A shift in focus to the quality of power being delivered in commercial buildings has provided a significant source of revenue for TLC Integration Systems of Carson City.
TLC had formerly focused on day-lighting controls, but over the past few years expanded the scope of its work into power quality analysis and installation of controls for a building's entire mechanical system. The company has generated more than $500,000 in sales this year through power quality analysis alone, President Carl Keller says.
TLC Integration System works as a consultant to architects, engineers and others involved in new building construction and retrofits of existing commercial buildings. The goal: to provide better power to buildings whose users routinely engage in high-drain activities.
"All buildings face the same issue with the electrical distribution system that is not compatible with the current technology we have introduced into those buildings," says Keller, whose has spent more than 40 years working as an electrician and electrical engineer. "Most of the energy retrofits that have been implemented over the past 20 years create power quality issues, all the computer equipment, copiers, phone systems, everything we put into our buildings have solid state attached to it that cause dirty power."
TLC audits a building's environmental systems then suggests solutions to construction teams and owners. The company uses existing products and integrates them into a single package that allows each of a building's systems to communicate and work together as one.
The secret to TLC's success, Keller says, is getting the different design teams to communicate so they can all achieve the same energy goals.
The integration package brings a building's management system - all the mechanical equipment, HVAC, lighting, and now power quality electrical distribution - into one package.
TLC was granted a patent on the controls process two years ago.