Scaling a distributed energy management system with Elixir & Elm for Enbala

Scaling a platform for real-time control with high volumes of telemetry

The Mission

We helped Enbala build out and scale their Concerto platform into a distributed, well-tested, fault-tolerant umbrella application. Enbala’s platform and the engagement were unique in both complexity and scale of real-time processing. The mission focused on establishing flexible methods to scale optimization and control systems. Not just any systems. Concerto needed to process gigabytes of data per second with multiple computations factored from thousands of assets on the electrical grid.

Test Double consultants paired with Enbala’s team to rapidly advance features, uncover efficiencies and continuously improve the system with an eye towards reliability and resiliency. All so Enbala could do what they do best: manage distributed energy resources and develop a cleaner, more efficient power grid to create a sustainable and balanced energy future.

The Fix

The Concerto platform continuously shifts and adjusts flexibly across a vast network of electrical grid assets and responds instantly through continuous feedback loops on massive amounts of data. The tech engine manages challenges of intermittency, variability and unpredictability. That gets pretty complicated, pretty quickly. We collaborated with Enbala’s developer team to refactor, improve and expand capabilities on Concerto so they could deliver more of what their customers want in a maintainable way.

Great Software
  • Rapidly released features in a complex codebase—gigabytes per month of persisted telemetry data and just-in-time performance calculations across thousands of assets simultaneously
  • Refactored the system to make performance more observable, highly available and multi-node distributed with smarter data structures
  • Developed a framework for reusable, extensible and customizable rich data visualizations while also reducing rework costs
  • Automated regression testing and end-to-end testing with Cypress for speed and ease of maintenance

Great Teams
  • Encouraged a culture of more productive processes and trust across better-balanced teams
  • Helped product owners increase predictability with improved technical knowledge to aid smarter decision making and prioritization
  • Boosted team growth and mentored developers on Elm, Elixir, Javascript and TDD
  • Led by example with healthy communication strategies to identify process problems, remove blockers and propose solutions
  • Repurposed existing meetings for open forum technical discussions to make better use of time and to independently run with things

The Results

Enbala is leading the way in defining cleaner, more sustainable power grids. Test Double was a critical partner in making that happen. We solved complex technical challenges on the front and back end. We also helped build a great team with pairing, product coaching and process improvement. In the end, Enbala was able to build a market leadership position, get acquired and have an even larger impact.

  • Lowered overhead with more efficient systems and reduced rework
  • Improved quality of life with culture of team growth and engineering excellence
  • Intentional planning for improved workflows and increased predictability
  • Achieved massive scale leading to successful acquisition by industry leader
Enbala
Test Double wasn’t just in a rush to fill open seats. Instead, they worked with us as a business partner to ensure optimal technical and cultural fit.
Jeff MacAuley
former COO at Enbala

The Test Double Team

Kyle Adams
Kyle Adams
Agent 0033
Jason Allen
Jason Allen
Agent 0059
Raelyn Bangel
Raelyn Bangel
Agent 0026
Amber Conville
Amber Conville
Agent 0011
Jeremy Fairbank
Jeremy Fairbank
Agent 0029
Todd Kaufman
Todd Kaufman
Agent 0001
Josh Klina
Josh Klina
Agent 0070
Adam Lukens
Adam Lukens
Agent 0021
Eric Newbury
Eric Newbury
Agent 0063
Justin Searls
Justin Searls
Agent 0002
Luke Barbuto
Special Agent
Josh Branchaud
Special Agent
Randy Coulman
Special Agent
Matt Jones
Special Agent (now a Double Agent)
Dorian Karter
Special Agent
Jed Schneider
Special Agent
Herman Singh
Special Agent
Jason Stiebs
Special Agent
Mark Windholtz
Special Agent
Jake Worth
Special Agent
Brent Yoder
Special Agent