"A few years ago, Selina Tobaccowala's daughter started leaving post-it notes around the house, telling everyone to "turn off the lights" and such. Tobaccowala had just sold her last startup, Gixo, to OpenFit and was looking for a new challenge. "I saw the kids and thought, 'Let me see if there's something there on the sustainability and climate side,'" she told TechCrunch. "There had to be something more than like turning our lights off.""
"HomeBoost's assessment process begins by mailing customers a BoostBox, a small kit that includes an infrared camera, a blacklight and a link to an app that takes customers through the process. As people walk around their homes, the infrared camera shows them where cold (or hot) air is seeping into their homes; the blacklight tells people which lights could be upgraded."
""Given my love of surveys, I surveyed a ton - a ton - of customers," said Tobaccowala, who used to be president and CTO of SurveyMonkey. What she found was that people were struggling to figure out how to lower their utility bills. "When we talked to consumers, we heard the same thing over and over again: They get that email that says, 'Hey, you spend more money than your neighbors,'" she said. "They were sort of stuck with what to do about it.""
Selina Tobaccowala launched HomeBoost after surveying many consumers who struggled to lower utility bills despite receiving usage alerts. HomeBoost sends a BoostBox containing an infrared camera and a blacklight, plus an app that guides homeowners through a DIY energy assessment. The infrared reveals air leaks and the blacklight highlights lighting upgrade opportunities. The app analyzes scan data to automatically generate reports recommending cost-effective upgrades and listing available rebates by location. The service aims to make home energy audits accessible, complementing utility-offered programs that pair incentives with professional energy auditors.
Read at TechCrunch
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