San Marcos Company Proves AI Can Do More Than Write Your Emails

Artificial intelligence gets blamed for plenty these days.

Stealing jobs. Writing questionable term papers. Creating photos of people with six fingers.

But a San Marcos company is putting AI to work on something considerably more practical: keeping commercial buildings from wasting energy.

And apparently, people are noticing.

Encycle, a San Marcos-based energy technology company, has received national sustainability recognition for its work using artificial intelligence to optimize heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in commercial buildings.

The Big Idea: Make Buildings Smarter

HVAC systems are energy hogs.

In large commercial buildings — think retailers, restaurants, offices and other businesses — heating and cooling equipment can represent a significant chunk of overall electricity use.

Encycle's technology tackles that problem by coordinating HVAC equipment so it operates more efficiently rather than having multiple systems unnecessarily competing for power at the same time.

In simple terms?

It teaches a building when to chill out.

The company's technology analyzes operating conditions and automatically makes adjustments designed to reduce energy consumption while maintaining comfortable temperatures inside.

The result is less wasted electricity, lower demand on the electrical grid and reduced carbon emissions.

And This Isn't Just a Science Experiment

What makes Encycle's approach interesting is that it isn't technology waiting around for somebody to figure out what to do with it.

It's being used to address an everyday expense businesses already have: keeping their buildings comfortable.

That makes the potential impact much larger than simply shaving a few dollars from an electric bill.

When energy demand spikes — particularly during hot Southern California afternoons when seemingly every air conditioner from Oceanside to El Cajon decides to clock in simultaneously — reducing unnecessary demand can also help ease pressure on the electrical grid.

That's where the company's work around grid resilience comes into the picture.

A Little National Attention for San Marcos

For those of us in San Marcos and Vista, there's another interesting part of the story.

This isn't Silicon Valley.

It isn't some shiny startup headquartered in downtown San Francisco.

It's happening right here in San Marcos.

North County has plenty of businesses quietly doing work that reaches far beyond our little corner of Southern California, and Encycle is another reminder that some surprisingly sophisticated technology is being developed practically in our backyard.

We spend plenty of time talking about the businesses opening around town.

Sometimes it's worth noticing the ones that are busy building something the rest of the country is talking about.

And in this case, they're even helping keep the electric bill down while they're at it.

Questions About Encycle 

What does Encycle do?
Encycle develops technology designed to optimize commercial HVAC systems and reduce unnecessary energy consumption.

Where is Encycle located?
The company is based in San Marcos, California.

Why does HVAC optimization matter?
Heating and cooling can account for a substantial portion of a commercial building's energy use. More efficient operation can reduce electricity consumption, costs and carbon emissions.

How does this help the electrical grid?
Reducing or better coordinating electricity demand from large HVAC systems can lessen demand during periods when the electrical grid is under greater strain.