EMME raises $2.8M for fresh start in energy management

Enlarge Image

EMME the new iteration of home energy management startup Home Comfort Zones, has raised $2.8 million in venture capital to take its technology to the small commercial sector.

Beaverton-based EMME, which stands for Energy Management Made Easy, will use in the infusion to finish its new product, which automates heating and cooling control, and roll it out to the commercial market.

Portland-based Pivotal Investments led the round, which also included a number of Home Comfort Zone’s previous investors.

“I always thought they had great technology,” said Brad Zenger, founder and managing director of Pivotal Investments. “But the zoning market for residences wasn’t that interesting.”

Home Comfort Zones, founded in 2002, emphasized the ability to control temperature at variable levels throughout a home. But with the recent emphasis on energy efficiency, company founders, including CEO David Alles, saw an opportunity to apply that technology to energy management.

Zenger said EMME’s emphasis on heating and cooling controls — rather than just a Web-enabled thermostat — sets the technology apart from other energy management products coming to market. He also sees the company’s existing relationship with a channel of HVAC installers as an asset in marketing to small commercial building owners.

“What’s exciting to us is this provides a strong value proposition to give customers a full view of their energy usage,” Zenger said.

Home Comfort Zones raised $10 million from angel investors before reorganizing as EMME this year.