Behind the Patents: How Budderfly Inventor Ibhade Eigbobo Is Helping Us Transform Energy Efficiency
A vital part of how we foster innovation is the Budderfly Inventor Program. In this blog series, we are highlighting some of the great thinkers across Budderfly who are working with us to invent creative solutions and optimizations to deepen our sustainable technology portfolio.
Ibhade Eigbobo is Budderfly’s Director of Corporate Project Management and Analysis. In addition to his day-to-day role doing strategic analysis, operational improvements and major project planning, Ibhade has helped contribute to some of the company’s most exciting patents as a Budderfly Inventor.
Ibhade is originally from Nigeria and growing up, he always wanted to build rockets. He came to the U.S. and studied mechanical engineering, and eventually his focus shifted away from rockets to thermal fluids. After a few years working for various companies, he went to Harvard Business School, where he excelled and ambitiously took on 6 internships, including one company focused on Electric vehicle charging, his first foray into the green energy sector.
He was interested in renewables and green energy, and always felt that logically, it made sense to first focus on energy efficiency before going big on renewables. He felt that by lowering overall energy needs, it would make green energy adoption easier and more affordable. That’s what made him excited to work with Budderfly, as the company has a large focus on reducing energy consumption to help accelerate the path to net zero.
In his time at Budderfly, Ibhade has been involved in a few patents. He was crucial in the development of our energy management software (EMS), creating a highly sophisticated and original piece of technology with unprecedented levels of data and insights. Collaborating with other Budderfly Inventors, Ibhade conducted research and ideation to identify gaps in the EMS market and helped develop the software we now use to maximize value for our customers.
Ibhade has also found a great partnership with Budderfly inventor David Cannon. The two have very different backgrounds. Ibhade has a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering and earlier in his career worked for large energy and VC companies, while David has more than 25 years of experience working with commercial and industrial HVAC and refrigeration. Together, their different areas of expertise have led to exciting discoveries and new patents.
“While I was studying, my favorite subject was thermodynamics. I thought about how we can use turbines to help recover some energy from wasted heat, and I remember seeing P-V and T-S diagrams and I wondered if maybe there could be a way to recover it,” Ibhade says.
“I talked to David Cannon, who has a lot more practical knowledge compared to my theoretical ideas. We discussed the heat that comes out of HVACs and agreed there was the potential ability to recover that energy and use it as power for the building--reducing the energy required from the grid.”
The two are now working to test if it is practically possible, potentially creating another energy saving innovation to help Budderfly’s customers and the planet through reduced energy and emissions. They are also working on a few other projects together as well.
Ibhade’s ideas and patents are helping contribute to Budderfly’s culture of innovation and our industry-leading energy saving technology. We have 48 patents filed, and many more in development, that are helping to reduce energy consumption for our customers and reduce carbon emissions for the planet.
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