Interview with Kenneth Lee, Founder of Green Koncepts

We often hear about how much we can do about energy conservation and sustainable development from the activists involved in the green movement. However, there exist companies with products who are doing their small part to guide us in our household towards energy conservation and in a small part, help us towards saving the Earth. So, we found a company in Singapore, Green Koncepts, which specialized in this area, and got their founder, Kenneth Lee to tell us about their product, Wattson – their wireless electricity monitor and the challenges involved in this emerging industry of energy conservation for the household.

BL: Hi Kenneth, thank you for accepting our interview. Tell us about your background and how it eventually led you to Green Koncepts.
Kenneth: I graduated as an Electrical & Electronics engineer but spent the last 14 years in Enterprise Software Sales working with different industries and helping them implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and may other areas to improve their operational efficiency and automate manual processes to improve quality and reduce cost. Through these software packages, my clients were able to get better information about the state of their businesses often on a real time basis. This helped them make important decisions with the right information on a timely basis. In 2008, it dawned upon me that these same companies and also consumers had little if not any information that could help them understand their energy usage whether in the home or in the office. With my background in EEE which provided a solid foundation that helped me understand how energy was used in electrical appliances and my career in enterprise software that showed me how companies relied on timely accurate information to make decisions, I saw potential for growth in this new industry.

BL: What is your motivation to set up Green Koncepts?
Kenneth: I have always been conscious about energy usage, switching to energy saving bulbs from as early as 1996 in my previous homes even though energy tariffs then were still relatively low and the whole idea of a carbon footprint had yet to be developed. In our efforts to further reduce our family energy usage, I started to engage the whole family, getting them to participate in eliminating energy wastage through prudent use and the understanding of how energy is used by household appliances. Quickly, I found that the most difficult area was to engage the children and help them understand how much energy could be saved if they practised prudent habits. This was mainly due to the fact that the children could not see how much energy was used by each household appliance and since they were still young, they did not fully understand what it meant to pay for electricity usage. I then realised that likewise consumers have little information about how energy was used in a household and without this vital feedback, it was difficult to even start conserving energy ! As the saying goes, “If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it”. So, I decided to start Green Koncepts which aims to educate families, consumers, students, educators, employees, etc about energy conservation through the solutions that we offer.

BL: Green Koncepts deal with products that are primarily help us in energy conservation. What type of products you offer?
Kenneth: Depending on the type of client, we offer different solutions and products but with one common factor. Energy conservation can only happen if people understand it, embrace it, and then take the necessary action to reduce their energy usage. Energy conservation cannot happen by its own. However, we believe that when people are empowered with the right information and the right tools, they can be motivated to conserve energy. This is what Green Koncepts and our solutions aim to do.

For consumers at home, it starts with being able to see how they use energy in the home. To do this, we offer Wattson, a wireless electricity monitor that tells you your energy usage in real time. This portable device allows you to see how much energy each household appliance consumes and how this energy is used at any time of the day. This provides consumers with invaluable feedback in two key areas, how much power each household appliance consumes and the consumption pattern throughout a day and over a month. This information is available as a historical chart through software on the PC or Mac. Once consumers have this information, most people will know how to save simply by trying to bring the baseline energy usage to as low a number as they possibly can on the Wattson display. This is achieved by turning off unused appliances and changing consumption habits, monitoring the results and then taking further action. In some cases, it would also mean replacing old energy gustlers in the home with newer more energy efficient products. The important point is that these actions are taken with the right information provided by Wattson and not just guesswork.

For businesses, we take a more holistic approach. This starts with the Consulting services that we offer. This service centres around 3 main areas; People, Processes & Equipment. The People area looks at engaging employees, educating and helping them understand more about how they can play their part at work, providing them with an ability to see how energy is used and helping them better manage energy usage at work through best practices. We believe that People alone can help reduce energy usage by up to 15%. Most processes in the office are designed for operational efficiency or to make work easy. Energy, until recently has not been a factor in these processes. In this area, we look at how to incorporate energy friendly practices without impacting business in a negative way and where there are no such processes, we help establish one. We also help establish a framework for energy measurement and monitoring which allows companies to accurately make the right operational decisions that take energy use into account. Wattson can also be used in offices for this purpose. With the right processes in place, energy usage can be reduced further by up to another 10-15%.

The 3rd area that we focus on is Equipment. Depending on the office environment or factory, equipment can have a significant impact on energy usage. We divide this area into two areas, discretionary and non discretionary usage. For example, in an office, lights have to be turned on during the whole working day, hence this is classified as non discretionary and the only way to reduce this type of energy is with more efficient lighting. We provide energy efficient alternatives for normal fluorescent lighting that consume up to 35% less energy with the same or more luminance with a very small upfront cost. We also carry weatherproof LED Lighting for outdoor areas. Right now, we are looking to add to our range of products so that we can offer a more comprehensive solution for our clients. In the future, we will be looking at renewable energy sources and micro energy generation that will serve to supplement the energy needs of a home, office, factory or building.

BL: Wattson is Singapore’s first wireless electricity monitor. Can you briefly tell us how it works and how does the consumer check on his or her energy consumption?
Kenneth: Wattson works by measuring in real time the energy being used through a sensor and this information is relayed through a transmitter to a large and brightly lit display. Wattson is wireless, so you can place it anywhere in a home. With its large bright display, the whole family can see the energy usage of the home in real time and practise energy saving habits. Wattson also measures the average usage in your home and has a coloured light system that glows blue through to red when your energy usage is below or above your monthly average, providing consumers with another visual indicator that stimulates a call to action to reduce their energy usage. By connecting Wattson to the PC or Mac and running the software provided with Wattson, consumers can chart their historical consumption. This is useful to help provide immediate feedback on home’s energy conservation efforts without having to wait till you receive your monthly electricity bill. This computer program which allows consumers to see hourly, daily and monthly charts further reinforce the energy conservation efforts of the family and help identify areas to further reduce the energy bill of the home.

BL: How does an electricity monitor help to educate the household in making adjustments or effort in energy conservation?
Kenneth: It has been proven that Energy Monitors help consumers reduce energy usage from the experience in countries that are more advanced in their energy conservation efforts. The principle behind this is that we can only manage what we can measure. With the information provided by the energy monitor, consumers can literally see their instantaneous energy usage. This provides the essential element required to start energy conservation. Armed with this real time information every action to turn on or turn off a household appliance is clearly seen on the display, so consumers get real time feedback. This encourages consumers immediately. A second effect is that consumers start taking notice of their energy usage at different times of the day, something I call the “ Energy Floor”. This is the amount of energy use at different times of the day and consumers will start to realise that at any given point in time, they should expect an optimum number. Should this be higher than the Energy Floor, then consumers will immediately realise that some appliances have been left on and energy usage is not at the optimum level for that time of the day. This generates a call to action for all in the home to ‘restore’ the energy floor to what it is supposed to be by hunting down and turning off the unused electrical appliance.

BL: What are the challenges in getting your customers to adopt your products? Any interesting experience to share with us.
Kenneth: The are several challenges but the biggest challenge is the lack of energy awareness by consumers. Most people have no clue and don’t pay much attention to energy usage, taking it for granted. After all, Singapore has never really experienced any real form of energy disruption that has meant an inconvenience to our daily lives, so many do not realise how an energy shortage can affect us. Environmental consciousness, while increasing is still relatively low and economic drivers still dominate the agenda. So, many do it to save some money. The second challenge with Energy Monitors is that some perceive it as only a monitor and these group of people are looking for products that actually reduce their energy consumption automatically. Unfortunately, there is no such product available and some of the vendors selling power factor correction devices that promise energy savings may not be as useful as consumers think they are. In Singapore, all low tension customers such as homes pay only for active power (kWh) and so these power factor correction devices do not reduce the energy bill. The only way to reduce energy is to use less of it, to use it effectively or to use a product that is more energy efficient. Because Wattson is an experiential product, that means you have to use it to experience it before you can reap the benefits. For consumers who have purchased and used Wattson, we have received very positive email feedback and every one of them has saved between 10% – 50% of their energy bill through using the information provided by Wattson.

BL: Given the global push in climate change and energy conservation, what are the trends and behaviour of consumers who are eager to be part of the movement?
Kenneth: The first thing that a consumer should do is to understand that they play a part, even if its a small part in conserving the environment. It does not matter if they save $10 or a $1000 a month on their energy bill or recycle 10% or 50% of the recyclable items. The bottom line is that it all adds up, bit by bit, home by home into a significant effort. Energy conservation is not a fad nor trend that becomes outdated, it must be a lifestyle choice motivated by the long term impact we can make on the environment. Consumers should demand for energy efficient products, live an energy smart lifestyle and make energy a consideration factor when they buy a home, an electrical appliance or when they setup a process. We should all recognise that we are collectively responsible for how much energy we use and not just wait for others to take the first step.

BL: What do you think are the three most important traits of an entrepreneur?
Kenneth: I have just started out and so, I might not have yet made the mistakes and learn my lessons ! However, I believe that entrepreneurs must be prepared to accept failures because that is part and parcel of trying and venturing out on your own and taking on more risk than earning a salary. Entrepreneurs also need to be resourceful because unlike working in a large company, entrepreneurs have limited resources in all areas be it financial, expertise, knowledge, etc and therefore need to learn how to tap on contacts and make do with improvisation where possible. The third area would be determination and perseverance and the strength to see an idea from creation to reality, painstakingly executing it through good times and bad times, making changes where necessary to reflect market demands or changes.

BL: Kenneth, thank you for the interview, and we wish you and Green Koncepts all the best.