Cleantech Forum in San Francisco
Big Data, for the Environment
San Francisco Forum Will Showcase Smart Devices for Saving Energy
Environmentally friendly companies will be pushing clean technology that is smarter—and smaller—when products go on display this week at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco.
Ellen Weinstein
Devices that can help homeowners cut their electric bills and get to work on less fuel are getting easier to use, thanks to better data, according to Sheeraz Haji, chief executive of Cleantech Group, the research consultancy sponsoring the annual gathering.
To make products smarter and more accessible to individual consumers, devices are being coupled with digital networks and analytical tools—think of Nest Labs Inc.'s smart thermostat, a product that helped prompt Google Inc. GOOG -0.70% to buy the company last January for $3.2 billion.
But investors appear to be following the smaller trend. The amount of venture capital that flowed globally into clean-technology firms dropped 15% during 2013, to about $6.8 billion, according to Cleantech Group. Even so, the focus on savings should be a hit with consumers, Mr. Haji said.
