Belkin Debuts Smart Resource Management, Installs Echo Electricity at DoD Sites

Belkin has launched Echo, an advanced sensor technology system for buildings that analyzes the use of water, electricity and natural gas to reduce waste.

Designed initially for utility companies and facility managers, the system assesses how resources are used on a device-by-device basis and recommends savings options. The company says with Echo, building administrators can manage their use of electricity and water more efficiently and reduce cost, whether it’s for a single building or multiple buildings.

The system, initially comprised of Echo Water and Echo Electricity, expands on Belkin’s products such as the Conserve power management range, and WeMo home control. Built on WeMo’s wireless platform, Echo employs a single sensor, coupled with advanced signal processing algorithms that enable automated, real-time device-by-device resources management throughout a building.

The company says Echo is an example of internet of things technology, a growing global system of wireless sensors and control devices connected via the Internet. Echo is based on technology licensed from the University of Washington and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

In addition to launching the new Echo product, Belkin has also announced a partnership with HydroPoint Data Systems and says the Department of Defense has selected its Echo Electricity as a project for its Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP).

The ESTCP selected 22 projects from 468 proposals to demonstrate emerging energy and water technologies on military installations through its Installation Energy Test Bed initiative. The initiative plays a key role in testing, evaluating and scaling up innovative energy technologies to improve the DoD’s energy security and reduce its facility energy costs, which amount to about $4 billion per year.

Echo Electricity will enable two test sites at DoD installations in the western US to itemize technology use with a sensor installed at a building’s circuit breaker or meter panel. The sensor detects real-time current changes or broadband noise created by devices as they switch on or off or otherwise change state. Using machine-learning algorithms the system can analyze the amount of energy consumed to create reports and make data available to other systems for analysis or control.

Belkin says its partnership with HydroPoint Data Systems is intended to produce new indoor water management systems. HydroPoint Data Systems has exclusive rights to integrate Belkin Echo Water with the HydroPoint 360° Smart Water Management Solutions. The companies say this will allow building managers to measure, monitor and manage water use with a remote, mobile and web-based interface.