Newswise — A technology start-up company, Switch Incorporated, founded by North Dakota State University students, is a semifinalist in the ‘Smart Power, Green Grid and Energy Storage’ category of the Cleantech Open. Teams from around the U.S. are participating in the world’s largest cleantech accelerator, based in Silicon Valley. The Cleantech Open finds, funds and fosters entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today's energy, environmental and economic challenges. Jake Joraanstad, a senior majoring in computer engineering at North Dakota State University, created the Fargo-based company, Switch Incorporated.
“We are extremely pleased to be a part of The Cleantech Open,” said Joraanstad. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to present the benefits of Switch to leaders in the industry.”
Switch, an energy monitoring and automation software with a completely free and open interface, allows users to access and monitor energy consumption at their home or business with their computer or mobile phone. Switch provides simple yet elegant reporting tools, interactive graphs, social network sharing and integration, scheduling, automation, and intelligent learning capabilities to give the user a clear picture on energy consumption for the past, present, and future.
“Switch is committed to providing energy consumption data and letting the consumer make the decision on how to monitor their energy,” said Joraanstad. “Everyone’s needs are different, so homes and businesses will have the ability to remotely prioritize and monitor their energy needs according to their schedules.” Wasted electricity can create substantial costs, with homeowners and businesses seeking energy management tools to control such costs. According to Parks Associates, a market research and consulting firm, “60 percent of U.S. households will have energy management technologies, deployed by utilities, service providers, or retailers, by 2022.”
In addition to this competition, Joraanstad is also a cofounder and manages Myriad Devices, a successful mobile software solutions company providing phone apps to businesses, located in the NDSU Research & Technology Park. The Switch product team includes Ben Whittier and Ross Eickhoff, electrical engineering students at NDSU. Other contributors to Switch include NDSU graduates Ryan Raguse and James Dravitz.
Joraanstad said the Cleantech Open provides an exceptional opportunity for entrepreneurs. After rigorous preparation, feedback from industry leaders and educational seminars later this summer, Switch will present in front of the judging committee and winners will be announced later this fall. Semifinalist companies compete for regional prizes that include combined cash and in-kind services worth up to $20,000, with regional winners advancing to compete at the national level for a grand prize of up to $250,000 in cash and services, and an overall prize chest of nearly $1 million.
North Dakota State University, Fargo, is among the top 108 universities in the U.S. with very high research activity, as determined by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education. NDSU is a student focused, land-grant, research university – an economic engine that educates students, conducts primary research, creates new knowledge and advances technology. At the 55-acre NDSU Research & Technology Park, faculty, staff and students work with private sector researchers on leading-edge projects.
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