This startup can help you set up solar panels and lower your energy bill: 'Our data is now seen by north of 80 million people'

CEO Naman Trivedi and his co-founder Ben Hood launched WattBuy because they'd been scammed by an energy provider offering a teaser energy rate that doubled within a few months. So they set out to prevent that from happening to other people.

Their startup helps people through the journey of getting solar or better, cheaper electrical options with free, personalized energy plans. And seven years after they launched WattBuy, they're now making unconventional partnerships with Nextdoor, Redfin, and other trusted companies that aren't traditionally part of the energy space — to help customers get access to the best hyperlocal options during what Trivedi calls "energy decision moments" like buying a home or moving into a new apartment.

"A lot of our genesis story [was asking if we could] build a product where trust and transparency is the core of what we provide in an industry that has some bad actors and historically has benefited from the lack of transparency," Trivedi told The Cool Down. "Our data is now seen by north of 80 million people a year — everything from electricity cost estimates, solar estimates … we're thrilled to be able to get that data out there."

In an exclusive conversation with TCD, Trivedi gave us the inside scoop on how users — ourselves included — can make the best energy decisions for their unique setup, whether they're a homeowner or renter, looking to get solar panels installed, or wanting to save money on their energy costs.

⚙️ How the process works (hint: it's fast)

Just plug in your address or ZIP code and WattBuy instantaneously provides a free, simple, personalized plan that can save you money using clean energy. You'll see your estimated energy usage, carbon emissions, and a layout of how going solar could affect your bill.

"The way that we've set up the experience for customers is we want it to be as frictionless as possible," Trivedi explains. "With your address or even just your zip code, we have machine learning models that can estimate how your home uses electricity. We have real data on about 5 million homes — we're able to use that to train a model that says, 'for this home in this geography with this many [beds and baths], built in this year with weather patterns looking like this, we expect that it's going to use electricity in this way.'"

You can also see a breakdown of your energy sources by state, and what percentage comes from fossil fuels.

In Maine, for example, WattBuy estimates that 47% of a home's electricity comes from natural gas — a fossil fuel — while another 20% is hydroelectric, 11% is wind, and 22% is solar. 

In Colorado, on the other hand, 29% of energy comes from coal — another "dirty" energy source — but 34% comes from wind and solar.

"From there, our goal is that we can show you hyper-local products and services that … take into account all of the data that we might have around your state incentives, your federal incentives, electricity rates in your area to say, 'Here's what makes sense for you. Here's what might not make sense for you.' And essentially just help you build confidence in the process before you go out and make a decision," Trivedi said.

🤝 WattBuy's newest partnerships

Trivedi dropped a big truth bomb on us: "Early on in building the company, we really quickly figured out that no one really cares about electricity," he said.

Instead, if you want to actually help people make better energy decisions, you have to meet customers where they are. 

That's why WattBuy has started partnering with companies that facilitate an "energy decision moment" — aka when someone's buying or renting a place and realize they need to set up their electricity. Or when someone is looking to save money and they realize their utility bill is a huge monthly expense. Or they're asking neighbors for a plumber rec and solar's been on their mind as well.

"That formed our philosophy on how we went to … partners that historically had nothing to do with energy," Trivedi noted, like Rent.com, State Farm, and Nextdoor.

"We made the pitch to them that in the next five to 10 years, your customers are going to increasingly look to you to help make energy and sustainability decisions. And if you as a brand actually don't help them do that, you actually might have a little bit of risk of market share loss relative to others in your space that are actually moving forward and building sustainability offerings," he explained.

"It seems to be working," Trivedi said, "because we keep growing those partnerships and we find that more and more companies keep coming to us saying, 'We want that data in our experience to be able to show customers.'"

🌤️ Why solar is so important 

WattBuy's cost-saving recs include installing smart thermostats, smart plugs, and LED light bulbs in your home that can save you hundreds a year — but solar advice is a huge priority, given how quickly costs have come down. 

"We're going to be able to show you personalized savings and cost estimates and ROI [return on investment] estimates on what the payback period is going to be, and then if you're ready … we can actually connect you to the installers that are in your area."

For example, for my setup in Virginia, WattBuy estimated that the average cost of solar installation, with federal incentives, would be around $14,000 and that the system would pay for itself in 11 years — while in the meantime my average monthly bill with solar would be $0 instead of, by WattBuy's estimate, an average $79.

And when I provided a few more details, WattBuy connected me to fully vetted solar installers in the area to set up consultations and provide real quotes.

Pro tip: Trivedi recommends getting two or three solar quotes when you're ready to buy. "In general, it's hard to know if you're getting the best deal. … [Getting multiple quotes is] probably one of the most useful things to make sure that they're both in the ballpark of what makes sense," he told us. "If it doesn't, then I'd come back to WattBuy to compare what you're seeing relative to the quotes that you actually got."

💸 Why solar is so much more affordable right now

"There's definitely a good amount of myths around solar," Trivedi acknowledged. "One of the big myths is that solar is a scam, right? It's true that there are bad actors … but overall, solar is a pretty amazing technology that has benefited most consumers through savings over the period of time that they install." 

"I think part of the reason that customers often think that solar is a scam is that they believe that it's too expensive. But the reality is that the cost of solar has actually dramatically come down over the past decade," said Trivedi.

The National Renewable Energy Lab, for example, has shown that the average cost of solar has dropped around 70% since 2011. 

"The average cost sits around … $3 a watt. So a six to seven kilowatt system costs about $17,000 before incentives, and if you start applying the federal investment tax credit on that, it brings it down to about $12,000. That's kind of the base case that most customers should be thinking about," Trivedi said. "But then you want the decision to be hyper local. You want it to be down to your address."

That's where WattBuy's insights come into play. "Does your state offer rebates? Are there any property tax exemptions? Does net metering and rate policy impact what's going to happen with solar on your roof?," asked Trivedi. "And a lot of those things could further lower costs or they could have a neutral impact. … There's ample data available to help that customer or help the homeowner really decide on what makes sense for them."

💚 Finding the right people to trust

Whether you're looking to invest in solar panels for the first time or want to upgrade your setup, there's often a bunch of information and fine print to sort through. Knowing who to trust during the process is crucial.

Trivedi recommends turning to a neighbor: "What we keep hearing from customers is your neighbor is generally one of the best people to give you advice on solar because they've generally gone through the process, and the data and the decision was hyper local." That's what makes recent partnerships with platforms like Nextdoor so important, as well.

Another way to find an objective source? Figure out who doesn't financially benefit from connecting you to specific installers. 

"The thing that a homeowner has to figure out is, 'Where can I get trusted data where the allegiance is to the homeowner and not to any single provider?'" Trivedi explained. "That's been our thesis on every product that we've worked on. … We don't have an allegiance to any one provider in any market — our goal is really to educate consumers."

WattBuy is also officially accredited by the United States Department of Energy.

🏢 Renting? No prob

"We serve every address in the US — renter, homeowner, doesn't matter to us," Trivedi noted. "We think that everyone has a role and generally everyone has an ability to act."

While you may not be able to install solar panels on your roof, if you're a renter who pays utility bills directly, you can still often switch to a cheaper, renewable energy plan. Trivedi explained that you can also sign up for community solar, which means your utility provider is actually setting up a solar farm somewhere in the area and you as the user will receive a credit on your bill once it's set up. 

Oftentimes landlords will also allow renters to set up their own smart thermostat, which can make your AC and heating more efficient. "There is definitely a growing amount of solutions that exist for" renters, Trivedi told us. 

Anna Robertson conducted this interview for The Cool Down. 
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