Startup unveils innovative program that could help millions of households save on their energy bills: 'A new solution that helps everybody win'

As more and more advanced technology becomes integrated into our homes, it opens up previously unimaginable avenues for financial savings and eco-friendly upgrades. 

Case in point: Home energy management startup Renew Home announced a whole new approach to "virtual" power plants (VPPs) to help five million American households save energy and earn rewards, all while supporting a more reliable electrical grid. 

What's happening?

A VPP is a collection of small energy sources that are coordinated to act like one big source — similar to a traditional power plant. While the individual generators on their own are too small to be of interest to utility providers, the group as a whole is powerful.

Typically, a VPP is comprised of devices like solar panels — items that generate their own electricity. But what about the impact of small energy savings around the house? 

Renew Home VPP is a new kind of virtual power plant that connects energy savings from more than five million homes through thermostats, water heaters, and other smart home devices. 

Households can sign up to have their usage slightly adjusted by the smart home system to increase efficiency without sacrificing comfort — for example, by heating water only when you need to use it or turning your heating and cooling off when you're not home.

Why is Renew Home VPP important?

By lowering electricity usage — especially during peak times like early evenings when power is in high demand — Renew Home VPP can effectively extend the power of the electrical grid since each home needs less power. That makes the whole power supply more resilient.

Meanwhile, reducing electricity usage helps lower power bills for households without residents even thinking about it. There's even a rewards program for using Renew Home VPP.

"Electrification, data center growth, and more severe weather are driving up energy demand and prices," said Renew Home's CEO Ben Brown in a statement. "As grid constraint becomes more frequent, we're seeing a great desire from households to better manage their energy use and save, while energy providers look for ways to quickly add capacity. 

"With Renew Home VPP, we are offering a new solution that helps everybody win: when we focus on customer savings, comfort and control, VPP participation skyrockets — ultimately creating a vast grid resource." 

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Besides saving users money, the Renew Home VPP system is also set up to help users rely more on clean energy. It's cost-effective, and it's good for the planet because it doesn't create heat-trapping air pollution.

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