For companies, big energy savings are linked to the 'Internet of things'

Companies are finding large energy savings by adopting smart-building technologies that also provide other benefits, executives said on Tuesday at Fortune’s Brainstorm E conference in Austin, Texas.Joe Costello, CEO of a Silicon Valley energy technology company called Enlighted, said his company’s clients are cutting their lighting bills by 60% to 70% and cutting heat and air conditioning bills by 20% to 30%. “The energy savings pays for the installation of the network,” he said, referencing the smart-building technologies, “and gives you data that enables a ton of other applications,” including asset tracking.Costello made the comments during a breakfast session called “The Zero-Energy Corporation.” The business leaders who participated shared a variety of tactics they had used to cut energy usage and adopt clean energy sources.