EnergyHub in the News

Treehugger: Smart Software Adjusts Your Thermostat Based on Weather Forecasts

By Megan Treacy | January 26, 2012

Home energy management systems and smart thermostats feature a lot of programmable settings that allow users and their utilities to maximize energy savings. Usually these are based on a consumer’s schedule or times of peak energy demand for the utility; but what if a thermostat could pre-program itself based on weather forecasts to optimize both a consumer’s energy savings and grid performance?

EnergyHub and Earth Networks’ new demand response software called e5 will allow smart thermostats to do just that. Using Earth Networks’ system of 8,000 weather observation stations around the country (the same that power its WeatherBug apps), the e5 system will use live, neighborhood-level weather conditions and forecasts to anticipate major changes in weather and manage heating and cooling needs in advance, in the most energy-efficient way.

Heat wave coming? The program will start slowly cooling things down ahead of time. Blizzard approaching? It will crank up the heat, all while preventing crippling demand loads on the grid.

The software is launching with the 3M Filtrete Wi-Fi-enabled thermostat that home owners can buy at major home improvement stores. Consumers will also have to voluntarily sign up for a demand response program with their utility.

Users can enter their preferences (hot- or cool-natured?) and schedules, as well as change controls remotely through EnergyHub’s website or mobile apps. Earth Networks thinks its focus on user comfort will increase participation in the program.

To read the full article, head on over to Treehugger.

Gigaom: Tapping Weather Data for Better Demand Response

By Katie Fehrenbacher | Jan. 24, 2012

Energy software company EnergyHub and weather and sensor network company Earth Networks have teamed up to offer a smart thermostat and demand response program for utilities and consumers. Called e5, the service will use weather data from Earth Networks’ thousands of nation wide weather stations (Earth Networks is the company behind the Weather Bug app) and will combine that data with Energy Hub’s smart thermostat management software. The combo is supposed to enable utilities to more effectively turn down home thermostats when necessary and will help consumers use their heating and cooling more efficiently, saving them money.

Demand response is when the customers of utilities agree to let their energy-consuming devices — like thermostats, pool pumps and smart appliances — to be turned down during peak events (like the hot summer months), in return for financial compensation or other benefits. Residential demand response projects aren’t all that common these days, but the numbers of customers enrolled in these programs are growing. Energy Hub says it already has 100,000 smart thermostats under management and the company plans to add another 100,000 this year.

The e5 service will launch in Texas this summer and use a WiFi-connected thermostat from 3M. The consumer is the one who enrolls in the program and installs the thermostat, which can be obtained at retailers or online. The consumer can benefit through energy savings, and the utility can benefit from better demand response.

To read the full article, visit Gigaom.

CNET: Need a better thermostat? Look to your smartphone

For many, the ballyhooed smart home of connected devices will start with the lowly thermostat.

By Martin LaMonica | January 19, 2012

Startup EnergyHub today is releasing data from a study of customers who bought a $99 Wi-Fi enabled thermostat tied to EnergyHub’s Web service. It found that letting consumers operate the thermostat from a familiar PC or smartphone application, rather than on the thermostat itself, makes a dramatic difference in how often the programmable features are used.

An Internet-connected thermostat also allows people to remotely control home heating and cooling. Being able to adjust home temperature from the office or commute, for example, appears to be driving much of the interest in smart thermostats, said EnergyHub CEO Seth Frader-Thompson.

“Most people want the convenience and the energy savings,” he said. “Remote control is by far the biggest driver to make the initial purchase.”

Typically, only about 10 percent of people who have a programmable thermostat actually create a schedule to, for example, turn down the heating when nobody’s at home. In tests with about 100,000 users of the 3M-50 Filtrete Wi-Fi thermostat, EnergyHub found that about 85 percent of people made use of the scheduling features.

“We’re not changing the way the thermostat works. We’re getting it to do what it was designed to do 30 years ago,” he said. “An easier interface is a huge part of it.”

To see the full story check out CNET’s article here.

Gigaom: What Big Data and Smart Thermostats Can Reveal About Us

By Katie Fehrenbacher | January 19, 2012

Energy software startup EnergyHub is powering around 100,000 connected thermostats in the U.S. with its management software called Mercury.
While that might not sound like a whole lot, those 100,000 thermostats are producing around 5 billion data points each month, and that’s starting to reveal some interesting trends about how Americans consume energy.

EnergyHub says through crunching its customers’ energy data it’s discovered such counterintuitive notions like: folks in cold climates have a lower average heating temperature set point than households in warmer states. So basically the average person in a warm state like Texas sets his/her heating temperature significantly higher than an average person in a colder state like Vermont — despite that you’d think the person in the cold state would need a lot more heating than the person in the warm state.

But that statistic is probably due to the fact that people in the colder climates would have to spend an exorbitant amount of money on heating if they wanted to heat their homes in a similar fashion to a person in a warmer state — because there are that many more cold days, and those cold days can be really cold. So the people who live in cold states are just, frankly, dealing with it and going without the extra heat. As EnergyHub explained it: “Darwin’s core tenet is alive and well—it appears folks in the colder climates have adapted to their surroundings!”

That tid bit is just an example of the kinds of things that connected thermostats and analytics will be able to reveal about home energy consumption habits. And the more utilities, consumers and companies know about home energy consumption habits, the more energy consumption habits can be shaped and pushed to be more efficient.

Check out the full article at Gigaom.

GreenTechGrid: Vermonters Save 20 Percent on Winter Energy Bills Compared to Texans

“Put on a sweater.”

By Katherine Tweed | January 19, 2012

If you grew up in New England, you know the response to the often-heard wintertime comment, “I’m cold.”

“Put on a sweater” was usually the first answer. It could be followed by “put on a hat,” “put on slippers,” or “get another pair of socks.” A parent might have even have told you to go outside (where it’s far colder) and run around to get your blood flowing.

Whether it’s Yankee frugality or a testament to the rugged Northern disposition, Vermont leads the U.S. with the lowest average set point on their thermostats, with Oklahoma and Texas at the high end, according to data compiled from more than 100,000 thermostats running on EnergyHub’s Mercury platform.

This should come as no surprise to anyone from New England, including this reporter. My father would remind us before a walk to the bus in single-digit temperatures, “There’s no such thing as cold weather, just badly dressed people.” He’s probably wearing shorts right now.

Maybe Texans need to invest in sweaters. While the average winter temperature set point was 63.4 degrees F in Vermont, and about 65.5 degrees F in Maine, it jumped to 69.9 in Texas and an even 70 in Oklahoma. The difference in the two extremes means that Vermonters are saving about 20 percent on their heating compared to the cost if they set it at 69.9 F, which comes out to about $500 a year.

To read the full article about how the EnergyHub Mercury smart thermostat platform analyzes regional patterns in temperature settings, visit GreenTechGrid.

Chartwell | Opportunities for next-gen thermostats could bloom this spring

By Russ Henderson | December 22, 2011

A new image of the smart thermostat was planted in the popular imagination in November. The introduction of the Nest – a sleek, circular wall-mounted unit designed by former Apple designer Tony Fadell – was one of many notable stories this year in the field of home energy management, including the launch of EnergyHub’s Mercury thermostat and a new partnership between Honeywell and Opower to produce similar products. All this excitement could yield utility investment, especially if the EPA revives Energy Star certification for these devices in the spring.

Even the massive hype surrounding the Nest’s launch and the thousands of homeowners who flocked to buy them didn’t revive the faith of many utility executives. They asked: Where is the field test data?

The reason for the question is this. In 2009, the EPA stopped granting Energy Star certification for programmable thermostats because field tests by utilities – most notably Florida Power & Light – showed that the homeowners who used them actually burned through about 12% more electricity than folks without the supposedly cost-saving thermostats. As it turned out, users generally programmed the thermostats to perform in very energy-inefficient ways.

Whether the new generation of thermostats – or their users – will perform better remains unclear.

For one, EnergyHub claims that its Mercury thermostat platform has solved the usability problem. David Wechsler, vice president for business development, says that in field tests conducted last year by the company, 85% of users picked comfort settings that met or exceeded Energy Star efficiency recommendations. This compares to 71% of users in the Florida Power & Light study who either didn’t program their thermostats at all or created settings that were so slight their effect was negligible.

Read the full article from Chartwell here

Wall Street Journal: Watch Your Energy
New monitoring gadgets may help reduce utility bills

By Cassandra Sweet | December 5, 2011

The smart grid is coming. But not from the direction everybody expected.

Over the years, utilities have promised consumers savings of energy and cash from smart meters. These gadgets, which would be installed in every home and business, would let people monitor and control energy use much more closely.

But officials in some states have balked at the high price tag of installing the devices. And consumers in other states where smart meters have been installed have complained the devices haven’t lived up to their billing.

Now tech companies are trying to succeed where the utilities have so far failed. They’re looking to sell off-the-shelf energy-monitoring products to cash-strapped consumers looking to lower their bills. For the most part, the devices don’t do everything smart meters can, but they promise to better control the appliances and devices that use the most juice.

See how EnergyHub helps tackle these problems. Read the full article from the Wall Street Journal here.

Cleantech Open Announces Winners of 2011 National Business Competition

Redwood City, California | November 17, 2011

EnergyHub is honored to be a Cleantech Open 2011 Alumni Award winner!

2011 Alumni Award winner: Each year, the 2011 Alumni Award recognizes Cleantech Open alumni companies that achieved significant momentum during the year. To determine the winners, several factors are assessed, including capital investment raised, jobs created, and technical achievement. This year, the Alumni Award was awarded to two companies: EnergyHub, which raised $14.5M in Series B financing in 2011 and has created 30 jobs; and Power Assure, which this year raised $13.5M in Series B financing and has created 43 jobs.

To read the complete article visit Cleantech Open

SmartPlanet | Saving Energy with a Press of a Button

November 16, 2011

Home energy management systems may finally be heading mainstream. EnergyHub’s CEO, Seth Frader-Thompson predicts that every home in the U.S. will utilize some form of energy management within 10 years. He explains why, and offers a look at his system.

Watch SmartPlanet’s video of the EnergyHub Home Base in action below, or visit SmartPlanet.com.

http://www.smartplanet.com/video/saving-energy-with-a-press-of-a-button/6308501?tag=mncol;txt

New York Times Home & Garden: Eco Meets the Economy

By Steven Kurutz | October 12, 2011

Ms. [Gita] Nandan said that she suggests clients skimp in certain areas (“let’s not spend a lot of money on paint or the $12,000 bathtub”) and put the savings toward costlier green materials that will pay off in the long run.

Lately, she has been advocating a product made by EnergyHub, a device that allows homeowners to monitor and control their electricity use. “Are my clients going to pay the extra $300?” she said. “I don’t know, but it’s worth having the conversation.”

Investing in an eco-friendly energy monitor might not require much thought in a robust economy. But like many of the things environmentally conscious consumers talked about doing a few years ago — installing solar-panels, buying hybrid cars, building LEED-certified houses — it may be a dream that has to be deferred.

Read the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/garden/eco-meets-the-economy.html?ref=garden and look for EnergyHub mentioned on page 3!

Media Contact: Sophie Lubin, email lubin@energyhub.com