DemandQ

DemandQ, Inc. develops demand and energy management software for commercial buildings and multi-site portfolios. The platform deploys as a software overlay on a facility's existing building automation system, connecting through BACnet, Modbus, JACE controllers and the company's EZConnect toolkit, and requires no new hardware or capital expenditure. Its patented queuing technology coordinates when HVAC and other cyclic loads operate so that coincident demand spikes are avoided, with the company describing the approach as optimizing when equipment runs rather than whether it runs, under comfort constraints ("smarter management, not warmer buildings").

The product suite includes Intelligent Demand Optimization (IDO) for continuous peak demand mitigation, claimed at 10–25% reduction; Automated Demand Response (ADR) using predictive precooling to deliver committed curtailment and limit post-event rebound peaks; Price Mitigation, which monitors wholesale market prices and executes automated curtailment within 8 seconds for facilities in deregulated markets such as ERCOT; DemandMaster, a DERMS/virtual power plant portal allowing utilities, aggregators and grid operators to dispatch curtailment across hundreds of sites with geographic, zone and time-based activation and white-label capability; and DR Max, a demand response aggregation service for California facilities (ELRP/CBP) with digital enrollment and a 10% take rate, leaving participants 90% of grid revenue. Deployment is offered in cloud-hosted or on-premises tiers with full REST API access for data sovereignty or integration requirements.

Savings are measured and reported under IPMVP Option C methodology. The company states it has been in market over 12 years, manages more than 150 MW of HVAC load, and reports more than $10 million in cumulative customer savings and over 15,000 metric tons of CO₂ avoided.

Founding story

DemandQ was founded by a team of electrical engineers and energy business executives around the premise that the commercial building sector holds substantial untapped capacity to stabilize the electrical grid while lowering energy costs for building owners, operators and tenants. The platform was built to link commercial energy use to grid stability by letting buildings manage when HVAC and other systems operate.

Business model

DemandQ sells software-based demand management services to commercial facility operators and to channel partners. Direct customers adopt the platform without capital expenditure or upfront fees, with savings positioned as operational from deployment. Partners — ESCOs, demand response aggregators, building automation integrators and utilities — can resell the suite, deploy a white-labeled platform, or integrate via a free EZConnect JACE plug-in and BACnet modules, REST APIs and a partner operations portal. The DR Max aggregation service is described as charging a 10% flat take rate on grid revenue, with participants retaining 90%.

Stated pricing elements include no upfront fees or capital expenditure for the demand optimization overlay and a 10% flat take rate on demand response revenue under the DR Max aggregation program; partner arrangements are described as reseller margin structures and white-label licensing.

Traction

Company-reported portfolio figures include more than 150 MW of HVAC load under management, over $10 million in total customer savings and more than 15,000 metric tons of CO₂ reduced, all stated as derived from IPMVP-compliant measurement and verification. Published case results include a national retail chain with 600+ enrolled locations reporting over $4 million in verified savings, 175,000+ kW mitigated and 7,800+ metric tons of CO₂ reduced; a telecommunications provider deployment across nationwide mobility sites reporting 24% demand reduction, 12% bill cost reduction and 4% CO₂ reduction; and a quick-serve restaurant chain reporting over 10% bill reduction and $920 in annual kWh savings per site.

Latest developments

The company is running pre-enrollment for the 2027 program year of its DR Max demand response aggregation service for California facilities. A funding news item dated March 2026 reported that DemandQ raised $300,000 to accelerate product development, expand AI capabilities and broaden its commercial market reach.