Triacta Blog 
Triacta Meters Receives Coveted 10 Year Extended Initial Seal Period From Measurement Canada
February 2, 2012 at 03:00 PM | from Gord Echlin, Triacta Power Technologies
Triacta has been awarded our 10-year extended initial seal period from Measurement Canada for the PowerHawk® 6320 High Density Meter. This is one of the most cherished marks of distinction we could hope to attain.
The PowerHawk 6320 was our first submeter targeted at the revenue-grade metering market. The product first rolled off the production line 7 years ago. The meters installed in that first year came up for their 6 year verification period in 2011, which is the first point at which Triacta was eligible to have the 6320 reviewed for a possible seal period extension.
Bridging the Energy Information Gap
January 24, 2012 at 03:00 PM | from Gord Echlin, Triacta Power Technologies
Today Triacta announced the introduction of our new series of High Density Building Automation submeters that target at the Intelligent Building market and address the requirements for comprehensive building energy benchmarking in the United States.
The new series is called the PowerHawk® 4000. It is built on our well-proven submetering platform — which has been deployed by submetering companies, property owners, building system integrators and Local Distribution Companies since 2003.
The Fourth Utility Promises Big Energy Savings For Building Managers and Consumers Alike
January 6, 2012 at 011:00 AM | from Gord Echlin, Triacta Power Technologies
Marthin De Beer, SVP of Emerging Technologies and Consumer Business at Cisco, calls the telecommunications network the "fourth utility" and "the platform that connects everything". Whatever the name, an integrated telecommunications network holds the promise of two very big energy saving wins for building managers and consumers alike.
The first win is the elimination of multiple, multi-technology networks (building automation networks) in a building. The elimination of network duplication saves cost in equipment, software, and provisioning. It also removes artificial silos that result in replicated servers, disjointed operations, and the lack of information flow. Once information is allowed to flow freely, building managers and consumers are setup for their second big win — widespread access to energy consumption information.
U.S. Government Calls for Submetering to Improve Building Efficiency
November 11, 2011 at 011:00 AM | from Mark Hansen, Triacta Power Technologies
The National Science and Technology Council released a report in October calling for the "fine-grained" and "real-time" measurement of energy in buildings — recognizing submetering as a key enabler for improved performance for both new and existing properties.
Commercial and residential buildings consume about one-third of the world's energy and account for more than 40% of total US energy consumption. According to the report, submetering provides the level of information detail and transparency necessary for more efficient management of energy resources in these buildings.
School Board Spends Less on Energy, More on Education
September 22, 2011 at 11:00 AM | from Gord Echlin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Already a leader among Colorado School boards with aggressive programs that address educational reform, school safety, and student/staff diversity, Aurora Public School Board of Education (APS) is once again blazing the trail of educational progress with its energy awareness and conservation efforts.
Since 2007, APS has saved well over half a million dollars through energy conservation and rebate programs — motivating it to find even more ways to spend less on energy and more on education.
University of Toronto Knows Resource Consumption Visibility Key to Future Success
July 14, 2011 at 11:00 AM | from Gord Echlin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
The University of Toronto (U of T) is a leader in institutional energy management policy and practice. Active management of resource consumption at the University started in 1973, right after the OPEC oil price hikes, and a formal energy management program began in 1977 with the hiring of a full time energy management manager.
Since that time, $204,000,000 worth of energy purchase has been diverted due to energy savings — an impressive number to say the least. Still, U of T is constantly moving their energy management program forward — looking for new and better ways to manage and save resources.
21st Century Property Management and the Intelligent Building
November 25, 2010 at 15:00 PM | from Gord Echlin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Electricity is getting expensive very quickly. Prices in the US commercial market have risen 25% over the past 5 years, and are projected to rise another 50% over the next 5 years. Real-time pricing is being introduced that rewards those who closely monitor their energy use and punishes those who can't. Property owners and managers need to be able to make tenants accountable for their energy use through cost allocation — while giving them the tools to reduce consumption and costs. Tenants are becoming aware of the impending impact of rising energy costs and are flocking to properties that help them manage its use.
Rising energy costs + delays in energy management initiatives = significant $$ lost
October 7, 2010 at 15:00 PM | from Gord Echlin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Energy costs are the largest and fastest growing facility expense behind tax and insurance. According to Buildings Magazine, the average retail price of electricity for commercial customers in the US has gone from 8.17 cents per kilowatt hour in 2004 to 10.21 cents per kilowatt hour in 2009 — a 25% increase!
In Ontario the scenario is much the same, with the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) predicting that hydro cost for businesses, institutions and other non-residential customers will jump between 47.1 and 63.7 per cent by 2015.
Rising energy costs mean that organizations that delay energy management initiatives will lose more dollars year over year — significantly more.
Green Schools Initiative Promises Back to School Energy Savings
September 9, 2010 at 14:00 PM | from Gord Echlin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
The Ontario government is in the middle of an aggressive program to reduce energy consumption and green house gas emissions in its publicly funded schools. This year in Ontario schools will spend approximately $460 million on utility bills. Without a clear understanding of where this energy consumption is taking place, however, it is impossible to manage it.
An Energy Management Call to Action
August 19, 2010 at 14:00 PM | from Gord Echlin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
According to the US Federal Energy Management Program, businesses without proactive energy management programs are spending 10 to 45 percent more on energy per year than they need to be. With energy expenditures accounting for up to 25% of a business' annual operating costs, the upfront savings alone make pursuing an energy management program a no brainer.
From a risk mitigation perspective, the movement toward's real-time, time-of-use pricing and the potential for much greater energy costs in the near future, demands action.
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Intelligent Buildings in the Institutional Sector
April 1, 2010 at 07:00 AM | from Gord Echlin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
We live in some very interesting times. Energy security and climate change are on the tip of every tongue and constraints caused by dwindling energy supplies and impending government legislation are looming on the horizon. Electricity is getting more expensive and we don't know where it's going to stop — we can only be sure that its going to get worse.
Out of necessity, a broad framework for managing in these times is emerging. The smart grid, GHG management, Intelligent Buildings, and Demand Response are converging elements of this organic response to the issues and Institutions (government and schools) are on the leading edge of implementation.
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