Cloud-based Energy Management Software Combines Monitoring and Control

One of the more interesting commercial-grade energy monitoring and management software solutions I’ve seen lately comes from an Australia-based company called Switch Automation, now creating a presence in the United States with offices in San Diego and San Francisco. Switch says it is more of a building automation software company that works with energy, and its monitoring and management abilities appear robust. Electric energy, water, gas, solar and wind inverters, waste, paper consumption, corporate travel, fleet information, diesel and more can be monitored. And programming enables you to enact or turn off devices, depending on energy usage or other factors. The company’s Switch Smart Hub is cloud-based with HTML5 and can run on any platform. The interface is engaging, using Windows 8-like tiles that can be pinned to the home page to enable quick views of the information you’ve prioritized. It’s configurable but not customizable, says Switch Automation CEO Deborah Noller. Weather tiles are always present on the home page, because “it’s very important for clients in extreme climates to know how their energy use relates to climate,” she says. A tagging feature allows the ability to apply labels to any group of devices, which can be good for submetering […]