Embue, a Worcester-based software company seeking to make multifamily buildings more energy efficient and easier to manage, has been awarded a $335,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.
The grant will allow the company to roll out a peak load management solution to existing users of its software, starting with three affordable housing communities, according to a Thursday press release from Embue. After being installed via a software update, the peak load management system will enable operators of the communities to generate revenue from the grid.
“The goal of MassCEC’s InnovateMass Program is to help innovative companies like Embue bridge funding gaps and commercialize their climate solutions,” Madison Zeliff, technology-to-market program manager at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, said in the release. “MassCEC provides this funding because it’s imperative that we accelerate the deployment of technologies that will reduce carbon emissions, save residents money, and create more resilient homes.”
The grant is part of MassCEC’s InnovateMass program, which seeks to fund efforts to assist with the deployment of new clean energy technologies or innovative combinations of existing technologies. The quasi-public agency was founded in 2009 to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies in Massachusetts.
“Existing solutions either target thermostats in a single residence or large commercial building loads primarily in a manual mode,” Robert Cooper, president and CEO of Embue, said in the press release. “This project will optimize the operation of hundreds of thermostats and central heating and cooling equipment together in a single building and will be a major step towards a zero emissions economy.”
Embue’s software is installed in nearly 8,000 units across 10 states, including the New Horizons Apartments, Illyrian Gardens, and Plumley Village affordable housing communities in Worcester.
Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
