The founder of Efficiency 2.0, Tom Scarmellino, sat down with TechCrunch TV this week to talk about how his company motivates consumers to curb their power-hogging behavior at home, and what kind of impact that makes from an environmental perspective.
A New York City cleantech company, Efficiency 2.0 runs loyalty rewards programs on behalf of its clients, big electric companies that are legally required to convince customers to use energy more efficiently.
The Efficiency 2.0 platform crunches massive amounts of data— like homeowners’ demographic information, weather forecasts and more— to tailor power-saving tips, and reward offers for consumers that will matter enough, hopefully, to persuade them to make energy-related changes around the house.
Unlike OPower (perhaps the best-known brand in this space today) Efficiency 2.0 delivers its power saving suggestions mostly online, and is more about setting a personal best, than it is about outpacing your neighbors on energy efficiency.
Doing anything from installing a smart meter, to simply switching off the coffee maker the second the brew is done, can help get customers points and save money on their electricity bills. The points are redeemable for rewards like a $10 discount at Staples, or a gift card for Omaha Steaks. Efficiency 2.0 sets up some of the merchant partnerships, but also works with another NYC cleantech company, Recyclebank, to make the incentives possible.
Scarmellino confessed in the TCTV green room that one his worst indulgences, environmentally speaking, was eating too many steaks. That’s a lot of saved kilowatts, though. The CEO believes that with a majority of 120 million homes in the U.S. not yet participating in an energy efficiency program, Efficiency 2.0 could make an impact that’s “bigger than the entire solar industry to date,” in terms of mitigating pollution and more.