The Netflix of Demand Management

Developers Rahul Mangharam and Madhur Behl took center stage at the ARPA-E summit this year with their innovative product “DR-Advisor,” a data-driven demand response system designed to cut energy costs and improve building efficiency. Described as the Netflix of demand management, DR-Advisor uses historic meter and weather data as well as set-point and schedule data to make predictions about power consumption and recommend a better plan.

Mangharam, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, and Behl, a former Ph.D. student in the same department, continue to gain support for their work. In March, they won Carnegie Mellon’s Allegheny Region Cleantech University Prize, sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of Energy. Mangharam and Behl’s DR-Advisor startup received first place and $50,000 in prize money.