Simplifying Energy Through Automation: OhmConnect Rewards its Software Users to Live Green by Sharing Energy

We need to create a more efficient allocation of our resources; the technology that will change the energy world is not a novel new energy source, it is in the vast amount of data and computing power we have at our fingertips: Curtis Tongue

­Over the years, green IT has become synonymous with hardware that is more energy efficient than previous generations of similar devices or components. For instance, devices might have a power saving mode or power management capabilities that let them draw less power when they are idle. Another example is smarter data center cooling techniques that use less energy despite higher rack density. Certainly, there have been many improvements in reducing the energy consumption as software is beginning to play a critical role in green IT.

In light of the above mentioned, we are thrilled to present OhmConnect – dedicated to providing a service that helps homeowners and apartment renters share energy when others on the grid need it most. Its services coordinate energy reductions at specific times and sell those aggregate reductions on energy markets. The company’s service package is as simple as a timely text message and a web app to check earnings.When users sign up for the service, they allow OhmConnect to view their energy records via their utility. No devices or meter add-ons are required; this occurs all through the cloud. Some users optionally choose to connect smart home devices including wifi thermostat, wifi plugs, lights, and EVs to maximize and automate energy savings.

OhmConnect was established in 2014 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Interview Excerpt: Curtis Tongue, CMO

Why was the company set up?

Everyday energy customers don’t have access to energy markets and are leaving billions of dollars on the table. OhmConnect pays households to reduce their energy use when the electric grid is stressed and power must come from expensive and polluting sources of generation. We engage our users with a simple message: Save Energy. Get Paid. The program is simple for the user – get paid for saving energy. However, on the backend, we are connecting to the energy markets and selling aggregated reductions of electricity (Negawatts) as ‘virtual power’. Now at hundreds of thousands of users, OhmConnect is actively displacing up to four power plants with each #OhmHour, OhmConnect’s energy reduction events.

Our objective is to empower individuals to take charge of their energy useand we meet these goals through our energy-sharing service, which is a software service that manages an individual’s energy to reduce the most carbon-intensive production of electricity on the grid.

The sharing economy is not typically something that’s associated with energy. Well-known sharing products like Uber and Airbnb inspire users to interact with their local community to catch a ride or find a place to stay, and the sharing economy consequently unlocks a new treasure chest of value for its users. Just like customers of Uber and Airbnb, energy consumers want to see a similar benefit when they use energy smartly by ‘sharing’ with their community.

Tell us about your first product that was launched.

Simply, OhmConnect is a text message and web app. Users login, connect their account to the energy markets-which we make this as easy as logging into your utility account, receive an #OhmHour, reduce electricity, and get paid for every kWh they save. The three-part core loop is simple: receive #OhmHour alert, reduce electricity, and earn rewards.

Unlike other energy apps, OhmConnect responds to end-user needs, not the utility or energy market desires, deploying new changes about three times a day. The OhmConnect product places the customer first.

Great customer products do not rely on a silver bullet of engagement. We analyze billions of data points in experiments to determine which features are delighting users. We have tested dozens of major features, hundreds of iterations on each feature, and thousands of different wording, images, font-size, color, and all slight variations of a product that can and do make a difference to the customer. Our innovation is in iterating rapidly, responding directly to customer feedback.

A few examples are shown below:

Streaks: The platform encourages users to hit ‘streaks’ – keeping track of how many #OhmHours in a row in which a user has successfully reduced their energy consumption. The longer their streak, the larger the bonus they receive on their next payment of #OhmHour points.

Status Levels: OhmConnect recognizes and rewards users who are able to achieve strong energy savings on a consistent basis. Users can move up from Carbon through Bronze, Silver, and Gold, all the way up to Platinum. The higher Status Level a user is, the larger the bonus they receive on their next payment of #OhmHour points.

Connect page: Users can connect smart devices to their OhmConnect account, allowing our software to automatically reduce the energy usage in their home. Customers’ smart devices automatically turn off when an #OhmHour begins and automatically turn back on when an #OhmHour ends.

What were the grounds on which you have expanded your company and its offerings over the years?

OhmConnect is helping propel this world forward by connecting the smart grid to the smart home. We have seen exponential growth – just three years from launching the platform, our user base has scaled to hundreds of thousands of users in the United States and Canada.

On the energy markets side, we are delivering hundreds of MWs to US and Canadian energy markets. As we look at new opportunities for market expansion, we have had discussions with utilities from Japan, Germany, France, UAE, Australia, Ireland, Portugal, and Singapore. Most importantly, our model is infinitely scalable, and our product can work in any energy market to meet its needs.

We have been in close connection with industry stakeholders. We are part of working groups and participate in regulatory proceedings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT), the New York Rev proceedings, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Energy Commission (CEC), the Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), and Mission: Data, to simply name a few. 

What do you feel are the reasons behind:

Your product popularity – We are champions of the customer and we work with regulators and utilities to pay our users for every action that they take. We want them to have the ability to earn every dollar of value that they create. This attentiveness and zeal for customer delight is what propels our product’s popularity. It’s an interesting balance between our operation – we are an intensely data-driven company with hundreds of dashboards showcasing the health and status of every facet of our business – but at the same time, we are an incredibly personal company and product. Ensuring that our experience delights users with different use cases in different psychographic segments has helped us create the first energy product to reach this level of popularity.

Your consistent growth as an organization – We have a keen and deep understanding of our users and community. This understanding is based on trillions of bytes of data that give us unique insights into areas that drive our growth and points of friction we need to smooth out.

Where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

Over the past few years, we have been intently focused on expanding our footprint within California. As we look towards the next few years, we see enormous opportunities in new geographies and energy markets including Texas, Toronto, New York, the Eastern Seaboard, and Midwest. Each region has their own unique energy markets and we are keen to empower every energy customer in those markets to get paid for sharing energy. Looking at what we have done in California and expanding across the rest of the US, there are Gigawatts of shared energy available.

Platinum. The higher Status Level a user is, the larger the bonus they receive on their next payment of #OhmHour points.

Connect page: Users can connect smart devices to their OhmConnect account, allowing our software to automatically reduce the energy usage in their home. Customers’ smart devices automatically turn off when an #OhmHour begins and automatically turn back on when an #OhmHour ends.

What were the grounds on which you have expanded your company and its offerings over the years?

OhmConnect is helping propel this world forward by connecting the smart grid to the smart home. We have seen exponential growth – just three years from launching the platform, our user base has scaled to hundreds of thousands of users in the United States and Canada.

On the energy markets side, we are delivering hundreds of MWs to US and Canadian energy markets. As we look at new opportunities for market expansion, we have had discussions with utilities from Japan, Germany, France, UAE, Australia, Ireland, Portugal, and Singapore. Most importantly, our model is infinitely scalable, and our product can work in any energy market to meet its needs.

We have been in close connection with industry stakeholders. We are part of working groups and participate in regulatory proceedings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT), the New York Rev proceedings, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Energy Commission (CEC), the Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), and Mission: Data, to simply name a few. 

What do you feel are the reasons behind:

Your product popularity – We are champions of the customer and we work with regulators and utilities to pay our users for every action that they take. We want them to have the ability to earn every dollar of value that they create. This attentiveness and zeal for customer delight is what propels our product’s popularity. It’s an interesting balance between our operation – we are an intensely data-driven company with hundreds of dashboards showcasing the health and status of every facet of our business – but at the same time, we are an incredibly personal company and product. Ensuring that our experience delights users with different use cases in different psychographic segments has helped us create the first energy product to reach this level of popularity.

Your consistent growth as an organization – We have a keen and deep understanding of our users and community. This understanding is based on trillions of bytes of data that give us unique insights into areas that drive our growth and points of friction we need to smooth out.

Where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

Over the past few years, we have been intently focused on expanding our footprint within California. As we look towards the next few years, we see enormous opportunities in new geographies and energy markets including Texas, Toronto, New York, the Eastern Seaboard, and Midwest. Each region has their own unique energy markets and we are keen to empower every energy customer in those markets to get paid for sharing energy. Looking at what we have done in California and expanding across the rest of the US, there are Gigawatts of shared energy available.

The Magnificent Trio Behind The Operation

Matt Duesterberg: Matt is the CEO of the company. He Earned BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

Cadir Lee: Cadir is the President and CTO of the company. He earned BS in Biology and Music from Stanford University.

Curtis Tongue: Curtis is the CMO of the company. He earned BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

“Users should be incentivized to live green. Simple, intuitive, and fun experiences will usher in the next generation of sustainability.”