As the climate shifts, there’s been a profound increase in power outages. From 2011-2021 there were 64% more major power outages than in the previous ten years; 83% were related to weather. Homeowners typically have two fallback options – fossil-fuel-burning generators and home battery systems. Haven Energy helps homeowners find, secure, install, and run home battery systems. Using a home battery system allows homeowners to either provide backup energy for the entire home or just for essentials like refrigerators, freezers, internet, etc. The system is integrated with the local power grid and can act as a virtual power plant that allows the system to collect and store energy in the battery when rates are cheap (offpeak) and use energy from the battery rather than the grid when rates are expensive, significantly optimizing energy costs (~20% difference between peak and offpeak time of use rates) as well as helping preserve the continuity of supply from providers. Haven handles the process from beginning to end from battery system selection, design, permitting, installation, maintenance, and even financing. With the Inflation Reduction Act providing incentives for electrification, homeowners can expect to save up to 30% of the cost of the system in tax credits. Focusing initially on the Los Angeles area, the company plans to expand throughout the state and additional domestic markets with 100,000 installations targeted prior to 2028.
LA TechWatch caught up with Haven Energy Cofounder and CEO Vinnie Campo to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised $4.2M in Seed round funding led by Lerer Hippeau and Giant Ventures, with participation from Quantum Innovation Fund and Raven One Ventures.
Tell us about your product or service.
Haven Energy offers a simple, turnkey solution for people who want to install home batteries and manage their energy better. With a home battery system from Haven, people can store energy at home and prevent power outages, save on utility bills, and lower their carbon emissions. Post-installation, Haven works with homeowners to integrate their batteries into the company’s virtual power plant (VPP), enabling customers to monetize and share in grid services revenue, and significantly reduce their electricity costs.
Until recently, this has been a complex and overwhelming process. With Haven, homeowners can relax as we handle every step of the process, from choosing the right home battery to system design, financing, and installation.
We believe widespread, distributed energy is critical to building a cleaner and more resilient energy future. But it will only be possible if we make the adoption of home energy storage a smooth and seamless experience for homeowners.
What inspired the start of Haven Energy?
Dealing with frequent blackouts and unreliable power, we set out to protect our own homes against outages by installing home battery systems and other energy upgrades. What we discovered was not encouraging.
The process – from buying a home battery and finding a qualified electrician to securing the right permits and financing – was lengthy and complex. We saw an opportunity to create something better: a one-stop solution for energy storage.
The plan was accelerated by a historic shift in the affordability of residential energy storage. Through the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act, homeowners now receive a 30% tax credit for installing standalone home battery systems.
Additionally, California emerged as the best place to focus our efforts. Given the extreme weather and unpredictability of the grid, particularly in Southern California where there have been 24,000 outages in the last two years alone, we knew California homeowners would feel the benefits of home energy storage immediately.
How is it different?
For our customers, Haven will differentiate itself because it offers the simplest buying experience and excellent ongoing support, post-installation. Homeowners won’t have to think about all the moving parts or make decisions to optimize their battery.
On the backend, we’re able to leverage a software-driven marketplace – aggregating the supply, demand, and operations of home battery systems – which will continue to bring down the cost of battery ownership, facilitate a fully renewable energy grid, and accelerate the country’s clean energy adoption.
What market are you targeting and how big is it?
We’re targeting Los Angeles homeowners at launch, with plans to expand throughout the state and to additional US markets, targeting 100,000 installations by 2028.
What’s your business model?
We have several sources of revenue. First, whenever we do an installation, there’s an upfront rate that we have in place per installation. Second, over the life of those assets there is a small revenue share of some of those grid optimization services we provide to the customer. Longer term, we’ll provide direct financing opportunities to homeowners.
What was the funding process like?
We were fortunate to connect with great investors early on in the process who already held a shared belief in our mission. We met with each of them numerous times to align on the mission and the vision.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Among the investors we spoke to, there was strong conviction from the beginning that home batteries would become ubiquitous in the next few years. But there were questions around timing. Then the Inflation Reduction Act passed. The IRA is the largest climate bill in history and sets up about $43 billion in tax credits for homeowners to electrify their homes. We also identified examples of utilities partnering with companies to start virtual power plants. These instances supported the concept and gave everyone the validation that it was the perfect time to start the business.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
We are solving a pain point in the marketplace. Home energy storage solutions have been available for years, and while prices have come down, new federal subsidies have significantly reduced the cost of installations, and more operators exist than ever before to facilitate installations, it is still just an incredibly frustrating and complex process.
We are solving a pain point in the marketplace. Home energy storage solutions have been available for years, and while prices have come down, new federal subsidies have significantly reduced the cost of installations, and more operators exist than ever before to facilitate installations, it is still just an incredibly frustrating and complex process.
We’re changing that. Drawing on our experiences at Uber and Casper, we’re bringing a consumer-forward approach to home energy storage that eliminates all of the second-guessing. Essentially, we’ve created a one-click shop for home battery systems.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
Right now, we are focused on our customers in Los Angeles and Southern California, but in the near future we plan to expand our customer base throughout the state. We are already seeing a lot of demand for what we can deliver to homeowners interested in energy storage, and we know that the adoption of this kind of climate resiliency technology is only going to accelerate.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We’re focusing on Los Angeles at launch, with plans to expand statewide soon.
What is your favorite restaurant in LA?
Gjelina! We had many delicious dishes there but a team favorite was the Four Onion and goat cheese pizza.
