LOS ALTOS, Calif. — Daintree Networks®, a provider of open networked wireless building control and operation solutions for smart buildings, has announced the winners of its second annual Energy Champion Awards. The awards were created to honor the efforts of those in the industry that are openly driving awareness to save energy by using technologies and processes to reduce energy consumption in warehouses, offices, banks, retail stores, universities, schools, and other commercial buildings.

Daintree Networks Energy Champion award winner in the Thought Leader category is Konstantinos (Kosta) Papamichael, Ph.D. He is a professor in the Department of Design and the co-director of the California Lighting Technology Center at the University of California, Davis. Papamichael has been working on the development of energy efficiency strategies and technologies for buildings for over 30 years. He holds five patents and is author/co-author of more than 100 publications. His efforts have helped grow awareness through codes, standards, and various projects, motivating organizations to work on reducing energy consumption across various sectors.

“I am very honored and happy to have been selected for this award. Many thanks to the selection committee for recognizing value in my contributions towards improved building performance in terms of comfort and energy efficiency. Today’s communication, sensing, and control technologies have the potential to greatly improve comfort and energy performance through integration of fenestration, electric lighting, and HVAC controls. I look forward to continue working with industry to help realize this potential,” said Papamichael.

In the End User category, Daintree Networks Energy Champion award co-winners are Kevin Garabedian, vice president of administrative services and facility operations at Universal Music Group (UMG), and Jason King, vice president of facilities and maintenance for National Bank of Arizona (NBAZ). The End User award is granted to individuals whose efforts have reaped the greatest demonstrated results in terms of reduced energy consumption and overall energy savings within their company.

Garabedian spearheaded a progressive energy-savings project, one of the first and biggest of its kind in Southern California, and delivered over 92,100 kWh in energy savings. The project also delivered automated plug load and exterior signage control and allowed UMG to comply with California’s Title 24 requirements for its office buildings in Woodland Hills, California.

King chose to deploy a future-proof building energy management solution, which delivered over 10,170 kWh in energy savings with a return on investment (ROI) of less than two years. The solution helped NBAZ to achieve efficient HVAC and interior and exterior lighting, and King exceeded his cost savings goals. In addition, the Prescott, Arizona, location became the most energy efficient branch among 72 sites.

“I am honored to accept this Energy Champion award. Daintree’s ControlScope® wireless control solution has enabled NBAZ to measure, manage, and optimize energy use and achieve significant energy savings and operational efficiencies. ControlScope provides the ability to manage buildings from remote location, turn device on and off with a click of a mouse, and put buildings to sleep and wake them automatically saving tremendous energy. I hope this provides an inspiration to all the other companies out there who haven’t yet embarked on the energy efficiency journey to adopt building control technology to achieve major savings, while helping the environment. An open standards-driven solution is the way forward,” said King.

Derek Proudian, chairman and CEO, Daintree Networks, said, “We applaud this year’s winners, not only for their important efforts in energy conservation, but also for taking leadership in the use of modern, open standards-based technologies to drive the Enterprise Internet of Things (E-IoT) future of their organizations. I’d also like to acknowledge all the nominees who share our passion for energy conservation and who work tirelessly to ensure the future of our planet.”

For more information, visit www.daintree.net.

Publication date: 11/10/2015