Austin Energy was awarded a grant by the Public Utility Commission of Texas Thursday to purchase energy-saving devices for vending machines in public areas throughout Austin.
The device, called Ven-dingMiser, will be installed in 1,400 vending machines beginning in May to conserve energy and reduce costs for the city. It is already installed in vending machines at Austin Energy offices.
The grant of $166,516 came from the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan as part of an effort to meet federal air quality standards in 38 counties across Texas. However, Travis County is the first to install the units in vending machines in Texas, according to Theresa Gross, a spokeswoman for the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
"These things are pretty reliable and aren't complicated devices," said Ed Clark, vice president of corporate communications and spokes-man for Austin Energy. "They save a lot of power, enough to power a few hundred homes a year."
The technology works by using a combination of an infrared occupancy sensor and an electronic controller, much like a motion detector, to determine if anyone is in the area. Once a customer gets within 20 feet of the sensor, the VendingMiser powers up the vending machine to dispense a drink or snack. When the customer leaves, it takes 15 minutes before VendingMiser triggers the compressor, fan and lights inside the vending machine to idle down.
Each VendingMiser retails for $179 and results in a 46 percent energy saving of $125 per year on average, said Chuck Philipp, a vice president of sales and marketing and co-developer for Bayview Technology Group, which developed VendingMiser three years ago. The actual savings depend on the traffic around the machine, Philipp said.
"It pays for itself within a couple of years, depending on the cost of energy where you live," Philipp said. "It'd take less than a year in California."
"Drinks actually stay 1 degree cooler with VendingMiser, and a lot more energy is saved because the vending machines aren't sucking up electricity all the time," said Philipp.
However, VendingMiser is not intended for use on outdoor vending machines or those that contain perishable products.
"We will report back to Public Utility Commission of Texas after doing some research on the efficiency of VendingMiser," said Clark. "If it's successful, we could see a lot more all across Texas."
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