Groom Energy has announced that the Enterprise Smart Grid currently represents a $5.2 billion vendor market in the United States—growing at a rate of 40 percent each year.  And in an effort to both explain and exploit that market, the company is now offering a new website, an industry conference, a white paper, and other resources to the business community.

According to Groom, corporate managers today are realizing that traditional utility bills, which report month-old usage data, are neither timely nor granular enough to guide a company’s daily energy decisions. Instead, businesses are looking at the Enterprise Smart Grid to access three fundamental capabilities:

•  Visibility : Continuous and historical tracking of all energy consuming systems
•  Control: Intelligent energy management
• Integration: Linking of energy consumption and costs to financial systems, energy procurement and management incentives

The Enterprise Smart Grid uses a combination of submetering, software, and hardware to manage and reduce corporate energy costs. Utility submetering enables a commercial building or multi-tenant property to bill tenants for individual measured utility usage.

Groom's research identified distribution, education, manufacturing, and retail organizations that already have begun to adopt Enterprise Smart Grid solutions. These implementations have produced behavioral changes and have driven savings ranging from 5 percent to 15 percent, based on the new visibility, control, and management integration.

No single vendor is currently delivering on all aspects of the Enterprise Smart Grid; implementation typically requires services that integrate multiple-vendor solutions. Groom Energy has identified 16 vendor categories that collectively represent the most important functional areas. These include submetering technology from companies like Diehl and Rockwell Automation, energy management software from companies like SAP and IBM, building management systems from companies like Trane and Honeywell, and energy procurement from companies like Co-eXprise Energy and World Energy. Utility and demand response programs also play a critical role.

"We've seen the customer need emerging over the last few years, initially with our heaviest electricity consumers. Going forward, it's clear that every business will need to more fully consider current energy costs in their decision-making, and view energy as a variable, not a fixed, cost. With Enterprise Smart Grid, companies will have all of the data they need for significant energy and money savings," said Paul Baier, Vice President of Sustainability Consulting at Groom Energy.

To help managers begin to educate themselves about their new energy choices, Groom Energy has launched a website that defines and highlights the burgeoning market and its promise. A free, in-depth whitepaper also is available today to registered site visitors.

A full research report, The Enterprise Smart Grid: the Market, its Drivers and the Vendor Landscape, will be released for sale in October. The research provides market sizing, an overview of growth and key drivers, and customer case studies. It also evaluates industry vendors and their capabilities

In addition, to bring together companies and vendors interested in the Enterprise Smart Grid, Groom Energy will host a one-day Enterprise Smart Grid 2011 Conference on November 2 at the Embassy Suites Hotel at Boston Logan International Airport. The event will include panel sessions, corporate case studies, and exhibits.  Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now.

Groom Energy, based in Salem, Massachusetts, provides a range of commercial and industrial energy solutions, from corporate sustainability and whole-building energy assessments, to turnkey installations at enterprise facilities across the United States.

For more information, visit the Groom Energy company website.