Energy efficiency has always been cheaper than new power,  1/4th the cost of new generation.  So why isn’t there more adoption of energy efficiency?  This question intrigued Martha Amram and Nalin Kulatilaka, two of the co-founders of GreenNow.  After some study, they learned that the market for energy efficiency was broken.  Consumers did not have enough information to make intelligent decisions, and key energy using appliances were chosen by homebuilders and landlords, not consumers. Consumers get only delayed feedback on their energy use (monthly bills), and find it hard to adopt good habits in an information blackout.

As economists, Martha and Nalin first studied the problem from the top down, and wrote a paper. You can read it here.  Next, they organized a panel discussion at a conference to bring interested parties together.  One participant left them with a telling observation, “Energy efficiency will never be taken seriously. It is many small, small savings, and it is hard to make that add up to a coal plant. No one will pay attention to energy efficiency until it is as easy as building a coal plant.”

Frankly, this was a very motivating comment.  Martha and Nalin believed that times had changed, that residential energy efficiency could really add up to something powerful.  While the energy savings appear small to the utility, they are large to the homeowner.  And a band of energy-saving homeowners could capture attention.

This was the birth of GreenNow USA. As our name says, we think it is possible to cost-effectively go green today through energy efficiency, all across the country. We don’t need to wait, we can do it now.

And the story continues.  As GreenNow completed early Home Reviews, we noticed that summer water costs exceeded energy costs for many of our customers.  The water situation in California is growing more fragile, and government agencies are asking for conservation.  We saw a way to help our customers and our community by adding a water review to our service.

And we added to our team of co-founders.  We have been fortunate to find people with enthusiasm and expertise to help us build GreenNow.  Our team, along with many of our early customers have long wanted to do something that could make the future better for our children. The stream of reports on climate change is indeed worrisome.  GreenNow is our opportunity to make a difference.  Our company is dedicated to making a change, house by house, and helping energy and water efficient