EcoFactor looks ahead

EcoFactor works with connected thermostats.

Residential heating and cooling systems are a prime target for hearty energy savings, according to energy management software startup EcoFactor. But even as EcoFactor begins to roll out its software through a utility pilot project, it’s eyeing opportunities for new markets.

The San Carlos-based company’s software-as-a-service solution works with connected thermostats to track and adjust a home’s temperature. Using readings from an Internet-enabled thermostat plus weather data, EcoFactor creates an individualized profile of each home’s thermal characteristics and uses that information to make small adjustments—between 10 and 30 per day—which add up to save 20 percent to 30 percent on heating- and cooling-related energy costs, according to the company.

In an average American home, a little over half of energy costs go through thermostat, so it makes sense to focus on the energy saving potential of home heating and cooling first, EcoFactor CEO John Steinberg says. In the near term, EcoFactor is focused on the residential market, but Stenberg says he sees room for growth in small commercial markets, as well as adding other devices—such as water heaters and pool heaters—as they become Internet-enabled.

The three-year-old company, which won the grand prize in the 2009 Cleantech Open competition, in early 2010 closed a $2.4 million funding round led by Claremont Creek Ventures. It is in the midst of a pilot program with Texas utility Oncor, through which it expects to be active in about 1,000 homes by mid-2010. Beyond that, Steinberg says EcoFactor plans to sell its product through channel partners, such as utilities and energy retailers, telecom and broadband providers and HVAC service providers.