Meet BlocPower, the startup that dreams of green buildings throughout the United States In addition to representing savings of up to 40% in energy consumption, there are studies that show that this type of system helps reduce the emission of carbon dioxide in up to 53% of the buildings in which it is installed.
By Eduardo Scheffler Zawadzki Edited by Eduardo Scheffler Zawadzki
This article was translated from our Spanish edition.
There are already more than 1,200 buildings that BlocPower has "intervened" to transform them into the residential equivalent of an electric car. Founded in 2014 in Brooklyn, New York, the startup is dedicated to replacing oil and gas installations in old buildings with innovative systems that allow analyzing, monitoring and optimizing energy consumption in a building. The equipment is leased and the best: they represent savings of between 20 and 40% for the owners of the buildings.
Donnel Baird , creator of BlocPower , was able to identify the same pattern in the energy consumption of a huge number of buildings in New York: the system to heat both the water and the living spaces was based on the combustion of natural gas and oil. Once the problem was identified, the owners of the buildings were approached with a simple proposal: replace the old gas and oil installations with solar panels and electric pumps capable of generating heat during the winter and cooling during the summer. In addition, he promised them that the change would represent savings. And so it happened.
According to Baird, the key component of his energy system is electric pumps and the way they can capture and transfer heat from one space to another.
A recent study carried out by ScienceDirect shows that these types of pumps contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions between 38 and 53% compared to gas systems.
A MAGNET FOR INVESTORS
During the Barrack Obama administration, Donnel Baird was part of an ambitious program to promote energy savings in buildings. The program did not meet its objectives, since each building was different with modifications made over the years by its owners who did not want to invest more money in the issue. But this time Baird approached it differently and, together with the panels and electric pumps, developed real -time monitoring systems that make savings tangible from day one. Their strategy has paid off, and along with the savings have come building owners raising their hands and investors wanting to support the project. Among the latter are Andeersen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft. In addition, the company received financial support from the Bezos Earth Fund.
BlocPower has already expanded its operations to other US states including California, Massachusetts and Georgia.
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