Jump to content

Opower: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 15: Line 15:
}}
}}


'''Opower''' is a privately held [[Software as a Service|Software-as-a-Service]] company that partners with utility providers around the world to promote [[Energy conservation|energy efficiency]]. Through contracts with more than 90 utility companies in 35 U.S. states and 8 countries, Opower's software creates individualized Energy Reports for utility customers that analyze their energy usage and offer recommendations on how to save energy and money by making small changes to their energy consumption. The average customer receiving Opower reports has cut energy usage by more than 2.5 percent.<ref>"[http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/nov2009/id2009115_475766.htm Energy Use: Neighbor vs. Neighbor]", ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', 9 November 2009.</ref>
'''Opower''' is a privately held [[Software as a Service|Software-as-a-Service]] company that partners with utility providers around the world to promote [[Energy conservation|energy efficiency]]. Through contracts with more than 90 utility companies in 35 U.S. states and 8 countries, Opower's software creates individualized Energy Reports for utility customers that analyze their energy usage and offer recommendations on how to save energy and money by making small changes to their energy consumption. Utilities use the Opower software platform to deliver key customer-facing applications that reduce energy demand and improve customer perception of the utility. The average customer receiving Opower reports has cut energy usage by more than 2.5 percent.<ref>"[http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/nov2009/id2009115_475766.htm Energy Use: Neighbor vs. Neighbor]", ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', 9 November 2009.</ref>


Opower's energy reports currently reach 22 million homes.<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559604576176473635179098.html "The Top 10 Clean-Tech Companies,"] ''Wall Street Journal'', March 4, 2011</ref> The [[American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy]] concluded in a June 2010 ''report''<ref>[http://www.aceee.org/pubs/e105.htm "Advanced Metering Initiatives and Residential Feedback Programs: A Meta-Review for Household Electricity-Saving Opportunities,"] American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, June 2010</ref> that customer-feedback programs, like Opower's, could boost [[energy security]], help the environment and save consumers money. According to the study, "feedback is proving a critical first step in engaging and empowering consumers to thoughtfully manage their energy resources".
Opower's energy reports currently reach 22 million homes.<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559604576176473635179098.html "The Top 10 Clean-Tech Companies,"] ''Wall Street Journal'', March 4, 2011</ref> The [[American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy]] concluded in a June 2010 ''report''<ref>[http://www.aceee.org/pubs/e105.htm "Advanced Metering Initiatives and Residential Feedback Programs: A Meta-Review for Household Electricity-Saving Opportunities,"] American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, June 2010</ref> that customer-feedback programs, like Opower's, could boost [[energy security]], help the environment and save consumers money. According to the study, "feedback is proving a critical first step in engaging and empowering consumers to thoughtfully manage their energy resources".

Revision as of 22:37, 13 November 2013

Opower
Company typePrivate
IndustrySoftware
FoundedArlington County, Virginia (2007)
FounderDan Yates
Alex Laskey
HeadquartersArlington, Virginia, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
 Dan Yates (CEO)
Alex Laskey (President)
ProductsEnergy Reporting
Software as a Service
Web Portal
Energy Alerts
Social Energy App
Offers & Rebates
Thermostat App
Utility CSR Tool
Number of employees
400 (June 2013)
Website[1]

Opower is a privately held Software-as-a-Service company that partners with utility providers around the world to promote energy efficiency. Through contracts with more than 90 utility companies in 35 U.S. states and 8 countries, Opower's software creates individualized Energy Reports for utility customers that analyze their energy usage and offer recommendations on how to save energy and money by making small changes to their energy consumption. Utilities use the Opower software platform to deliver key customer-facing applications that reduce energy demand and improve customer perception of the utility. The average customer receiving Opower reports has cut energy usage by more than 2.5 percent.[1]

Opower's energy reports currently reach 22 million homes.[2] The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy concluded in a June 2010 report[3] that customer-feedback programs, like Opower's, could boost energy security, help the environment and save consumers money. According to the study, "feedback is proving a critical first step in engaging and empowering consumers to thoughtfully manage their energy resources".

History and growth

Founded in 2007 by long-time friends Dan Yates and Alex Laskey, Opower is headquartered in Arlington, Virgnia. As of June 2013, it employed more than 400 people in five offices: Arlington, San Francisco, London, Singapore, and Japan.[4] In June 2010, iLike founder Hadi Partovi joined Opower's board to advise on its West Coast growth strategy.[5] In July 2010, Opower opened a second office in San Francisco and had Fred Butler, a former president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and commissioner of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, join its board. In 2013, Opower added former utility CEOs John Rowe and Dick Kelly to the board. Tom Brady, former Chairman of BGE, was named Chairman of the Board.[6]

On September 1, 2010, the World Economic Forum announced the company as a Technology Pioneer for 2011.[7]

In November 2010, the company announced its third round of venture capital funding, a $50 million investment led by Accel Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, to accelerate its expansion.[8]

During a visit to Opower headquarters in Arlington in 2010, President Obama said the company's growth is "a model of what we want to be seeing all across the country".[9]

In May 2013, Opower was named to the Inaugural CNBC Disruptors 50 List.[10]

In November 2013, Opower was named the #1 fastest growing tech company in the DC region, and #20 in the US, by Deloitte.[11]

Science and technology

Opower's software uses statistical algorithms to perform pattern recognition analysis from data in order to derive actionable insights for utility customers. Without any devices installed in the home, the platform can perform usage-disaggregation analysis, presenting end users information such as heating or cooling usage apart from overall usage, and thus allowing them to spot additional opportunities to save money.[12]

Opower's Energy Reports incorporate the behavioral science techniques of Robert Cialdini, Opower's chief scientist and the author of Influence, a 1984 book on persuasion.[13] The reports include targeted tips that seek to motivate customers to lower their energy consumption to the "normal" neighborhood rate. The reports also feature smiley-face emoticons for the most energy-efficient homes, a feature that Opower added after research showed that some consumers who used less energy than average started using more once they knew the norm. The reports also compare energy usage among neighbors with similarly sized houses.[14]

The company mails the reports to consumers, but also offers the information in other formats, including internet portals, text messages, email and in-home energy displays.[15] Opower's software enables customers to input more information to generate recommendations about specific types of energy use, such as air-conditioning and heating.[16]

President Obama's visit

File:OPOWER-Wiki.jpg

President Barack Obama visited Opower headquarters in Arlington on March 5, 2010. He touted the company as an economic "success story" amid a troubled economy and as a "great emblem" for clean-energy jobs.[17]

He made the visit two months after announcing a "$2.3 billion program"[18] of tax credits for "green jobs." "The work you do here...is making homes more energy efficient, it's saving people money, it's generating jobs, and it's putting America on the path to a clean energy future", Obama said at Opower.[19]

The White House released a video of Obama's appearance.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Energy Use: Neighbor vs. Neighbor", Bloomberg Businessweek, 9 November 2009.
  2. ^ "The Top 10 Clean-Tech Companies," Wall Street Journal, March 4, 2011
  3. ^ "Advanced Metering Initiatives and Residential Feedback Programs: A Meta-Review for Household Electricity-Saving Opportunities," American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, June 2010
  4. ^ "Opower President Alex Laskey: 'We're now 400 employees'," Washington Business Journal, June 26, 2013
  5. ^ "Opower to Expand to West Coast, Names iLike Founder Hadi Partovi to Advisory Board," TechCrunch, June 29, 2010
  6. ^ "Former CEOs of Xcel, Exelon Join Opower, Electric Light & Power, June 10, 2013
  7. ^ Thirty-One Visionary Companies Selected as Technology Pioneers 2011
  8. ^ "Opower plans expansion with $50 million investment," The Washington Post, Nov. 30, 2010
  9. ^ "Remarks by the President on Clean Energy Jobs," White House press release, March 5, 2010
  10. ^ "CNBC Disruptor 50" CNBC, May 20, 2013
  11. ^ [http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/TMT_us_tmt/us_tmt_fast500_rankings_110713.pdf "Technology Fast 500 2013 Ranking," [Deloitte, November 13, 2013
  12. ^ "Opower Separates Heat, Light in Home Energy," Greentech Media, December 17, 2009
  13. ^ "Finding the 'Weapons' of Persuasion to Save Energy," New York Times, June 21, 2010, originally published in ClimateWire
  14. ^ "Do you use more energy than your neighbors?" USA Today, 1 February 2010
  15. ^ "Opower looks to add human touch to smart grid," CNET, May 2, 2010
  16. ^ "OPOWER's New Marketplace Entices Homeowners To Become Energy Efficient". The Daily Energy Report. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  17. ^ "Remarks by the President on Clean Energy Jobs," White House release, March 5, 2010
  18. ^ "Obama unveils $2.3 billion for clean energy jobs," CNN Money, January 8, 2010
  19. ^ "Can Small Lifestyle Changes Lead to Huge CO2 Cuts?," Time, March 17, 2010
  20. ^ "Creating New Jobs in a Clean Energy Economy," White House YouTube channel, March 5, 2010
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Opower&oldid=581544057"