Sempa was founded in 2004 by three individuals that had extensive experience in buildings and energy systems. The company began by completing audits on buildings in Whistler BC, aimed at achieving results that would deliver real and feasible savings, while reducing emissions and total energy use. The company established an early reputation by ensuring that all savings were measurable, manageable and reportable. Customers could verify their results. Only projects with paybacks of less than 3 years were considered, and after four years of operation, the average payback for all jobs was 28 months.
Sempa developed a hybrid heating system. The system reduced heating system costs by implementing a carefully managed fuel switching methodology. Electric heat would supplement or replace fossil fuel heat when feasible. Most electricity rates used in commercial buildings include a KW energy charge and a KW demand charge. The demand charge is based on the peak load used for a short time during the billing period. In many cases, additional electrical energy that can be used without exceeding the established peak load for that period can be used to deliver heat at a cost that is less than the cost of fossil fuel powered heat. The Sempa Hybrid Heating System™ utilizes this approach to achieve savings in cost, emissions, and energy use. In essence, the system used cheap electricity that would normally be unused, to offset fossil fuel. The cheap electricity was unused energy with demand charges already paid. International patents have been filed for this concept.
The hybrid heating concept has recently been extended to provide ancillary services for electrical utilities. Power system operators must maintain an ongoing balance between generation and load, and this control has generally been done by adjusting the output of one or more generators. While this system has worked for many years, the use of generators for control is generally less than optimal because some of the highest value, fast response generation must be tied up for this purpose. The Sempa Regulation Services Network applies the same load switching techniques used for hybrid heating, to provide utilities with control of a large load that can be adjusted rapidly to provide the required control.
Sempa continues to innovate. We have assembled a team of very bright people, with broad backgrounds covering all aspects of building operations. There is a keen sense within the team that there is an urgent need to make buildings more efficient, but the task must be done in ways that are cost effective, and result in significant reduction s in total emissions and energy.
Sempa has a number of new innovative products in development, all of which will meet the initial criteria and with results that can be measured, managed and reported.
Sempa Power | Company History
