

“Melon Power is widely regarded as a leader in using Green Button data in creative ways,” said Andrew Chen, CEO of WegoWise. “We have been following Melon Power at every stage of its progress and its addition brings valuable domain expertise and technical competencies into the WegoWise platform. It was a natural decision to combine our collective innovations in the multifamily, single-family and commercial building markets to offer a cohesive and affordable toolset to improve efficiency in all types of buildings.”

As part of the acquisition, WegoWise will acquire all assets of Melon Power, which placed second in the Department of Energy’s 2012 Apps for Energy Challenge and was a semifinalist at the 2012 Cleantech Open Mid-Atlantic. Key members of Melon Power’s team will join WegoWise in senior-level positions in analytics and development, including Founder Craig Isakow, a building-industry veteran with experience at the Department of Energy and Johnson Controls. The acquisition will also establish a Washington DC location for the Boston-based company.

“WegoWise has served as a model for Melon Power as we’ve grown, and we’re pleased to become a part of their mission to provide building owners with actionable utility data analytics at an affordable price,” said Isakow, Director of Commercial Solutions at WegoWise and former Melon Power CEO. “WegoWise’s technological expertise and strong commercial channels will enable Melon Power’s team to fulfill their mission to deliver easy Energy Star benchmarking to all commercial building managers. Our existing customers and partners will benefit from WegoWise’s development experience and relationships with utilities.”

WegoWise’s acquisition of Melon Power builds on recent partnerships with the USGBC and the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, which marked the company’s expansion from multi-family housing into single-family building offerings. The acquisition accelerates WegoWise’s entry into the commercial building efficiency space, expanding the reach of the company’s tracking, benchmarking and business intelligence offering.

The WegoWise platform works by automatically collecting utility data from a portfolio of buildings, then normalizing and comparing those buildings by energy intensity and building characteristics. Visually compelling charts and graphs help users immediately target retrofits and verify building performance. Since 2010, WegoWise has developed the world’s largest multifamily utility database, covering 11,024 buildings representing 176,292 residential units and 644,000 utility bills over more than 164.3 million square feet of space across the United States and Canada.

About WegoWise
WegoWise provides an industry-leading web-based utility analytics platform for the building-performance industry. Bridging big data and energy efficiency, WegoWise distills large aggregations of energy and water data into useful, actionable information for building owners, managers, energy auditors and building efficiency programs, enabling them to automatically track, understand and benchmark building performance, and make better efficiency investment decisions. WegoWise’s platform regularly identifies impressive opportunities for cost savings, as inefficient buildings typically pay four times the utility costs of efficient buildings. Learn more at wegowise.com.

Media Contact
Zoe Fishman
Antenna Group for WegoWise
wegowise@antennagroup.com
415-977-1929
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New analysis confirmed 35,000 buildings using the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager between 2008 and 2011 saved an average of 7% in energy.

Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled the largest U.S. building energy benchmarking data analysis to date, examining over 35,000 buildings that from 2008-2011 consistently used the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager measurement tool.

The buildings showed a 7 percent average savings in energy over three years–with the initial lowest-performing buildings making the greatest improvements. Seehttp://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/downloads/datatrends/DataTrends_Savings_20121002.pdf?3d9b-91a5 for the full analysis.

The data revealed that if all buildings in the U.S. followed a similar trend, more than 18 million metric tons of carbon dioxide could be saved each year. That much carbon dioxide saved would equate to $4.2 billion in energy savings just in the first year, according to IMT’s calculations. EPA estimates that through 2020, the total savings in building energy use could be approximately 25 percent on a per-building basis if the trend continues.

"Improving the energy efficiency of our nation’s buildings is critical to protecting our environment," said Jean Lupinacci, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. "No matter the building type, organizations across the country are using EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to demonstrate that you can't manage what you don't measure."

The vast majority of buildings realized energy savings every year and the energy savings were experienced by all building types. Buildings that started with below-average ENERGY STAR scores and higher energy use saved twice as much energy as those buildings that started with above-average scores.

Among the building categories that achieved above-average savings were retail, office, and K-12 schools. The research found that the average school district, with buildings totaling 800,000 square feet, would see annual savings of 2.4 percent for three consecutive years, yielding the salary of 1.2 full-time teachers each year.

"These findings show the power of information," said Cliff Majersik, Executive Director of IMT. "ENERGY STAR benchmarking is a powerful tool to guide and motivate building improvements to cut waste and save big money. In fact, a recent survey showed that more than 60 percent of building operators who benchmark use benchmarking to decide where to invest their resources and to make the business case for those investments."

The data was self-reported and was filtered to exclude outliers, incomplete records, and test facilities. To learn more, visit: www.energystar.gov/DataTrends.

Note: Release originally posted on imt.org

Today Craig Isakow, CEO of Melon, participated in the White House Energy Datapalooza where he previewed Melon Benchmark, a web application that delivers simple, low cost Energy Star benchmarks and energy saving recommendations for commercial buildings.  As part of the Energy Datapalooza, Secretary Chu recognized Melon for winning second prize in the US Department of Energy’s Apps for Energy Challenge. Melon demonstrated their winning app as well as previewed the next version that utilizes Green Button and additional data types.

“Melon Benchmark saves time and money for building professionals required to calculate Energy Star benchmarks for commercial buildings.  We are creating the ‘Turbo Tax™’ of Energy Star benchmarking, delivering a superior user experience for commercial building owners and their service providers.” Craig Isakow explained at the Energy Datapalooza. “Once we have a building’s electronic utility bill data and we calculate their Energy Star score, Melon recommends additional services from our partners that reduce energy waste, increase Energy Star scores, and quickly save money.”

Since introducing Energy Star benchmarking for commercial buildings over 10 years ago, more than 250,000 buildings have participated in the EPA program, and over 90,000 buildings submitted their data just last year to the voluntary program.  In addition, many cities and states now require Energy Star benchmarking and disclosure for certain commercial and public buildings. New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle and Austin as well as California and Washington are currently implementing mandatory programs. The Institute for Market Transformation estimates over 60,000 buildings fall under current mandatory benchmarking laws.

Melon Benchmark simplifies Energy Star benchmarking for building owners and energy service providers by importing electronic utility bill data and then communicating with the EPA through the Energy Star web services. Melon also works directly with utility companies to improve customer satisfaction and increase customer engagement with their efficiency programs.

Melon Power was recently selected as one of three articles in a story written by Ashley Halligan, an analyst at Austin-based Software Advice: 

"Energy management and environmental performance have become an integral part of managing commercial buildings. To meet consumer and regulatory demand, software developers have launched a range of handy standalone applications that perform energy-related tasks and consumption assessments. Whether you’re seeking an official ENERGY STAR score, an air quality analysis, or an overall energy audit, here are three affordable (and even free) applications your organization should know about."

Read the full story and what Halligan had to say about Melon Power here. 

The results are in for Local Law 84 and whoaaa is there a lot of energy savings available.  New York City requires all large buildings to calculate an Energy Star Scores to get an energy benchmark for privately owned buildings.  PlanNYC put out a great report "New York City Local Law 84 Benchmarking Report" analyzing the first years data.  For energy nerds like us, its a fascinating read that tells us a lot about how energy is being used in NYC.  A couple highlights:

• The most energy intensive buildings use three to five times the energy used by the least energy intensive buildings.
• If all inefficient buildings were brought up to the meidan energy use, NYC would reduce energy use by roughly 18%.  If they were all brought up to the 75th percentile, the theoretical savings is 31%. 
• GGBP is projected to reduce citywide energy costs by more than $1 billion annually, with cumulative net benefit exceeding $7 billion. 
• Over the same period, the GGBP is expected to create or preserve at least 17,800 local skilled jobs.
• 30 firms performed 68% of the energy benchmarking

While NYC is leading the way for the national Energy Star benchmarking trend.  The report includes the following chart showing that cities including Seattle, SF, Austin and state wide initiatives in California and Washington State will nearly double the number of buildings falling under the new energy disclosure laws.  Melon looks forward to providing low cost, simple to use Energy Star Benchmarking to those markets.

Washington DC's Energy Star Benchmark and Disclosure law blazed the trail for requiring commercial building owners to publicly display how much energy they use.  DDOE posted new rules this week which they hope will be final within 30 days.  According to DDOE

"The Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 established that all private buildings over 50,000 gross square feet (gsf) within the District of Columbia, including multifamily residences, must measure and disclose their energy and water consumption to the District Department of the Environment (DDOE). 

The first reporting deadline is set for this fall and applies only to buildings over 150,000 gsf. On April 1, 2013, all buildings over 100,000 gsf, including those who just reported in the fall will submit 2012 benchmarking data (see table below; 200,000 gsf will submit 2 years of data during initial reporting). Beginning with the second year of reported data, the DDOE will publish the results on its website. "

In other cities the disclosure laws have created jobs and driven innovation.  We created Melon to deliver simple, low cost Energy Star benchmarks, because you can't manage what you don't measure!

Business Incubators Make Startups More Successful

Today I ran to the mailbox like a kid running downstairs Christmas morning bursting with anticipation.  Today Melon received our $16,000 prize for winning the US Department of Energy Apps for Energy Green Button Challenge for our Energy Star Benchmark tool which helps commercial buildings save energy.   As I reflected on how our young energy efficiency company beat out over 50 other apps, it struck me that we did not do it alone. Affinity Lab, the Washington DC business incubator we run Melon out of, and its members played a major role in our success.  So I snapped this picture with my check, showing that the people of Affinity Lab stand behind me and have my back. 

Business incubators can help entrepreneurs succeed in a number of ways:

Experts all around you
Affinity Lab attracts all types of entrepreneurs with a wide range of expertise.  During our first month members provided advice on design, legal issues, public relations, and IT.  They recommended other people to talk to for advice, and even hooked me into the entrepreneurial ecosystem in DC through events like Foster.ly and Angel Venture Forum.

Free coffee
It is not just about the caffeine.  Our kitchen is a great place to meet other members, hear what they are up to, bounce ideas off them, or even find out about great ways to blow off steam.  Kayaking, tubing, and frozen yogurt seem to be the current leaders in non-work activities

Someone to tell you the truth
As an entrepreneur you can get in a bubble, especially if you are still finding your early customers.  You design the product, so of course you think it rocks.  Before we submitted our Melon Energy Star Benchmarking app for the DOE competition, I held a “product development meeting”.  Basically I offered free pizza for Lab members who would come watch me demo my product and provide feedback.  During the hour we ate pizza together a handful of lab members provided ideas that improved my product 100 fold. That is an amazing return on investment.

Encourages hygiene
If you work from home with a network of virtual partners like I do, it is possible to never leave the house.  Going into Affinity Lab ensures entrepreneurs get out of the house, clean themselves up, and set up more in person meetings.  In a world of virtual work places, the value of human contact cannot be overlooked.

So get off our couch and find your local incubator.  The benefits go far beyond a place to set your laptop down.

Do you work in an incubator?  Tell us how its helped you succeed

I suppose it was my grandfather that used to say "you can't get something for nothing." And those econ friends so smugly reminded me that "there is no such thing as a free lunch." (They said this as we were eating literal free lunch at campus recruiting events...only later did I get the emails and follow up collateral trying to get me to work in industries I was never really into.)

But energy efficiency may in fact be the one exception to the rule on this. At least according to a new paper by the Carbon War Room that claims most commercial buildings can reduce cost by up to 20% with little or no upfront investment. In contrast to the "free lunch" scams that most of us have grown immune to (Nigerian email joke here), energy efficiency is really what it claims - a reasonable investment that pays for itself. 

Melon makes it simple for our customers to receive a simple Energy Star benchmark for their buildings, and then we recommend great products and services to improve operations and performance.  But what if you already have an Energy Star Certification for your building?  What if you have already squeezed the juice out of your operations?  Well thanks to innovative solar models like Power Purchase Agreements and Solar Leases you can lock in great rates, lower your energy bills, and reduce pollution with no up front costs.

Melon is very excited to announce our new national partnership with Solar City,  the nation's leading clean energy company, managing more solar power systems than any other in America. SolarCity's full service capabilities and experience delivering energy solutions around the U.S. make SolarCity the clean energy company of choice for Fortune 500 companies, cities, schools and other organizations.  We recently joined their network after visiting their global headquarters and reviewing their operations.

Below I have posted some of Solar City's strenghts, but one thing that really convinced us to partner with Solar City is who started the company.  This company is backed by Elon Musk, the founder of Paypal, Tesla, and SpaceX.  He brings this same spirit of innovation to Solar City, delivering savings to their customers across the country.

Experience

• Market leader with thousands of clients in the commercial, government and residential sectors
• Breadth of experience across industries, with notable clients like eBay, Walmart, the City of Lancaster, CA and Stanford University
• With more than 15,000 customers in 11 states, Solar City has working knowledge of local building codes, permitting and regulations

Full Service

• All-in-one service provider, including custom engineering, financing, installation and ongoing system monitoring
• In-house professional teams in engineering, design, installation, rebate administration and customer service. We've attracted the brightest talent in the solar industry with decades of solar experience
• SolarCity project managers ensure that customers have a single point of contact throughout the life of their system

High Quality

• SolarCity uses only best-in-class, high quality solar equipment that passes rigorous quality standards
• We have numerous NABCEP certified supervisors overseeing your projects—the highest accreditation in the solar industry
• BBB accredited business with a perfect "A" rating

Latest Technology

• SolarCity is not tied to specific suppliers or manufacturers which allows Solar City to deploy the most cost effective products for each project. We evaluate and select the best new technology based on performance, quality and economics
• We constantly innovate better ways to achieve clean energy savings
• Proprietary SolarGuard® proactive monitoring service and PowerGuide™ energy consumption service

Competitive Price

• Construction and project management experience building thousands of projects has improved our process and driven down costs
• Supplier relationships and scale allow us to pass volume discount pricing on to our customers

Solar Financing

• Direct financing instead of using a third party gives you a single point of contact and accountability for system performance over the life of your system
• Go solar with no upfront capital costs and save on electricity costs from day one with Solar City's PPA
• Flexible financing or purchase options to fit the needs of your organization

Environmental Stewardship

• Mission driven to reduce the cost of clean energy
• Drive fleet of fuel efficient vehicles
• Print on recycled material with soy-based ink
• Recognized with environmental leadership awards by the Aspen Institute and Acterra
• Recognized as the a Green Power Supplier of the year by the Department of Energy(DOE) in 2010