Echoflex Places 3rd at New Ventures BC

For a step away from marketing tips, here is an article featuring one of BC's recently award-winning technology companies, EchoFlex Solutions. This is going to be the start of an ongoing showcase of BC Technologies, to better elevate and inform ourselves about local innovations.

This article has drawn from a primary interview of Shawn Pedersen, and general information from New Ventures BC and BuidingGreen.com.

Shawn Pedersen is the co-founder of Echoflex Solutions. Shawn, after a 25 year career in the automotive field, wanted to create a company that was committed to conservation.

Echoflex Solutions has introduced a new technology aimed at providing easy and automated energy conservation options for businesses. They recently placed third at the New Ventures BC competition. 160 companies entered, and after many presentations, they were awarded for their innovative and ground-breaking technological ideas, winning cash and free media exposure.

Their product is focused on commercial and industrial customers. Echoflex's solutions use a protocol called En Ocean, which is a spinoff company from Siemans. By using En Ocean's low power radios, Echoflex radios take so little power that a small solar panel is enough to maintain power for days in darkness. There are no requirements for ongoing maintenance. Through information from the switches and sensors, the controller determines when to dim the lights and when to turn down the heat to optimize performance and minimize waste in a given space. For instance, a switch may turn a light on and off, but if there hasn't been movement in an office for 30 minutes, the lights switch off automatically. If there is a lot of sunlight in a room, the lights will dim to account for the amount of sunshine in the room.

More technically, Echoflex's components allow for situation-dependent room lighting as well as comfort. Modulators like air-handlers and hydronic heating valves offered by Echoflex can be programmed to respond to a thermostat in a room rather than to a central system, which may not accurately reflect the comfort needs of that room. In general, with more components more finely tuned with each other and occupants, wireless technology holds potential for greater sensitivity to building conditions and occupant needs and thus greater comfort along with energy savings.

For them, their future can follow several directions. With such a unique spot in the market, they are looking to partner with an entity that will provide marketing depth and distribution to drive the sales of their product. The capital required to launch a product of this nature is beyond their current ability. The product is already selling, with reps stationed nationwide. Product has recently been shipped to Japan and Puerto Rico.

Interesting stuff! For more information, please see http://www.echoflexsolutions.com/overview.

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