Is the issue of energy going to be solved by hardware or software?

The good news, according to Matt Lecar of GE's Smart Grid Strategy group, is that due to our utter national inefficiency and energy-wasting ways, the U.S. is the "Saudi Arabia of energy efficiency." There's lots of opportunity for saving energy.

FountainBlue put on an event at Menlo Park, California's SRI last week that brought together two energy efficiency startups along with Matt Lecar of GE and a researcher from HP.

Sandra Kwak, the founder of Powerzoa, spoke of the lurking energy drain of "vampire power" and how her firm's "smart plug" could reduce the megawatts of power devoted to keeping appliances in stand-by mode. Her boot-strapped startup connects smart plugs to an online website via Wi-Gi. She claims that businesses can save 5 percent to 20 percent with a system payback of 22 months. Her firm goes after plug-level appliances like computers as opposed to the main building energy user: heating and cooling. After lighting and HVAC, the plug level is the next step, according to Kwak. Powerzoa is very early stage, "entering into beta trials with customers and utilities," and "looking for angel funding." The startup is aiming for a price point of $25 per plug. Kwak acknowledges that the education barrier for a lot of Americans is very significant. People Power has been looking for a round B of funding for a while now. Vinod Khosla has passed on the chance to invest, according to People Power's CEO. Khosla's view of the smart grid looks a bit different thant People Power's vision.

In Matt Lecar's words, "We need emotional drivers." He added, "Turning off standby power is not compelling." According to Lecar, "Business and C&I will be the early adopters because they think about ROI." as opposed to the home because "The smaller the customer the bigger the transaction costs." Consumer home energy monitoring motivations and energy usage pain-points are very different than those for smart phones or consumer entertainment gadgets. Many device-heavy consumer smart grid startups with consumer-oriented entrepreneurs and their investors are going to learn that good and hard in the coming years.

Powerzoa wireless plugs allow you to turn your gadgets off away from home

It happens to everyone: they go away on a vacation, only to rocket the heel of the palm into their forehead as they realize that they left on a power-hungry gadget. In my case, it is inevitably my 50 inch plasma HDTV, and for the rest of the vacation, my time is spent clawing at my cheeks in anguish at the imagined burn-in that is happening to my lovely, 1080p screen. It seems absurd that in an internet connected age, thereÕs no way to just log in to a website and tell it to turn off your gadgets when youÕre not around. Enter Powerzoa, a little cube dongle that is plugged in between your wall socket and your electronics. The Powerzoa cubes do two things. The first is that they monitor the energy usage of your gadgets, spitting out their consumption wirelessly to a central server, which can then be looked over to find out what make up the biggest power vampires in your electronics boutique. ThatÕs excellent functionality, but the PowerzoaÕs real killer feature is the ability for an owner to log in to this same server and turn off any device plugged into a Powerzoa in their house. In my case, an HDTV burning its own image in over a week away in the Hamptons could be switched off from my laptop, but you could also use it to turn off the lights or unplug the iron. The Powerzoa does fiill the same niche as several other devices on the market, but those all sit at the power strip level, not down at the level of the socket. Right now, Powerzoa is in the prototype phase, but I hope it becomes a real product soon, and at an affordable price.

From Classroom to Concept: MBA Grads Navigate the Green Economy

The Silver lining of this economic crisis is the hope that a new, green economy will emerge. A revitalized mindset focused on open source, social innovation, clean tech and green jobs marked by shifts towards cleaner transportation, energy independence and a renewed focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. Sandra Kwak, like many Americans and businesses, is banking on this notion. Near the end of her Sustainable MBA program at the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco, Sandra struggled with the decision of whether or not to take a job or the proverbial "plunge" and start her own business. For now, she is committed to making her dreams of forming a socially responsible business a reality. She pulls inspiration from her studies at Presidio. There, Sandra got more than an education, she found her calling.

Sandra and three of her classmates realized that they not only shared a classroom, but a passion to change the world. Sandra and her classmates-turned-business partners found Professor Nathan Shedroff's "Sustainable Products and Services" course to be the launching pad they needed. The class forced students to immerse themselves in understanding the user experience. Students were encouraged to go out into the marketplace, observe people's day-to-day habits, and try to create easy-to-use products that solve every day problems, while maintaining a focus on sustainability.

Sandra observed and interviewed restaurant and cafe owners, asking them about their behaviors with respect to energy consumption. Many of the people she interviewed spoke little English and are primarily first generation business owners. They are clearly using energy inefficiently, some leaving their equipment on all night in fact. Though they know about the costs of energy and waste, many are unsure about the payback of investing in energy saving technologies. Like many individuals, they want to change, but don't know where to begin.

Enter Powerzoa, an innovative company formed by Sandra and three of her classmates that developed a plug and play, energy efficiency solution to be deployed in buildings, yet controlled by individuals. Ideally suited for business owners like the ones they observed and interviewed, the Powerzoa product, now a working prototype, is a smart plug that sits between a device and the electrical socket. The smart plugs are very user friendly, consisting of color combinations and symbols on top of each device which correspond to difference types of appliances and equipment.

Powerzoa smart plugs have the ability to push data, via a WiFi connection, to a user-oriented, visually stimulating, graphical interface. Almost immediately after being plugged in, the device begins transmitting data about its energy consumption for the user to view and control. The interface provides reporting on a monthly basis including data on energy saved, costs averted and green house gas emissions avoided. The user can turn on and off the smart plugs remotely and the system will even identify devices like a refrigerator that is consuming too much energy. The system will provide a recommendation for a replacement including available rebates and incentives.

Sandra told me: "The goal is to move from information to action." The Powerzoa team hopes to partner with utilities to offer a solution that further engages their customers, allowing for rollouts of innovative pricing programs and reducing loads at peak times. Though the Powerzoa product doesn't rely on utility partnerships, a relationship with utilities would connect the Powerzoa smart plugs and interface to the existing utility back office in order to establish a dialog between consumers and their energy providers. Powerzoa's mission is to help business owners and homeowners alike understand what it is that affects their energy consumption and gives them the ability to control it. The knowledge that comes with the Powerzoa product is power and that empowerment drives awareness around energy efficiency.

Sandra, who currently serves as the interim CEO and Chief Marketing Officer for Powerzoa (they are looking for a CEO with domain expertise), realizes that trying to get a bootstrap company with limited financial resources (they are looking for early stage funding) off the ground in a down economy is a challenge. But she is focused on the opportunities, availability of talent, and the chance to create green jobs and be a part of making the new, green economy a success.

For 6 smart plugs, 1 bridge and the software, Powerzoa costs $169.95.