New York startup Sealed just received a $5 million credit facility from the New York Green Bank to launch a new fund for energy efficiency, with the goal of turning residential energy efficiency into a financial commodity.
Per Sealed’s press release, “Sealed calculates energy savings via patent-pending analytics that leverage machine-learning principles to accurately predict energy usage. Sealed then guarantees these savings by replacing customers’ utility bills with a Sealed bill based on their past usage, adjusted for weather and energy prices.
“Sealed is changing the way that customers engage with energy. Through an exciting new energy billing relationship, they are proving that ‘energy software company’ is the new ESCO,” said Ed White, Vice President, New Energy Solutions at National Grid. “National Grid could not be more excited to be a partner with Sealed in meeting the New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision goals.”
“Sealed customers receive a home energy assessment that determines the amount of energy they can save and the improvements that will improve the comfort, health, and safety of their home.
“My home is really drafty and cold during the winter. I wanted to fix the problem, but didn’t want to pay cash or take out a loan to pay for it,” said Tom Schaper of West Islip, a retired steamfitter and one of first customers to sign up. “It’s great that Sealed PAYS gives me a better home, and I’ll still pay about the same amount for energy as I did before.”
As shared by Greentech Media: “Most of the upgrades are for renovations such as air sealing and HVAC work. The average project is about $10,000 to $15,000 after rebates and has a seven- to eight-year payback. The key to customer adoption is not the math. It’s fixing a comfort problem inside of the house. If a customer wants a more extensive renovation that does not make the payback more compelling, the customer has to pay for those additional upgrades.” Read more from GTM on Sealed and the New York Green Bank here.