EcoFactor Wins CTSI Utility Technology Challenge

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 16, 2011) - EcoFactor, a leading residential energy management solution offered through service providers, today announced that the company has won the Utility Technology Challenge, a contest hosted by the Clean Technology & Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI). CTSI is a non-profit industry association that represents the organizations that are currently developing, commercializing, and implementing energy, water, and environmental technologies.

Designed to identify and recognize companies that address gaps in the clean technology commercialization process, the Utility Technology Challenge (UTC) is an annual program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. More than one hundred companies entered the competition this year, from which EcoFactor was one of three awarded top honors. The evaluation committee felt EcoFactor offers one of the most compelling solutions for real-world customers.

Recognized for its successful deployment of an individualized and automated energy management program, EcoFactor enables home service providers to offer an energy management service to homeowners that does not require residents to compromise comfort or change behavior. EcoFactor's patented cloud-based service uses the home's broadband service to connect with a communicating thermostat. Using the thermostat as a sensor, EcoFactor's system then identifies each home's unique thermal characteristics, while also taking into account occupant preferences and weather patterns, and uses this information to determine how to most efficiently heat or cool the home. The homeowner always remains in control, and can adjust temperature settings on their thermostat at any time.

EcoFactor also recently announced aggregated results that demonstrate the dramatic savings the service makes possible. The data, collected from deployments by multiple service providers delivering EcoFactor's service around the country, shows, on average, a 17% reduction in energy use on top of an unoptimized but programmed thermostat. Additionally, the company released results showing that the EcoFactor service also increased residential demand response yield by 36% relative to conventional DR techniques.

"Winning the Utility Technology Challenge further validates EcoFactor's approach to residential energy management," said John Steinberg, CEO and co-founder of EcoFactor. "To be selected by a committee of leaders in the energy industry is a strong acknowledgment of our capability to lead the market and drive consumer adoption of residential energy management."

About EcoFactor
EcoFactor is a residential energy management platform that enables home service providers to offer an energy management service to their customers that does not require them to compromise comfort or change behavior. The EcoFactor platform uses data from communicating thermostats to determine the unique thermal characteristics of each home and automatically optimize energy use to eliminate waste and save money. Based in Redwood City, Calif., EcoFactor was founded in 2006 to provide an automated alternative to behavior-based residential energy management solutions.