Energent Incorporated

Partnering Together. Building a Sustainable Energy Future.

Fast Forward

Imagine a future in which any energy-consuming building (whether a house, school, farm, retail store, factory, or industrial plant) could make their own supply/demand decisions to optimize their energy use.

They could choose the most cost-effective energy source for scheduled activities. They could delay activities until prices are at their lowest. They could choose whether to store, use or sell energy produced by their on-site generation equipment.

Creating the Future

Participants in the Energy Hub Management System (EHMS) project are working today to create this future. Led by the University of Waterloo, they are developing an information backbone that will give any energy-consuming building (called an Energy Hub) access to relevant energy information and the ability to take action to optimize their energy supply/demand. All this will occur via real-time Internet-based communications.

In essence, the EHMS will extend the electricity grid to incorporate and engage the Energy Hub as an active "smart" participant.

Building the Smart Grid

Efforts have been launched across North America to develop a new "smart grid" – an enhanced electrical distribution network that incorporates new sources of supply (wind, solar, on-site generation) and leverages technology to enable more efficient use of supply.

The information backbone that results from the EHMS project is essentially a new piece of the  "smart" grid. By including Energy Hub optimization decisions and on-site generation capacity, the EHMS will improve the overall efficiency and sustainability of our electrical system.

Project Partners

The EHMS project is led by the University of Waterloo (UW), where a multi-disciplinary team of researchers is developing the EHMS with the following industry partners:

Energent Incorporated. Contributing their expertise in Internet-based communications and control systems, and their technologies for mathematical data modeling.

Hydro One Inc. Providing access to the electricity distribution system in Ontario, which spans about 75% of Ontario electricity end-users and 96% of Ontario's transmission capacity.

Milton Hydro Distribution Inc.

Providing access to the electrical distribution network in Milton Ontario for system testing and pilot introduction.

The Energy Hub Management System is funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) – Centre of Excellence for Energy as well as industry partners (listed above) in the amount of $3.73 million over a three-year study period which began in April 2008.

For more information on Energent's role in this project, please contact:

Gord Ellis, CTO (519) 725-0906 ext 102

gellis [at] energent [dot] com