INVENTION
38 March 2019 _ PopularMechanics.comILLUSTRATIONBY^GREGMAXON↓ MY PATENT STORY
Before there’s a patent, there’s an idea.
Before that, there’s a person with a problem to solve.A system for metering apartment buildings
that saves renters money—but ended up
running afoul of utility companies.A Better
Way t o B u y
Electricity
(2) LAST NAME (3) FIRST NAME (4) PATENT NO.(1) PAT E NTJacobson Jay 7,460,931
Method and System for
Improving the Efficiency and
Reliability of a Power GridTell us your patent story at [email protected].I’ve been in the energy con-
servation business since- I started in renew-
ables and whatnot, and I got
into apartment buildings,
because at the time only a
small company could really
service them properly.
We were very good at fix-
ing what was broken. And
that’s kind of the way I look
at what I do. I hate things
that are broken, and when
people use more energy
than they should, I consider
it broken.(9) The bigger the bill you give the electric company, you can get
into cheaper commercia l rates. So my solution was to have a
new “master” meter (A) installed on the building for the util-
ity, then re-meter the units (B) with my own meters. We were
able to buy from the utility at commercial rates, then sell to
renters at resale rates. I passed some savings on to renters
and used some to buy more efficient appliances (C). A nd that
turned into enough of a process that I could patent it.(10) I never thought I could patent a process. Objects—that I
knew. But then I was trying to help my nephew, who was a
drywaller trying to patent a different way of building Sheet-
rock stilts because his legs were always hurting, and all of a
sudden he started looking into process patents. And I go,
What the hell is that?(11) You can patent a method of building a car engine, as an
example. You build it with a method that is cheaper, faster, or
whatever. You don’t patent the engine—it’s still a 350 Chevy
when you’re done. It’s just a different way of making it.(12) My object was to save energ y to prevent pollution. I had long
hair at the time. The utilities were more than happy to work
with me: Apartment buildings are tough. It’s a high turnover
rate, people skip out on bills. I was getting rid of a problem.(13) Well, then marketing probably got ahold of it and saw I was
taking their $8 metering charge, or whatever. Suddenly I’ve
got $600,000 of equipment sitting in a warehouse that the
utility won’t let me install. Sued me. Cease-and-desist.(14) It took me five years to beat them in court. But then two
years later they changed the rules with the utilities commis-
sion to say I couldn’t mark up the power I was buying from
them. By the time I got the patent, it was too late.(15) When I got my patent, it was a shock. Just because I’m nuts,
okay? I’ve always worked outside the box. Or as my father
used to tell people: My son has never seen the box. I’ve always
looked at things differently, and most people assume that
means I’m an idiot. So I really liked getting a patent. I could
feel good about my ideas.BAC(7) If you looked at the total energy consumption of an apart-
ment building, most of the energy was being used in the
units. And the renters pay the bills. But the owner of the
building is the one who buys the appliances. So why would
the owner, who is a businessman, want to buy, say, a more
efficient refrigerator? Well, he wouldn’t. It’s a split incen-
tive, as they call it in the field.(8) So I tried to change the deal, okay?