OPOWER
Encyclopedia
Opower is a privately held software-as-a-service
company that partners with utility providers to promote energy efficiency
. Through contracts with 52 utility companies in 22 states, Opower's software creates individualized Home 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.
Opower's energy reports currently reach 2 million homes, and the company expects to quadruple that number in 2011. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
concluded in a June 2010 report that customer-feedback programs, like Opower's, could boost energy security
, help the environment and save consumers money. "[F]eedback is proving a critical first step in engaging and empowering consumers to thoughtfully manage their energy resources," the study said.
. As of March 2011, it employs 185 people. In June 2010, iLike
founder Hadi Partovi joined Opower's board to advise on its West Coast
growth strategy. 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.
On September 1, 2010, the World Economic Forum
announced the company as a Technology Pioneer for 2011.
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.
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."
s 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.
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. 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.
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. Opower's software enables customers to input more information to generate recommendations about specific types of energy use, such as air-conditioning
and heating.
He made the visit two months after announcing a $2.3 billion program of tax credits for "green job
s." "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.
The White House released a video of Obama's appearance.
Software as a Service
Software as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
company that partners with utility providers to promote energy efficiency
Energy conservation
Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
. Through contracts with 52 utility companies in 22 states, Opower's software creates individualized Home 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.
Opower's energy reports currently reach 2 million homes, and the company expects to quadruple that number in 2011. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, or ACEEE, is a nonprofit, 501 organization. Founded in 1980, ACEEE's mission is to advance energy efficiency as a fast, cheap, and effective means of meeting energy challenges...
concluded in a June 2010 report that customer-feedback programs, like Opower's, could boost energy security
Energy security
Energy security is a term for an association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led...
, help the environment and save consumers money. "[F]eedback is proving a critical first step in engaging and empowering consumers to thoughtfully manage their energy resources," the study said.
History and Growth
Founded in 2007 by long-time friends Dan Yates and Alex Laskey, Opower is headquartered in Arlington, VirginiaArlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...
. As of March 2011, it employs 185 people. In June 2010, iLike
ILike
iLike is an online service that allows users to download and share music. The website makes use of a sidebar that is used with Apple's iTunes or Microsoft's Windows Media Player. The program and sidebar are not required in order to use the site but allow for ease in discovering new artists....
founder Hadi Partovi joined Opower's board to advise on its West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
growth strategy. 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
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is a regulatory authority in New Jersey charged with the responsibility of seeing that "safe, adequate, and proper utility services are provided at reasonable rates for customers in New Jersey." The NJBPU regulates natural gas, electricity, water,...
, join its board.
On September 1, 2010, the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
announced the company as a Technology Pioneer for 2011.
In November 2010, the company announced its third round of venture capital funding, a $50 million investment led by Accel Partners
Accel Partners
Accel Partners is a global venture and growth equity firm funding companies from inception through the growth stage.The firm is based in Palo Alto, California with major offices in Bangalore, Beijing, London, and Shanghai....
and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, to accelerate its expansion.
During a visit to Opower headquarters in Arlington in 2010, President Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
said the company's growth is "a model of what we want to be seeing all across the country."
Science & Technology
Opower's software uses statistical algorithmAlgorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
s to perform pattern recognition
Pattern recognition
In machine learning, pattern recognition is the assignment of some sort of output value to a given input value , according to some specific algorithm. An example of pattern recognition is classification, which attempts to assign each input value to one of a given set of classes...
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.
Opower's Energy Reports incorporate the behavioral science
Behavioural sciences
The term behavioural sciences encompasses all the disciplines that explore the activities of and interactions among organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behaviour through controlled and naturalistic observation, and disciplined...
techniques of Robert Cialdini
Robert Cialdini
Robert B. Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University.He is best known for his popular book on persuasion and marketing, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Influence has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into twenty-six...
, Opower's chief scientist and the author of "Influence," a 1984 book on persuasion. 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
Smiley
A smiley, smiley face, or happy face, is a stylized representation of a smiling human face, commonly occurring in popular culture. It is commonly represented as a yellow circle with two black dots representing eyes and a black arc representing the mouth...
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.
The company mails the reports to consumers, but also offers the information in other formats, including internet portals, text messages
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
, email and in-home energy displays. Opower's software enables customers to input more information to generate recommendations about specific types of energy use, such as air-conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
and heating.
President Obama's Visit
President Barack Obama visited Opower headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, 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.He made the visit two months after announcing a $2.3 billion program of tax credits for "green job
Green job
A green job, also called a green-collar job is, according to the United Nations Environment Program, "work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development , administrative, and service activities that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality...
s." "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.
The White House released a video of Obama's appearance.