An Overview of BBS Energy Manager Solutions

Frequently Asked Questions

 

General

  1. What is it?
  2. How does the system work?
  3. How much does it cost?
  4. What is the payback period?
  5. Who is currently using it?
  6. How long is the guarantee / warranty?
  7. What is your relationship to Bye Bye Standby?

Zone Controllers

  1. What do I need to do to get the Ethernet Zone Controller working?

Distribution

  1. I would like to become a distributor of your products in my country, what is the process?

 

 

General

 

What is it?

The Enistic System is an Energy Management System ("EMS") that allows you to measure and manage the energy use within your buildings.  Aimed at businesses, schools and colleges it can report energy use:

  • by function - for example air conditioning, lighting, IT servers etc
  • by physical location - for example floor 3 building 5 used X kWh of energy yesterday
  • by department - for example the marketing department used 27% of the energy yesterday, or
  • by person - Steve in accounts left his PC on last night and wasted £0.48

The primary function of the system is to monitor, report and analyse but the system also has built in management systems which allow it to automatically turn off systems at fixed times of the day.

By breaking down your electricity spend into the various components it allows anyone with a desire to reduce the amount of energy they use to get a better understanding of their energy use and so provide teh building blocks to allow that energy use to begin to be managed more efficiently.

 

How does the system work?

The system uses a wireless communication system to pass messages from the sensors back to a central piece of software that then performs the reporting, analysis and management functions. This central management system, called the Enistic Energy Manager, can be hosted online or locally.  The online system is accessed via an Internet browser meaning you have no sowftare to install. 

Some of our sensors fit into the distribution board and some of them are built into handy 5 way extension strips.  Because the system is wireless, it is very portable and installation is simple, with the average time between opening the box and getting management information less than 5 minutes.

The system uses a wireless signal that hops from one device to another, meaning that in large offices range is not a problem.  So long as each sensor is within 30 metres of any other one of our products, the messages are passed one to another until they reach a central hub called a Zone Controller.  The Zone Controller has the role of managing the network and passing information back to the Enistic Energy Manager.

 

How much does it cost?

Our starter kits start at £130.  Sensors built into our extension leads start at £49.95.

 

What is the payback period?

Our case studies show a saving of between 21% and 27% per company meaning the payback period is generally 9-12 months.

 

Who is currently using it?

We have a number of blue chip clients including the Carbon Trust, IBM, Fujitsu, The National Grid, The Bodyshop and several government departments including many of the local councils.

 

How long is the guarantee / warranty?

If you buy our systems outright we warrant our equipment for 12 months.  If you rent it we warrant it for the lifetime of the rental period.  Extended warranty packages are also available.

 

What is your relationship to Bye Bye Standby?

Enistic is our range of business energy management solutions.  We also own the popular Bye Bye Standby brand of energy saving solutions aimed at domestic use and available through many of the better UK and USA retailers,

 

 

Zone Controllers

 

What do I need to do to get the Ethernet Zone Controller working?

The zone controller will need to be connected to the internet via the RJ45 port.

In order for the zone controller to communicate with the centrally hosted management console TCP port 443 will need to be opened outbound from the clients firewall, allowing access to IP address 77.68.45.170.  Enabling access to port 443 outbound is not normally a problem for corporate IT departments as this port is used for secure internet browsing.

There is no requirement to open any ports for inbound traffic.

Proxy Servers are not supported and if you have one you will need to bypass it.  To get an IP address you can either use DHCP or you can set a static IP address.  DHCP is enabled as default.

 

 

Distribution

 

I would like to become a distributor of your products in my country, what is the process?

We welcome overseas distributors and deal with each country as a separate distribution area.  For each country we would initially be able to offer non exclusive distribution rights to start with with an exclusive arrangement potentially available after a performance review which we can hold after 6 - 12 months of trading.  We have a standard distribution contract which offers the following key elements:

  1. Product localised to your market
  2. Areas of the website that are localised for your market
  3. Marketing materials which can be modified for your market
  4. Support and training packages for you to both attend and adapt for your own use
  5. Low cost of entry / start up

In return we ask all potential distributors to commit to some sample stock, a minimum opening order volume and minimum quarterly performance targets that we will agree with you in advance. 

If you would like further information about becoming a distribution partner of ours, please contact us.