Mar 14, 2024   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Sealed Unveils Sealed Pro to Accelerate the Market for Electrification and Other Home Energy Improvements

Sealed, a climate tech company on a mission to stop home energy waste and electrify all homes, today introduced Sealed Pro, a software platform for accelerating home energy improvement and electrification projects. The launch marks Sealed’s shift from a direct-to-consumer to a business-to-business company that serves home efficiency and electrification contractors across the U.S.

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(Photo: Business Wire)

(Photo: Business Wire)

Sealed Pro is initially focused on solving the slow and burdensome processes of securing rebates for home energy contractors installing weatherization and electrification projects. Rebate programs are important tools for getting energy-saving, emissions-reducing home improvement projects done. But most of the more than $2.5 billion that energy utilities spend on home efficiency programs each year create added costs and burdens for contractors, including complicated paperwork, overlapping programs, and payment terms that put severe pressure on contractors’ cash flow. With Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) rebate programs adding more than $8 billion in additional funding for home energy rebates, these challenges are only expected to increase.

Sealed is applying data, analytics, software, and experience gathered over 10+ years in residential energy efficiency to maximize the impact these public investments will have on market transformation. Sealed Pro simplifies project evaluation, planning, and rebate applications. Contractors leverage a web interface across mobile, tablet, and desktop to input all of the required data points for one (or more) programs, with Sealed organizing and submitting all of the rebate applications. Sealed Pro gives contractors and homeowners a guaranteed rebate amount and Sealed then makes up-front payments to contractors at the speed of business to lock in revenue and profitability from their projects with zero risk.

Sealed Pro launched in California, where the company worked with home improvement contractors to provide an easier way to navigate the regional 3C-REN measured savings demand flexibility program. Since October 2023, contractors across Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties in Southern California have submitted $1 million in rebates using Sealed Pro to streamline the planning and registration of their 3C-REN projects. Using Sealed Pro, contractors can now get an estimate on incentive payments in just 3 minutes and receive payment from Sealed for projects as quickly as 10 days after installation.

In 3C-REN and other programs, Sealed serves as a program aggregator, helping contractors minimize their paperwork and get paid faster all while taking accountability for project submittals and energy savings performance. Sealed’s work as an aggregator has not only ensured maximum impact and accountability for public energy efficiency dollars, but it has also made these programs accessible to a much broader group of contractors and homeowners. For example, several Sealed contractor partners have indicated that without the benefit of Sealed Pro, they would not have participated in the 3C-REN program due to the challenges of data gathering, rebate processing, rebate cashflow, and performance risk.

As an aggregator, Sealed supports contractors in some markets by connecting them with interested households, including through partnerships with utilities like Orange & Rockland Utilities and Central Hudson Utilities in New York State. Sealed also provides contractors with information and education on energy efficiency and electrification that they can use in the home and at the kitchen table.

The aggregator role is a relatively new but important part of a data-driven approach to energy savings programs favored by the IRA and the next generation of energy efficiency and electrification programs.

“Contractors carry the burden of our industry’s ever-increasing complexity. We see them spending more and more time navigating rules and paperwork which distracts, or even restricts, them from the hands-on work that we all depend on them to do,” said Ryan Bevans, Chief Revenue Officer at Sealed. “We believe rebates can be both easy and effective and Sealed Pro is helping to achieve this. More homeowners are accessing available rebates while contractors of all sizes are increasing profits and reclaiming their time. These are true industry wins.”

Of the contractors have used Sealed Pro in California, 80% were new entrants into 3C-REN. Like many expected IRA measured savings programs, 3C-REN calculates rebates based on actual energy reductions. As additional measured savings programs get up and running this year from the IRA and utilities, Sealed will assume the performance risk of each home energy project, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent on real energy savings and minimizing the administrative costs and friction for states and contractors alike.

“Tapping into the IRA incentives is a complicated process for homeowners and contractors. Our team is steeped in the nuances of the home energy rebates programs created by the IRA and many utilities. Knowing how difficult it can be to navigate, we combined our experience with home energy data and industry expertise in Sealed Pro,” said Lauren Salz, co-founder and CEO Sealed. “Reorienting our business model around Sealed Pro and supporting contractors is a major shift for Sealed that is a perfect fit for today’s market. Sealed Pro takes advantage of a historic market opportunity while also enhancing our contributions to home energy efficiency and electrification in an efficient, scalable way. Sealed has never been better-positioned to boost efficiency and cut GHG emissions from the residential sector.”

The company expects to continue to roll Sealed Pro out across more states in 2024. To learn more about ways Sealed is working closely with contractors to maximize the IRA impact for homeowners, visit the Sealed website.

About Sealed:

Sealed is a climate tech company with a mission to stop home energy waste and electrify all homes. Sealed provides software and solutions to contractors, enabling them to install more home weatherization and electrification projects, grow their business, and make it easier for homeowners to have more comfort with less energy waste. Sealed's software, data, and analytics enable market-leading products, including a one-stop shop rebate solution, investment-grade energy savings predictions, and customer qualification and education tools. Sealed also serves as an aggregator of projects for utility and government incentives, handling all rebate processing and payment on behalf of contractors, enabling contractors to participate in measured savings, Virtual Power Plant (VPP), and other programs with minimal additional costs or friction.