Category Archives: Press Releases

Trane Acquires EcoFactor’s Market-Leading Energy Intelligence Technology

EcoFactor_Logo_png

Trane Acquires EcoFactor’s Market-Leading Energy Intelligence Technology

REDWOOD CITY, CA, June 6, 2019 – EcoFactor, Inc.’s energy intelligence software, the leading energy management technology for the connected home, has been acquired by Trane’s Residential HVAC business. EcoFactor’s cloud-based technology will power Trane’s Nexia Intelligence platform. The solution will help further Nexia’s leadership in smart home automation by providing unique artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for energy efficiency and HVAC fault detection.

Trane’s acquisition of the technology was based on the strength of EcoFactor’s energy savings and fault detection performance, both of which are well established in the market. Trane is a brand of Ingersoll Rand, which advances the quality of life by creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments. Trane’s Residential business is a leading provider of HVAC throughout North America.

“Nexia has been a leader in combining the analytical potential of the connected home with the simplicity and convenience that consumers demand, and will be able to expand the reach of the benefits of the energy intelligence software to more markets,” said Shayan Habib, CEO of EcoFactor.

“The combination of EcoFactor technology with Ingersoll Rand’s Nexia platform creates tremendous value for customers,” said George Land, general manager of digital products for Ingersoll Rand Residential HVAC. “The adaptive software adjusts thermostat to the right temperature throughout the day, saving energy, increasing home comfort, and reducing environmental impact.”

EcoFactor’s team and technology will continue to innovate in the residential Internet of Things (IoT) space, serving utility customers, energy management partners, and end users under the brand Simple.

About EcoFactor, Inc.
EcoFactor, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary, theSimple, Inc., are transforming how homes use energy by applying advanced intelligence to connected devices, delivering Intelligence-as-a-Service solutions for home energy management. EcoFactor’s cloud-based applications intelligently manage connected devices to improve comfort while saving time, energy and money. Utilities, retail energy providers and homeowners rely on EcoFactor for best-in-class performance in demand response, energy efficiency, and HVAC performance monitoring services. EcoFactor’s platform is interoperable with multiple leading devices in the marketplace. EcoFactor is based in Redwood City, CA.

Press Contact:
Shayan Habib
650-716-4760
pr@ecofactor.com

EcoFactor Named Owler “HOT in 2016” Winner in Redwood City, CA

EcoFactor_Logo_png

Named Owler “HOT in 2016” Winner in Redwood City, CA

Crowdsourced Competitive Intelligence Platform Honors 4,500 Winning Companies Out of 15 Million Profiles

Redwood City, CA — 5 January, 2017 – EcoFactor, Inc. is pleased to announce that it was named Owler HOT in 2016 in Redwood City, CA. EcoFactor is transforming how homes use energy by applying advanced analytics and automation to connected devices in the home.

Owler recognizes the top trending companies in cities around the world. They filtered through more than 15 million companies and picked 4,500 award winners across 600 cities worldwide. Recipients were chosen based on several different metrics, including number of followers on Owler, insights collected from our community, social media followers, and blog posts over the past year.

“We’ve sorted through database of millions of contributions from our community and landed on the top trending companies from around the world,” said Jim Fowler, CEO at Owler. “Being Hot In 2016 is an accomplishment to be proud of.”

About EcoFactor
EcoFactor is transforming how homes use energy by applying advanced analytics and automation to connected devices in the home. EcoFactor’s cloud-based application actively manages thermostats on occupants’ behalf in intelligent ways that improve comfort while helping them save time, energy and money. Utilities, home service providers and homeowners rely on EcoFactor for demand response, energy efficiency, and HVAC performance monitoring services. For more information, visit www.ecofactor.com.

About Owler

Owler is the crowdsourced competitive intelligence platform that business professionals use to outsmart their competition, gain competitive insights, and uncover the latest industry news and alerts. Owler is powered by an active community of 800K business professionals that contribute unique business insights such as competitors, private company revenue, and CEO ratings. From startups all the way to large enterprises (including 96% of the Fortune 500), CEOs, salespeople, marketers, product managers, and all types of business professionals use Owler daily. Launched in 2014, and funded by Norwest Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures, Owler is headquartered in San Mateo, CA with offices in Coimbatore, India. [Insert PR representative/agency contact details]

Media Contact:
Serge-Paul Carrasco
pr@ecofactor.com

CenterPoint Energy Demand Response Wins National Award

EcoFactor_Logo_png

Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Pricing & Demand Response by AESP

Redwood City, CA — 5 February, 2016 – EcoFactor, Inc. is pleased to announce that CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric’s residential demand response program has received the 2016 award for outstanding achievement in pricing and demand response from the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP). The award honors individuals, teams or organizations that represent excellence in designing and implementing an energy services program. This marks the second consecutive year an EcoFactor-powered demand response solution has been recognized with this award from AESP. Last year, NV Energy’s mPowered program took home the same accolade.

Beginning in 2014, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, EcoFactor, and Comcast partnered together to deploy the award-winning residential demand response program. EcoFactor and Comcast helped CenterPoint realize the load shed potential of existing smart thermostats in its territory during peak hours by leveraging EcoFactor’s real-time, personalized demand response platform in concert with existing Xfinity Home thermostats. The innovative program design allowed hundreds of homes to participate in CenterPoint’s peak energy events without any additional hardware installation, facilitating increased energy savings for customers and demand side management for CenterPoint at minimal logistical effort.

This second consecutive award further validates EcoFactor’s demand response solution. EcoFactor’s industry leading demand response programs continue to set high water marks in program participation, load shed, and customer satisfaction. EcoFactor CEO Shayan Habib commented “It is a big honor for us to see an EcoFactor powered program receive this award again. We are constantly striving to provide our customers with solutions they can be proud of and are very pleased we could accomplish this with CenterPoint.” 

About EcoFactor
EcoFactor is transforming how homes use energy by applying advanced analytics and automation to connected devices in the home. EcoFactor’s cloud-based application actively manages thermostats on occupants’ behalf in intelligent ways that improve comfort while helping them save time, energy and money. Utilities, home service providers and homeowners rely on EcoFactor for demand response, energy efficiency, and HVAC performance monitoring services. For more information, visit www.ecofactor.com.

Media Contact:
Matt Hepworth
pr@ecofactor.com

EcoFactor Named 2015 Innovator of the Year

EcoFactor_Logo_png

Recognized by SAMCEDA for innovation in Silicon Valley

Redwood City, CA — 25 March, 2015 – EcoFactor, Inc., the leader in cloud-based home energy management services, is honored to be named as a 2015 Innovator of the Year for their automated approach to energy efficiency and demand response services by SAMCEDA (San Mateo County Economic Development Association).  Other award winners included Alien Vault, GuideSpark, Inflection, Lumiata, and Wage Works.

The event had a clear theme: the impact of big data and analytics on the lives of consumers.  EcoFactor’s novel approach to energy use and consumer engagement through the use of cloud-based algorithms fit together with others working in health analytics, cyber-security, and more.

Rodrigo Sanchez, EcoFactor’s VP of Product and Marketing, accepted the award on behalf of the company and spoke about EcoFactor’s unique service offering and market success.  A video of the full event is available below:

 

About EcoFactor
EcoFactor is transforming how homes use energy by applying advanced analytics to connected devices in the home. EcoFactor’s cloud-based application actively manages thermostats on occupants’ behalf in intelligent ways that improve comfort while helping them save time, energy and money. Utilities, home service providers and homeowners rely on EcoFactor for demand response, energy efficiency, and HVAC performance monitoring services. For more information, visit www.ecofactor.com.

Media Contact:
Philip Dawsey
+ 1 (847) 858-7390
pr@ecofactor.com

NV Energy’s mPowered Program Powered by EcoFactor Wins Second Consecutive National Award

EcoFactor_Logo_png

Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Pricing & Demand Response by AESP

Orlando, FL — 19 February, 2015 – EcoFactor, Inc., the leader in cloud-based home energy management services, is honored to announce that NV Energy’s mPowered Home Energy Management Program has received the 2015 award for outstanding achievement in pricing and demand response from the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP). The award honors individuals, teams or organizations that represent excellence in designing and implementing an energy services program.

“We are honored to receive recognition from the AESP for our demand response program,” said Pat Egan, NV Energy Senior Vice President of Customer Operations.  “This award reflects the hard work of our NV Energy team to create a program that not only adds value for our customers but creates strong results for our company.”

Building interest and maintaining participation in residential demand response has been a challenge historically. The mPowered program overcame this hurdle with a compelling program design that provided connected thermostats in exchange for participation in demand response events. Additional distinctive program features include:
  –  Full integration with Alstom’s DRMS, which enables NV Energy to programmatically optimize, dispatch and confirm DR events to meet grid architecture needs
  –  Ten-minute dispatch capability increases the flexibility of demand side resources for NV Energy
  –  Smart meter data is used to enable third-party validated M&V reporting
  –  28 events in 2013 and 26 events in 2014

EcoFactor’s CEO, Matt Plante, said, “This award, paired with the recognition received for best project at DistribuTECH, highlights the value that EcoFactor provides to our utility partners. We are very proud to be recognized as a leader that is advancing demand response solutions for the industry.”

###

About EcoFactor
EcoFactor is transforming how homes use energy by applying advanced analytics to connected devices in the home. EcoFactor’s cloud-based application actively manages thermostats on occupants’ behalf in intelligent ways that improve comfort while helping them save time, energy and money. Utilities, home service providers and homeowners rely on EcoFactor for demand response, energy efficiency, and HVAC performance monitoring services. For more information, visit www.ecofactor.com.

Media Contact:
Philip Dawsey
+ 1 (847) 858-7390
pr@ecofactor.com

EcoFactor and NV Energy Win PowerGrid International’s 2015 Project of the Year

EcoFactor_Logo_png

Efficiency and Demand Response Program Recognized

San Diego, CA – February 11, 2015 – EcoFactor Inc., the leader in cloud-based home energy management services, is honored to announce that NV Energy’s mPowered Home Energy Management Program received Powergrid International’s 2015 Demand Response/Energy Efficiency Project of the Year award. Projects were judged based on ingenuity, scope, practicality, vision and follow-through.

“Programs like mPowered are helping NV Energy reinvent our relationships with our customers by providing tools that help customers take action with their energy use,” said Pat Egan, Senior Vice President of Customer Operations for NV Energy. “We take pride in offering these programs, which also deliver value to our customers.”

Since its commercial launch in October 2012, mPowered has been one of the most successful residential Integrated Demand Side Management (IDSM) programs in the country. EcoFactor services have powered industry-leading energy efficiency and demand response results for over 27,000 homes to date.  Some key results include:
–  Over 635 kWh of electricity and 18 therms of gas saved per home per year ($100 savings)
–  28 peak demand events in consecutive summers
–  3.1 kW peak demand reduction per home (first hour demand drop between 105-108°F)
–  86% customer satisfaction

EcoFactor’s CEO, Matt Plante, said, “True long-term value for our utility partners is driven by ongoing customer participation and engagement, which is a result of the very high satisfaction and energy savings results we have seen in the mPowered program. While we are particularly excited to celebrate this recognition, we look forward to building on this base with new product offerings.”

###

About EcoFactor
EcoFactor is transforming how homes use energy by applying advanced analytics to connected devices in the home. EcoFactor’s cloud-based application actively manages thermostats on occupants’ behalf in intelligent ways that improve comfort while helping them save time, energy and money. Utilities, home service providers and homeowners rely on EcoFactor for demand response, energy efficiency, and HVAC performance monitoring services. For more information, visit www.ecofactor.com.

Media Contact:
Philip Dawsey
+ 1 (847) 858-7390
pr@ecofactor.com

EcoFactor Lands Top Sales and Operational Executives

EcoFactor_Logo_png

New Team to Capitalize on Market Momentum

Redwood City, CA – February 3, 2015 – EcoFactor, Inc., the leader in cloud-based home energy management services, today announced significant additions to its executive team:

  •   –  Devkumar Das, Senior Vice President of Sales. Dev brings to EcoFactor 20 years of software sales leadership in the cable and telecom industries, having led multiple companies through periods of high revenue growth.
  •   –  Richard Huntley and Charlie Gloeckner, Vice Presidents, Utility Solutions. Rich has spent 20 years delivering successful demand side management (DSM) initiatives to utilities. Charlie brings more than 16 years of experience developing solutions for the energy industry and was a founding member of Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, which consists of 750 utilities serving 30 million customers.
  •   –  Shayan Habib, CFO/COO. Shayan will focus on fundraising and on scaling EcoFactor’s capabilities to its growing user base. He’ll also lead strategic initiatives. Prior to EcoFactor, he was a partner with the early stage VC fund Ideavelopers, an investment banker with Lehman Brothers, and an entrepreneur in the energy space.

In connection with these hires, co-founder John Steinberg will step away from the company. “We sincerely thank John for all he has accomplished for EcoFactor and wish him well in the future. Our product is proven at scale and we now have the go-to-market personnel to match the product leadership developed under John’s watch,” said Matt Plante, EcoFactor’s CEO. “Dev, Rich, Charlie, Shayan and the rest of the EcoFactor team are incredibly excited about what’s in front of us.”

 ###

About EcoFactor

EcoFactor is transforming how homes use energy by applying advanced analytics to connected devices in the home. EcoFactor’s cloud-based application actively manages thermostats on occupants’ behalf in intelligent ways that improve comfort while helping them save time, energy and money. Utilities, home service providers and homeowners rely on EcoFactor for demand response, energy efficiency, and HVAC performance monitoring services. For more information, visit www.ecofactor.com.

EcoFactor Appoints Matthew Plante as CEO

EcoFactor_Logo_png

Redwood City, Calif. — September 15, 2014 — EcoFactor®, the leader in cloud-based home energy management services, today announced the appointment of Matthew Plante as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Plante joins EcoFactor from Bidgely, where he served as Vice President of Sales. He will be responsible for accelerating market adoption of EcoFactor and setting the company’s vision as it moves into its next chapter of market expansion and growth.

“This is an exciting time for EcoFactor following the announcement of its industry-best results in residential demand response and energy efficiency. As EcoFactor moves into its next growth stage, we believe that Matt is the right person for the job. He has the proven ability to grow and lead businesses and we’re excited to bring him on board,” said Nat Goldhaber, EcoFactor board member and managing director at Claremont Creek Ventures.

Plante comes to EcoFactor with more than 15 years of experience in energy management, utility and related industries. Prior to Bidgely, Plante was Vice President of Sales at EnerNOC, Inc. where he led various sales teams worldwide. At EnerNOC, he helped grow the organization from 20 people and $1 million in revenue to 800 people and $280 million in revenue.

“EcoFactor’s approach to home energy services has proven that the Internet of Things can be a source of tremendous value to consumers,” said Matthew Plante, CEO, EcoFactor. “We have the technology and team in place – and now industry-leading results from our demand response and energy efficiency services. We are ready to capitalize on these strengths by accelerating our go-to-market efforts.”

 ###

 About EcoFactor

EcoFactor’s cloud-based analytics platform unlocks the value of residential data to intelligently predict and automate energy savings for consumers. Patented software analyzes data from various sources such as network connected thermostats, weather data, and consumer interactions, and applies optimization algorithms tailored to the unique characteristics of individual homes and of homeowners.  Our residential energy services achieve maximum demand response load shed, deliver superior energy efficiency savings, and detect and prevent HVAC failures. Based in Redwood City, California, EcoFactor is privately held and funded by Claremont Creek Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, Aster Capital and NRG Energy, Inc. For more information: www.ecofactor.com.

The real results are in: EcoFactor Delivers Verified Energy and Demand Results that Surpass the Competition

EcoFactor_Logo_png

Third Party report shows EcoFactor outperforms all other Home Energy Management solutions including Nest and Opower by achieving 4kW per home demand savings and 11 percent AC energy savings

Redwood City, Calif. — August 26, 2014 — EcoFactor®, the leader in cloud-based home energy management services, today announced third-party measurement and verification results from its deployment as the heart  of NV Energy’s mPowered program, one of the country’s largest and most successful residential integrated demand side management (IDSM) programs, with more than 22,000 customers so far. The report, filed with the PUC of Nevada by NV Energy, confirms that in 2013 EcoFactor reduced AC usage by 11 percent and reduced peak loads by more than 4 kW per connected home and more than 2.7 kW per connected thermostat. The EcoFactor solution accomplished all this while maintaining consumer comfort and saving them an average of $100 per year. As a result, the program has now proven both that it is cost-effective and that it delivers an 86 percent customer satisfaction rating, as measured by NV Energy.

EcoFactor’s verified demand and energy efficiency savings surpass results claimed and/or estimated by other home energy management players:

Demand Response: EcoFactor reduced summer peak load requirements by more than 4kW per home and 2.7 kW per thermostat, which consisted of event-based reductions of 3.5kW per home and 2.37kW per thermostat, plus ongoing efficiency-based reductions of 0.6kW per home and 0.4kW per thermostat. EcoFactor delivered more than twice the load shed claimed by Nest (1.18 kW of load shed per device according to Greentech Media) and 90 times the load shed estimated by Opower to be achievable through its behavioral approach (0.044kW).

Energy savings: EcoFactor’s 11 percent reduction in AC usage contributed to a combined 1,162.4 kWh in electricity and equivalent gas heating savings per home, which translated to roughly $100 per home in annual savings. In its marketing materials, Nest has claimed a 4.7 percent reduction in AC in 2013. Opower estimates potential savings in Nevada of 259 kWh or $33.78 per home from its behavioral approach.

“We’ve been talking up the advantages of our data-rich approach to intelligent optimization for some time now, but it is great to have independent verification that our solution does what we said it would do,” said John Steinberg, EVP Business Development and co-founder of EcoFactor. “EcoFactor’s service leads the industry in providing load shed and energy efficiency in one integrated package that also delivers high customer satisfaction. We are the only vendor able to do all of this in one cost-effective platform, and we’ll be delivering similar results for other utilities in the near future.”

2013 M&V Report Highlights

EcoFactor DR and EE Achieved High Demand (kW) and Energy (kWh) Savings

  • – Annual savings from DR and EE (electric and gas) averaged 635 kWh and 18 therms (equivalent to 527 kWh) per home which amounted to an average yearly savings of about $100 for mPowered customers.
  • – EcoFactor reduced summer peak load requirements by more than 4kW per home and 2.7kW per thermostat, which consisted of event-based reductions of 3.5kW per home and 2.37kW per thermostat, plus ongoing efficiency-based reductions of at least 0.6kW per home and 0.4kW per thermostat.
  • – During summer 2013, EcoFactor saved mPowered customers 94.7 kWh per month and achieved AC energy savings of 11 percent, compared to a control group that included homes with programmable thermostats.

EcoFactor DR + EE Approach Drove Sustained Participation and High Customer Satisfaction

  • – NV Energy dispatched, and the mPowered program successfully delivered, 28 DR events in 2013 including a stretch of eight consecutive days with DR events.
  • – EcoFactor customers initiated 12 percent fewer manual overrides as compared to the customers of the most comparable program in the study.
  • – NV Energy’s customer survey showed that the program has an 86 percent overall customer satisfaction rating.

EcoFactor is a Cost-Effective Solution

  • – The report includes the results of using the Total Resource Cost (TRC) method to analyze the costs and benefits of the program. In 2013, the mPowered program had a TRC benefits-to-costs ratio of 1.33, indicating that the program, which provides communicating thermostats, professional installation and EcoFactor’s remote optimization service all at no cost to consumers, was cost-effective for NV Energy. The TRC ratio for the 2014 implementation of the program is expected to be above 1.8.

The NV Energy Demand Response Program Year 2013 Final Evaluation Results report (Docket no. 14-07007 as filed with the Nevada PUC) submitted by ADM Associates Inc. assessed both demand and energy savings achieved by NV Energy’s active commercial and residential DR programs in its Southern Nevada service territory in 2013. The mPowered program, which provides communicating thermostats and EcoFactor’s optimization service and remote management tools to NV Energy’s residential customers, launched in October 2012 and had 14,500 customers participating and 21,000 thermostats installed by the end of 2013. NV Energy continues to expand the program, with more than 22,000 customers and more than 34,000 thermostats now deployed.

“The NVE M&V report is significant because it compares the impact of different approaches to peak load shedding,” said Tom Kerber, Director, Research, Home Controls & Energy, Parks Associates. “EcoFactor’s energy modeling solution not only delivered more peak load per household than other solutions during DR events, but through an integrated approach with EE, EcoFactor also provided homeowners with huge energy efficiency and money savings.”

How EcoFactor Achieves Significant DR and EE Results

EcoFactor offers the only proven data-based integrated energy efficiency and demand response service with superior and quantified energy efficiency savings and superior demand response yield.

EcoFactor is a real-world demonstration of the potential of the Internet of Things – a device connected with big data cloud architecture, machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics – to provide an intelligent automation service that makes homes smarter. Patented algorithms adapt to customer preferences and habits, and the unique thermal characteristics of each home, to reduce daily energy consumption without sacrificing comfort. The same expertise is leveraged to optimize pre-cooling to simultaneously increase both comfort and load shed during demand response events. This has resulted in significant energy and money savings, enhanced comfort and greater convenience for NV Energy customers and consistent load shed for the utility.

EcoFactor’s SaaS-based residential energy services are built to easily integrate into current business infrastructures to quickly launch and scale energy programs across millions of homes cost-effectively.

###

About EcoFactor

EcoFactor’s cloud-based analytics platform unlocks the value of residential data to intelligently predict and automate energy savings for consumers. Patented software analyzes data from various sources such as network connected thermostats, weather data, and consumer interactions, and applies optimization algorithms tailored to the unique characteristics of individual homes and of homeowners.  Our residential energy services achieve maximum demand response load shed, delivers superior energy efficiency savings, and detects and prevents HVAC failures.  Our services are purchased by consumers through channel partners including Comcast, Reliant Energy, NV Energy, and Sacramento Municipal Utility District.  Based in Redwood City, California, EcoFactor is privately held and funded by Claremont Creek Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, Aster Capital and NRG Energy, Inc. For more information: www.ecofactor.com.

EcoFactor Adds to Growing IP Portfolio with 20th U.S. Patent for Home Energy Management Services

EcoFactor_Logo_png

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – July 22, 2014EcoFactor®, the leader in cloud-based home energy services, was awarded U.S. Patent 8,751,186 for the use of connected thermostats to calculate the dynamic thermal properties of buildings. It is the 20th patent EcoFactor has received for its award-winning approach to energy management and intelligent home automation.

EcoFactor’s latest patent further extends its coverage of key technologies involved in the use of big data to manage energy use and improve home automation. EcoFactor has also received patents for its pioneering advances in areas including:

  • Geolocation: the use of location-based information from smartphones and other mobile devices to help consumers automatically reduce energy use when they are away from home and adjust to a more comfortable setting when they arrive.
  • HVAC Performance Monitoring: use of thermostat data to evaluate changes in the operational efficiency of an HVAC system over time and identify HVAC system faults and fault trends.
  • Plug-in HVAC: extends the energy efficiency and savings benefits of EcoFactor’s cloud-based home energy management system to plug-in air conditioners and space heaters.

“EcoFactor has invested heavily in technologies that have now been proven in the real world to deliver triple-digit annual savings for consumers, industry-leading demand response, and high customer satisfaction,” said Roy Johnson, EcoFactor CEO. “Each patent is another indication of the innovation and creativity of our team, and adds to EcoFactor’s value as a leading-edge home automation player.”

About EcoFactor:

EcoFactor’s cloud-based analytics platform unlocks the value of residential data to intelligently predict and automate energy savings for consumers. Patented software analyzes data from various sources such as network connected thermostats, weather data, and consumer interactions, and applies optimization algorithms tailored to the unique characteristics of individual homes and of homeowners.  Our residential energy services achieve maximum demand response load shed, delivers superior energy efficiency savings, and detects and prevents HVAC failures.  Our services are purchased by consumers through channel partners including Comcast, Reliant Energy, NV Energy, and Sacramento Municipal Utility District.  Based in Redwood City, California, EcoFactor is privately held and funded by Claremont Creek Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, Aster Capital and NRG Energy, Inc. For more information: www.ecofactor.com.