Comcast Offers IoT Solution that Tracks, Analyzes Energy Consumption

Comcast’s IoT subsidiary, MachineQ, has introduced a power monitoring solution designed to help facilities and their operators manage and monitor energy consumption.

Bryan Witkowski, the head of product and strategy at MachineQ, highlighted that this solution aims to enhance operational efficiencies, manage costs, and support proactive maintenance and sustainability efforts. It achieves this by tracking and analyzing energy usage for each piece of equipment, along with other sensor data, to monitor asset operation and utilization rates.

MachineQ is targeting industries with high energy demands, such as food service providers, laboratories, and hotels, where the return on investment (ROI) for such technology is significant due to their large power consumption. Early adopters include a major pharmaceutical company.

According to MachineQ officials, the solution is ideal for companies with substantial energy consumption, offering greater control over their energy use. For example, fast food restaurants and convenience stores consume nearly 900 BTU of energy per square foot, which is 2.5 times more than other commercial buildings.

The IoT solution can monitor power consumption for each piece of equipment. One product, the MQpower CT, is a LoRaWAN-enabled wireless current transformer that measures real-time current consumption at the breaker or asset level. Another product, the MQpower SP, is a smart-plug load device that tracks daily energy usage, real-time current, voltage, and power factor. Both devices transmit energy data to the cloud via LoRaWAN technology.

The sensors can send data using either LoRaWAN or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), depending on the data volume and transmission range required.

Since its launch in 2016, MachineQ has been developing an IoT network connectivity platform and has expanded its offerings to include various sensor solutions for leak detection, indoor air quality, HVAC control, mold, vape, and smoke detection. Recently, they partnered with Spotta to add a pest control solution for tracking bedbugs in hotels.

In the past year, MachineQ has focused on the value of power monitoring control, leveraging sensor data such as vibration and occupancy to provide further context about site activities.