EnergySavvy and Partners Advance Open Standards to Accelerate Energy Efficiency

To address the expensive and complex challenges of managing energy data, EnergySavvy today launched its Partner Program. The program aims to transform how utilities and trade allies can work together more effectively to accelerate energy efficiency.

The Partner Program enables vendors of energy audit software to work seamlessly with EnergySavvy’s flagship product, Optix, an energy efficiency management system.

EnergySavvy CEO, Aaron Goldfeder, explains:  ”The industry is clamoring for transparency and better quantification of energy efficiency and until now it’s been far too complex and expensive. EnergySavvy’s Partner Program enables utilities and contractors to work together in a more business-friendly way through best-of-breed software while avoiding unnecessary costs and IT risk. We’re honored to work with some of the best diagnostic software companies to embrace and bring open standards to the market.”

Launch Partners

The audit tool vendors that have already signed on to the EnergySavvy Partner Program include Center for Energy and Environment, Energy Design Systems, OptiMiser and Snugg Home. EnergySavvy expects to announce additional partners in the coming weeks.

“We are excited to partner with EnergySavvy’s Optix Audit Partner Program as a way of expanding the value and market penetration of our innovative miScore mobile app development.  We look forward to working with EnergySavvy to build a highly integrated and versatile product based on use of the HPXML open standard.  This partnership definitely is a win-win for both of our organizations.” —Richard Szydlowski, Director of Engineering

 

“Energy Design System is proud to be working with Energy Savvy and our corporate partners Rheem and Knauf to support the HPXML standard.” – Phil Jeffers, President

 

“We’re excited about the potential to help more auditors, reach more homeowners, and save more energy through the Optix Audit Partner Program. The adaptability of the Optix platform is a great match for OptiMiser’s versatile and modular auditing tools.” –Andy Bardwell, CEO

 

 

“Snugg Home is thrilled to partner with Energy Savvy. The Snugg Pro platform is ideally suited to integrate with third party APIs and the HPXML standard. Energy Savvy’s Optix software aligns perfectly with our mission to streamline the energy retrofit process for contractors. This partnership will help ensure that the days of double data entry for contractors are over for good.” —Adam Stenftenagel, CEO

HPXML at the Core

At the core of the partner program is support for HPXML, a technical standard embraced by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) for data collection and exchange. HPXML has a critical role to play in standardization of software tools across all residential audit and measure-based energy efficiency programs – it lets industry software “talk” to other industry software using the same terms and in the same way.

Benefits for Utilities

Leveraging an Energy Efficiency Management System with seamless “out-of-the-box” integration to audit software lowers cost, reduces overhead, avoids painful integration and improves the experiences of trade allies.

Benefits for Contractors

This industry partnership means “one and done” data entry, reducing the time and expense required of contractors.

Benefits for Audit Providers

Open standards keep audit providers from having to perform multiple one-off integrations to each different utility program.

About EnergySavvy

EnergySavvy enables utility energy efficiency programs to drive more energy savings per dollar, increase customer satisfaction and achieve evaluation-ready quantification. EnergySavvy’s flagship product, Optix, is an Energy Efficiency Management System that brings utilities, their customers and trade allies onto a common platform. Founded in 2008 in Seattle, EnergySavvy Optix powers leading utility energy efficiency programs across the country including Tennessee Valley Authority, Long Island Power Authority, CPS Energy and Puget Sound Energy.

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EnergySavvy hosts webinar featuring CPS Energy of San Antonio

Carla De La Chapa, Energy Savers Program Manager for CPS Energy of San Antonio, shares best practices for engaging customers online. Carla will discuss how CPS Energy tripled the number of completed retrofits within the Energy Savers program while reducing the cost to acquire a retrofit by nearly 8 times compared with an in-home audit alone.

CPS Energy Savers

The complimentary webinar will take place on Wednesday, April 17 from 10:00 – 10:45 am PDT / 1:00 – 1:45 pm EDT.

>> Registration is open <<

Using a low-cost incentive to encourage customers, CPS has driven over 11,000 online energy audit completions during a 9-month period. Of all participating Energy Savers customers, 92 percent opted for the online audit as their first step vs. starting with an in-home audit.

While in-home audits have a place among energy efficiency programs, the data shows that online audits are a more effective way to pre-screen and enroll customers. The result? More retrofits at a lower cost per customer acquisition.

To learn the details, join Carla De La Chapa from CPS Energy as she discusses:

  • – Optimizing online customer engagement
  • – Reaching more customers for EE programs
  • – Driving down cost per acquired retrofit

Register for the CPS Energy online engagement webinar today!

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EnergySavvy launches new utility customer, grows sales and marketing team

EnergySavvy is proud to announce that Minnesota Energy Resources, a division of Integrys (NYSE: TEG), is the latest investor-owned utility to adopt Optix Engage.  Partnering with lead program implementer Applied Energy Group, Minnesota Energy Resources has embraced Optix Engage as an intuitive and friendly customer experience to educate homeowners and increase customer satisfaction.

Optix Engage enables the utility to interact with its 211,000 natural gas customers to provide information on home efficiency and rebate programs. The tool guides customers down the road to energy efficiency and provides utility marketers with actionable intelligence.

The Minnesota Energy Resources implementation of Optix Engage focuses on natural gas-saving measures such as high-efficiency furnaces and water heaters.

“We chose Optix Engage because it is a highly effective enrollment tool that also provides a great experience for our customers,” said Jim Phillippo, Program Manager, Energy Efficiency Programs at Minnesota Energy Resources. “It helps us run cost-effective energy efficiency programs for our natural gas customers.”

EnergySavvy continues rapid growth

EnergySavvy has grown quickly over the last year and has recently made a significant investment in its business development and account management capabilities. Two new regional Directors of Client Solutions and a Director of Product Marketing join a growing team, bringing additional horsepower to the company.

“It’s an exciting time at EnergySavvy, and I’m thrilled to welcome Gabriel, Jeff and Dan,” said CEO Aaron Goldfeder. “As a software product company, our success relies on close, collaborative partnerships with our customers.  Our client solutions team is focused on delivering innovative solutions to the energy efficiency challenges of an increasingly large and diverse set of utilities.”

Gabriel Scheer joins EnergySavvy as Director of Client Solutions for the Northwest, responsible for managing and growing the company’s utility customer base throughout the region. Prior to EnergySavvy, Scheer headed Re-Vision Labs, a social innovation consultancy, and was General Manager for Zipcar’s Southern California region.

Jeff Soplop has also joined the team as Director of Client Solutions and will support the company’s growing utility customer base in the Southeast U.S. Before joining EnergySavvy, he led development and delivery of energy solutions and analytics for Phoenix Energy Technologies and Rockwell Automation.

As Director of Product Marketing, Dan Zasloff will be responsible for the EnergySavvy brand and growing the company’s profile among utilities nationwide. Previously in senior marketing roles at Bloom Energy, 3Degrees and Seattle-based Varolii Corporation, Zasloff brings years of energy and utility industry experience to EnergySavvy.

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Refer a developer. Get a car. Really.

For the next two weeks, anyone who refers a developer or designer candidate to EnergySavvy who’s hired gets a Smart Car!

Is that you in there? It could be!

Why are we giving away cars for tech hires? What is this, 1999 all over again?

If you’re a techie in Seattle, you know the answer. The demand for the best developers and designers in Seattle is huge.

In the past, we’ve taken the well-trodden route of paying recruiters to troll LinkedIn, but we know that developers get sick of all the LinkedIn spam they get every day. We’d rather enlist all of Seattle to be our recruiters. We figure this makes our odds better.

And that’s where you come in. Refer your friends, family, or that random person you just met on the street that knows how to code. Not to say that we’ll take just anyone. Our hiring bar is, and will continue to be, very high. But if we do hire your candidate, you’ll get a fuel-efficient Smart Car, your friend gets a job with a cool tech company that is making a difference in energy efficiency and climate change, and EnergySavvy keeps growing. That’s what we call a win-win-win.

How to enter:

Contact us at joinus@energysavvy.com with an email introduction to the person you’re referring. Please put “EnergySavvy Referral” in the subject line, and include your referral’s email address in the body of the email.

The promo is only open to referrals for these positions:

  1. Lead Designer
  2. Senior Software Engineer
  3. Software Engineer

Here’s the fine print:

The promo is open to anyone in the U.S. who refers a developer or designer candidate. Eligible positions are listed under “Design” and “Engineering” on www.energysavvy.com/jobs/current-openings/. To enter, email us at joinus@energysavvy.com with an email introduction to your referral. Candidates who apply without a referrer aren’t eligible. If your referral is hired and still employed at EnergySavvy after 90 days, we’ll provide you with the cash to buy a 2013 Smart Fortwo Pure coupe. Don’t want a car? We’ll give you a $14,000 cash prize instead. We’ll accept referrals until Tuesday, March 26th If anything else comes up that is questionable, we’ll use our discretion to sort it out.

This promo is not sponsored or endorsed by Smart USA.

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Seattle’s green jobs program grows by 25x since 2011

Stimulus job growth in Seattle accompanies growth in program participation

Seattle skylineA new independent evaluation report has been released for Community Power Works, one of the major energy efficiency programs funded by ARRA’s Better Buildings Neighborhood Program.

The Fall 2012 Progress Report, prepared by the Washington State University (WSU) Energy Program, details the rapid learning and adaptability demonstrated by Seattle’s Community Power Works to transform its program delivery model, increasing the number of participating homes by a factor of twelve from September 2011 to September 2012. Community Power Works reports that the program has doubled since and is now completing nearly 100 projects per month, a 25x increase since 2011.

As one of EnergySavvy’s early Optix Manage customers, EnergySavvy is thrilled to celebrate the success of Community Power Works. The WSU report highlights EnergySavvy’s role in the program: “The EnergySavvy platform provided comprehensive intake, project management services, data and real-time analytics services and was an integral part of program service and delivery.”

Beyond its partnership with EnergySavvy, Community Power Works made important adjustments to improve its home retrofit program over time, including simplifying incentives, streamlining program delivery and targeting homeowners with oil heated houses.

Simplifying incentives

The initial incentive structure, based on estimated carbon savings per project, was difficult for contractors to explain, for homeowners to understand and for program administrators to manage. In January 2012, the program redesigned their incentive to revolve around estimated energy saved rather than estimated carbon saved.

Figure 1. Original incentive with estimates for a sample project compared to the simplified current incentive

Note:  The sample Estimated Carbon Fund Payment in the original incentive structure (top) provides example savings only. The payment was calculated at $10 per ton of lifetime carbon reduction for a measure as modeled by a test-in audit. The complexity of the incentive calculation made it difficult for contractors to communicate a simple rebate structure when marketing the program.

Streamlining program delivery

The City of Seattle, Cascadia Consulting Group and EnergySavvy have worked to continuously improve customer management and program reporting, including significant process changes:

  1. Seamlessly transitioned from two different service models to a single, streamlined workflow
  2. Adapted customer management to track lagging customers in innovative ways, increasing program activity and throughput
  3. Integrated Optix API with a third-party system to allow automated data and document exchange

Targeting homeowners with oil heated homes for weatherization improvements

One in seven single-family Seattle homes is heated with fuel oil. Community Power Works saw a huge carbon savings opportunity for the program by specifically targeting these homeowners.

Given the high cost of fuel oil and the lack of utility incentives to support energy efficiency upgrades, Community Power Works decided to match regional electric and gas utility rebates for insulation and weatherization, offer up to an additional $1,200 rebate for switching from oil heat to a high-efficiency electric or gas system, and provide a $500 rebate to pay for oil tank decommissioning. This promotion was announced through a direct mail campaign in February 2012. As of November 2012, 60% of homes in the pipeline had oil heat, up from just 21% prior to the oil heating campaign.

Figure 2. Direct mail letter from the City of Seattle office of Sustainability & Environment with best practices highlighted

Click thumbnail to read letter with best practices highlighted.

To learn more about Seattle’s Community Power Works and its achievements over the past year, read the full Fall 2012 Progress Report.

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