by Brianna Crandall — May 31, 2021 — Budderfly, a fast-growing North American firm in the energy-efficiency-as-a-service market, recently announced that it has been ranked as the top challenger in the Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard: Energy as a Service report, and has earned two key energy savings patents.
Budderfly is said to be disrupting the energy industry by leading the digital transformation of energy consumption conservation through its unique EnergyCloud Energy Efficiency as a Service model. With no cost to its customers, Budderfly implements proprietary energy intelligence software and energy efficiency upgrades such as LED (light-emitting diode) lights; HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) replacements and upgrades; variable frequency drives; refrigeration controls; options for comprehensive maintenance and more, spanning more than 20 savings categories.
Budderfly creates networks of patented Internet of Things (IoT) devices that meter and report on all elements of energy use. Together these optimize energy usage at the point of consumption within each facility across the enterprise. Budderfly’s ongoing services and proactive maintenance are designed to ensure that a building’s energy infrastructure never becomes outdated. The result is significant, immediate, and progressive energy expense savings, upgraded facilities, and a reduced carbon footprint for its client facilities, says the company.
Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard
Guidehouse Insights, a premier market intelligence and advisory firm covering global energy transformation, placed the company as the top challenger in their Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard: Energy as a Service report. In addition, Guidehouse Insights also notes that Budderfly “has quickly ramped up its operations and partner network since 2018” and that “HVAC, beyond energy efficiency solutions such as onsite and offsite energy supply, digital capabilities, and new customer verticals, will likely position Budderfly to move up in the rankings.”
In the past two years, players in the energy-as-a-service (EaaS) market have made significant strides in developing and executing solutions, expanding into new geographic markets and customer verticals, and developing new business models such as white-labeled EaaS platforms. The Leaderboard addresses the competitive landscape for EaaS solutions and how well different companies are positioned to address customer needs.
The criteria by which vendors are compared in this report include vision; go-to-market strategy; partnerships; technology; geographic reach; sales, marketing, and distribution; track record; project portfolio breadth; pricing and staying power.
This year, Budderfly’s customizable energy-saving options for community centers, colleges, commercial properties, convenience stores, healthcare and assisted living, restaurants, public schools and other facilities rated the highest in the Challenger quadrant above Johnson Controls, Honeywell, and Trane Technologies.
Al Sporer, vice president, Sales, Budderfly, pointed out:
Budderfly distinguishes itself from other energy-as-a-service providers by simplifying contracts, taking ownership of our customers’ energy bills, and providing an effortless energy efficiency approach that eliminates the need for any out-of-pocket capital expenditures. We are proud to be recognized as the fastest-growing challenger by Guidehouse Insights for our unique managed energy service model that is not only saving our customers money by optimizing their energy use but also protecting our environment for future generations.
Two key energy savings patents
Budderfly was also recently awarded two key patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, bringing its patent total to six, with additional patents pending. The two new patents protect Budderfly’s unique delivery system that allow its customers to receive and be invoiced for contracted energy savings in a value-added manner that cannot be offered by any other energy services firm.
The technology underlying these patents enables Budderfly’s systems to bring predictable savings and a reduction of their customers’ carbon footprint without requiring any customer to spend time or money to become an expert in energy efficiency:
- The first of Budderfly’s newly awarded patents protects the company’s exclusive process that allows it to provide specific and accurate energy savings without a time-delaying audit or having to predict unknowable future usage.
- The second new patent involves Budderfly’s ability to combine energy usage and useful client operational measurements on an easy-to-understand monthly bill.
During the past year of dealing with the global pandemic, these patented processes helped Budderfly grow its customer base due to the significant advantages of the firm’s “effortless energy efficiency” approach that eliminates any need for pre-project audits and out-of-pocket capital expenditures, while still often achieving energy savings as high as 30 percent or more.
For example, customer Chad Knight, CEO of the YMCA of Southwest Kansas, explained:
We really wanted to replace our old lights and HVAC equipment, and hoped to save some money on energy, too; but I could not spend months in due diligence, comparing quotes and then trying to understand complex contracts. Budderfly’s approach was exactly what we hoped to find. Everything works perfectly after a quick installation.
The combination of Budderfly’s patented technology, business model and national installation network allows it to provide a diverse range of clients with investments from tens of thousands to millions of dollars in new equipment, saving them about 30 percent of their previous electrical usage, while charging nothing and returning a large percentage of those savings back to them during their contract period. The company currently serves well over 2,000 client sites in a variety of business sectors under its comprehensive model.
Al Subbloie, Budderfly president and CEO, stated:
By having a simple and effortless system, we get projects started quickly and smoothly, saving our customers’ money and enabling them to help save the planet. As our Budderfly EnergyCloud grows its number of clients and managed energy volume, our real-world intelligence based on gathered data of climates, utilities, building types and use patterns allows us to continually increase the optimization of energy by volume and time of demand. This will evolve as we grow and more machine learning is introduced into our systems.
For more information about Budderfly’s energy-as-a-service model, visit the company’s website.
