Hartford Business Journal

24 Hartford Business Journal • May 30, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com Geneia LLC We can help you achieve your cost and quality goals. To learn how, visit Geneia.com. Our technology and analytics solutions helped: At Geneia, it does. Our physicians, nurses, technologists, analytics experts, and business professionals have created a suite of solutions that enable employers, hospitals and health plans to better understand, evaluate and manage the health of their populations. Using our advanced analytics platform, remote patient monitoring tool, and education and research institute, we work with you to improve outcomes, lower cost and restore the Joy of Medicine. Solutions@geneia.com 866.267.9894 Curt identify $500,000 in savings on employee medical costs. Val and her team trim claims costs by 2% last year. WHAT IF TECHNOLOGY HAD A HEART? Jody reduce out-of-network referrals by 5%. Millionaires chalk success up to hard work and family values By Jackie Wattles CNN Money M ost high net worth Americans say they worked their way up from a lower class. That's according to a report released by U.S. Trust last week, based on a survey that asked 684 adults in the U.S. with $3 million or more of "investible assets" hun- dreds of questions. About 77 percent of those surveyed said they grew up in the middle class or lower, including 19 percent who say they were poor. And they credit their success to three some- what surprising factors: Hard work, ambition and family upbringing. Respondents even went so far as to say that these influences were much more important than "connec- tions" or "innate talent." "The points seem to be so traditional in nature," said Chris Heilmann, the chief fidu- ciary executive at U.S. Trust, Bank of Amer- ica's private wealth management firm. "It's [about] deeply held family values rather than an inheritance or existing wealth." The survey was also a shout-out to strict parents. About 80 percent of respondents said their parents were firm disciplinarians. They also named "academic achievement," "financial discipline" and "work participa- tion" as the family values that were most emphasized in their homes. "It indicates the American Dream seems to be alive and well," Heilmann said. Considering that some people might doubt that, Heilmann said that the results were "refreshing, encouraging and a bit surprising." n Clean energy gets dirty: Turning heat into sewage By Jackie Wattles CNNMoney C lean energy can be a dirty job. That's particularly true if you're Lynn Mueller, the founder of International Wastewater Systems, who has built a $20 mil- lion business harvesting heat from sewage. It's not the most glamorous technol- ogy, but Mueller's heat reclamation system, called the Sharc, can shave 30 percent to 70 percent off energy bills. (It works better in colder climates.) The Sharc is designed for use in major developments like apartment complexes or neighborhoods. Mueller has completed 12 projects so far — including for several resi- dential developments in Vancouver, a univer- sity in Scotland, a wool testing authority in Australia, and the county wastewater facility in Camden, New Jersey. Word is spreading — and Mueller says his phone is ringing off the hook. "We quickly went from being a local, small company to a worldwide operation. We've seen markets around the world demanding the product," Mueller said, adding that his company has an additional $80 million worth of projects in the works. Mueller launched International Waste- water Systems about six years ago. It's head- quartered in Vancouver, Canada. Here's how it works: The sewage — which is already at about 70-degrees Fahrenheit, thanks to showers, dishwashers and washing machines — passes through a heat exchang- er, which transfers the heat energy from the contaminated water to clean water. It then feeds a heat pump, which is key to what makes the Sharc a wise investment: "It only takes $1 worth of electricity to provide $4.50 worth of heat energy," Mueller said. The Sharc can replace space heating costs and hot water heaters, both of which eat up a big part of a gas or electric bill. It can also completely replace the cost of using gas or electric heat in buildings that use "hydronic" water loop systems — which most large- scale developments do. It's not a new technology. Heat pumps have been used by factories and other indus- trial plants for decades, and they're often used in car engines and refrigerators. But sewage heat reclamation is uncom- mon, and Mueller's company is one of the first to offer a one-stop shop for building, install- ing and maintaining the technology. The Sharc systems aren't cheap. A Sharc can cost anywhere from $60,000 to more than $1 million, depending on the project, and the annual maintenance fees run between $3,000 and $4,000. Adera Developments installed a Sharc in a townhouse and a condo development in Vancouver three years ago. President Norm Couttie said it recovers about 70 percent of the heat from wastewater and that the systems will pay for themselves in 10 years. Plus: "The system is completely sealed. It doesn't smell," he said. Some of International Wastewater Sys- tem's clients have used grants to cover a sig- nificant chunk of the upfront costs. For the $1.1 million Sharc installed at Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority in New Jersey, for example, all but $100,000 was covered by a clean-energy grant. Andy Kricun, the executive director of the Camden County Municipal Utilities Author- ity, said they'll make the $100,000 back in two years. The Sharc has a lifespan of 25 to 40 years, which means the savings could ulti- mately be as much as $2 million. "If [the Sharc] can be marketed in a cost- effective way," Kricun says. "It can be a trans- formative thing." n

• Cover