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| Martin Nankin was brought in as chairman of Field Diagnostic Services Inc. by Ben Franklin Technology Partners to provide experienced managerial expertise to the growing company. |
Like small investors who know the value of compound interest, major corporations are learning that small adjustments in their heating and air conditioning systems can mean big savings over time. Taking advantage of this attitude is a Bucks County company that has developed new technology to monitor energy use in those HVAC systems.
Field Diagnostic Services Inc. (FDSI) penned a commercial and investment agreement with Bank of America in June to deploy its technology to thousands of bank buildings across the nation to help the finance giant cut energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
FDSI is based in Fairless Hills, Pa., and its engineers have produced technology that has been used to assess and improve the performance of more than 300,000 heating and cooling units across the United States.
The brainchild of the company President Todd Rossi, who has a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, describes the FDSI system as allowing client companies to monitor energy use and efficiency of their commercial heating and air conditioning units and making adjustments to maintain high efficiency.
Pairing Brainpower with Business Expertise
“Todd is the scientist and the real juice behind this company,” said FDSI Chairman Martin Nankin, who was brought in at the recommendation of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP) to provide experienced managerial expertise to the growing company. “What Todd has invented are the algorithms to extract value from monitored data and drive the business case.”
BFTP provided a plethora of resources to the company as it was perfecting its systems and tools, said Nankin, who credits the organization with significantly contributing to FDSI's success.
"Without BFTP's early stage help, we may not have made it. Their staffers were just as committed as we were to making this work," he says, adding that BFTP helped FDSI find office and manufacturing space, attorneys, consultants, industry connections and even its own corporate staff.
Adjusting to the Demands
of the Market
Founded in 1994, FDSI first focused on a system that provided 24/7 feedback on rooftop HVAC systems. But while that system attracted the attention of partners such as Honeywell and national retail clients, the $4,000 per unit costs made it difficult to really penetrate the market, says Nankin.
"One national retail client said it made their equipment more efficient, but they had 1,000 stores," and the total cost was just too high, according to Nankin.
Today, the company's portable "HVAC Service Assistant" allows corporate maintenance staff and contractors to take periodic snapshots of system performance and make adjustments as needed. These tools automatically document equipment and service performance both at the job site and via the Internet. They reliably detect and diagnose operational problems, recommend preferred remediation, provide repair verification and describe in dollars and cents potential and realized benefits. On average a technician can be responsible for 150 units, thereby reducing the per unit cost to under $20.
Attracting Attention from Big Companies
Bank of America, which recently began installation of a new centralized energy management control system, plans to utilize FDSI's unique products and services in 3,300 banking centers nationwide. This will result in up to 50 percent cost savings for Bank of America when compared with using standard building control technologies. The FDSI software platform is expected to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions from the banking centers by an estimated 14,000 CO2 tons annually.
"There are nine million commercial heating and cooling units in the U.S. that can benefit from our technology, enabling businesses to save money and meet their sustainability goals," Rossi says. "Aided by the support from Bank of America, we are pleased to bring our clean technology solutions to the broader marketplace."
FDSI was the 2003 AHR (Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration) Innovation Award Winner for its HVAC Service Assistant tool. Customers include many Fortune 500 facilities, mechanical service companies, heating and cooling equipment manufacturers and electric utilities. |
