Retrofit America is deploying a game-changing IT platform to ramp up demand for home energy efficiency retrofitting nationwide. Its Home Retrofit Challengeā¢ platform will engage neighborhoods by tracking the results of home retrofits that are implemented by a national network of leading contractors.Ā Currently, Retrofit America is part of theĀ GreenhouseĀ Accelerator,Ā aĀ program that educates, advises and financially supports entrepreneurs in green business ventures to facilitate local, green job creation and the adoption of sustainable business practices.
We caught upĀ with Geoff Berlin, Founder and CEO, to get more of the story.Ā Peruse the nuts and bolts of the company below and then check out Berlin’s featured article,Ā “Can the U.S. Kick Its Carbon Habit?”,Ā in the most recent Ā issue of The Globalist.
Year/Date Founded:
2009
Number of Employees:
1
Founders/Execs:
Geoff Berlin, Founder and CEO
Funding or bootstrapped?
Angel Funding
What problem are you solving?
There are 67 million single-family homes in America, most of which are leaking energy like sieves. Contractors that make homes energy efficient need IT tools to ramp up homeowner demand and manage their businesses.
Please describe the market/industry/environmental impact:
Heating, cooling and powering Americaās homes is 22% of US energy consumption and 20% of CO2 emissions. Home efficiency retrofits save homeowners an average of 40% on energy use for heating and cooling.
Who are your competitors and how do you stand out?
Big picture: Companies such as OPower and Nest are generating savings of up to 2% on residential energy use by influencing homeowner behavior. We are able to achieve much more substantive savings through structural improvements to homes.
IT competitors: Some IT companies are offering piecemeal solutions to contractors. We will provide an integrated Home Retrofit IT Systemā¢ for contractors to manage their businesses, from energy audit to retrofit implementation to test-out, along with the Home Retrofit Challengeā¢ platform to jumpstart demand.
Revenue Model?
We will charge contractors lead generation fees through the Home Retrofit Challengeā¢ platform and license fees to use the Home Retrofit IT Systemā¢.
How’d You Get The Idea For It?
I had been doing a lot of work on energy issues and climate change in Central and Eastern Europe over two decades. When I decided to return Stateside in 2009, residential energy efficiency offered an opportunity to have an impact on US energy consumption and to help move Americans toward taking action on climate change, starting in our very own homes.
How does ATL weave into your story?
ATL has been our āproving ground,ā where Iāve been running a home performance contracting operation to figure out how to scale the business nationally.
