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Planet-Profit Report, reporting on sustainable development in the Western United States.

Cleantech Spotlight: Dragonfly Solutions

Schools are the first target for electricity-saving units

THE COMPANY: Dragonfly Solutions

STORY IN BRIEF: Co-founder L. Brent Ivie has 31 years in the electronics field and a 2002 sale of a company to Honeywell. He and Dragonfly co-founder Jaqueline Zielenski have a joint provisional patent on energy-saving technology that results in more efficient use of electricity in schools, businesses, and homes. Dragonfly arose from the ashes of a company called Perpetual Green. Since 2009, when the technology was introduced, 1,000 units have been sold. The units makes electrical systems operate better and hence more efficiently. With its most updated package, the firm hopes to first sell to schools, then expand into other sectors. The patent-pending technology reduces energy consumption an average 20 percent, with a pay off less than two years.

THE PROBLEM: Voltage and amperage continuously get out of sync in electrical systems, causing electrical systems to work harder. This inefficiency makes motors and transformers run hot, shortening equipment life spans. Electricity rates have been rising 5 percent annually, many utilities – including Rocky Mountain Power in Utah and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power – project 10 percent annual increases for the next several years.

THE SOLUTION: Dragonfly claims to combine six types of energy-saving technologies into one system – at one-tenth the cost – as compared to other solutions. The company’s promotional material says the system monitors all energy data continuously and adjusts the electrical system automatically. The hardware and software components of Dragonfly systems regulate voltage, mitigate harmonics, and filter surges and spikes.

MARKET CHALLENGES: Other systems address the same problem, but Dragonfly insists it has several distinct advantages that collectively add up to 1 + 1 = 3.
Zielenski, the co-founder and president, says the firm sold 1,000 units of its Version 1.0 System to everybody from gas stations to homeowners to yogurt stores, but found it difficult to service such a diverse market. Investments were smaller, but so were gains in the small business and home market, and the different environments too diverse.

BUSINESS PLAN: “The CleanTech Open really helped us understand the value of focusing on and owning one market,” says Zielenski. Dragonfly now intends to focus first on K-12 schools. Some federal grants to schools stipulate efforts to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent or more, but after changing out light bulbs, the task becomes more difficult. “Every school we’ve spoken to has asked for a second meeting or a pilot,” she says. Schools are attractive because they can absorb the up-front investment in the units, especially given what a huge reduction in energy costs they achieve. Dragonfly’s installs the product and leases the product for 5 to 10 years with third-party financing. “It’s a no-brainer,” says Ivie. From schools, Dragonfly intends to expand into municipal and other governments and then homes and industry “silos,” such as yogurt shops or convenience stores with gas pumps.