EnerNOC pushes demand response downstream with acquisition

One of the better known players in demand response programs, EnerNOC, has bought a company that it helps will expand its footprint in smaller commercial accounts. Although it did not disclose the amount it paid for SmallFoot, which offers wireless demand control technologies, it says the acquisition will not materially impact its 2010 results.

EnerNOC says SmallFoot's support of wireless communications technologies including IEEE 802.15.4 and the Zigbee protocol will help it brings is applications including SiteSMART, SupplySMART and CarbonSMART into smaller commercial sites. That's probably a good thing, because this represents about 90 percent of the entire commercial facilities market that EnerNOC is after. (Although it's only 50 percent of total commercial energy consumption.) Right now, about 25 percent in the EnerNOC network are smaller sites, according to the company's CEO.

EnerNOC has two primary aspects to its business including demand response initiatives like this one with a New York data center operator and a portfolio of energy management applications.