EcoFactor Delivers Verified Energy and Demand Results that Surpass the Competition

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 4kW per connected home and more than 2.7kW 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 2.7kW per thermostat, which consisted of event-based reductions of 3.5kW per home and 2.37kW per thermostat, plus ongoing efficiency-based reductions of 0.6kW per home and 0.4kW per thermostat. EcoFactor delivered more than twice the load shed claimed by Nest (1.18kW 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 example 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.

SOURCE EcoFactor