ATLANTA, May 5, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After a brutal winter, consumers are bracing for what could be an equally brutal summer. Fortunately, members of Kankakee Valley Rural Electric Membership Cooperative in Indiana can use the new WeatherInsights app on the utility's website to see exactly how much they can save for each degree they adjust their home's thermostat.
Developed by Apogee Interactive, KVREMC selected WeatherInsights for its ability to give members a quick, precise tool for uncovering inexpensive energy savings in their homes. "We can't control the weather, but we can encourage members to make small changes that can have a big impact," said Amanda Steeb, Communications/Marketing Director, KVREMC. "The application uses our rates and our local weather, so members can see the direct correlation between outside temperatures, their inside thermostat setting, and their energy costs," she explained. "Our goal is providing our members with more control over their energy use and bills, and WeatherInsights presents the data in dollars and cents so they can make informed choices," Amanda said.
"Customers don't know what moving the thermostat a few degrees can save them; 'dollarizing the degrees' is the missing link to them making wise energy choices and saving money on their bills," said Susan Gilbert, president and cofounder of Apogee Interactive. Plus, this application combines two topics everyone cares about -- the weather and saving money," she added.
WeatherInsights is prominently displayed in the top right-hand corner of KVREMC's website, showing the current day's weather, an estimated energy cost for a typical home that day, and the weather for the next three days. Visitors just click on the app to see a 7-day forecast and corresponding break down of a home's energy costs on those days. A "Save Money" button takes them to an interactive virtual thermostat display where they can adjust the setting up or down to see the precise dollar impact per degree per day. They can also personalize the forecast by filling out a quick home profile for a more detailed analysis of their home's energy use and cost.
Promoting WeatherInsights has had a few welcome side benefits for the utility. The bill insert announcing it increased website visits by a factor 6 and their electronic newsletter drove them up by a factor of 8 leading to overall website traffic increasing by 40 percent over the same period last year.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Apogee pioneered electronic applications for energy companies in the mid '90s to increase customer engagement and educate them about energy efficiency. That's when the company first introduced a self-service, online Home Energy Checkup tool. Since then, APOGEE has developed an expansive portfolio of residential and commercial energy analysis tools -- Web-based and mobile -- that are helping millions of customers save electricity and gas every day.
APOGEE's proprietary AMES software platform powers the energy analysis of all of its applications, allowing utilities to provide consistent energy projections to customers at the website, during field audits, on mobile devices and when calling the contact center. The AMES software is the most accurate in the market as signified by its RESNET® certification at the highest HERS rating level and its best-in-class ranking earned in the BESTEST EX savings prediction tests run by the DOE and EPA.
KVREMC is among the first wave of Apogee's clients to deploy the new WeatherInsights application and bring this compelling energy information to its members' fingertips. For more information, contact Apogee's Karen Morris at 678-684-6801 or kmorris@apogee.net, or KVREMC's Amanda Steeb at 219-733-2511 or asteeb@kvremc.com. Or join our webinar at 2 PM Eastern on May 6th, register online https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/260459022.
APOGEE Interactive, Inc. (www.apogee.net) is the leading provider of online energy analysis and customer engagement applications to 650 electric and gas utilities across the US, reaching more than 56 million customers. Founded in 1993, Apogee pioneered electronic applications designed to increase a utility's customer engagement and consumer energy efficiency. Today its predictive software platform consistently earns high marks for accuracy and ease of use. Clients include investor-owned, municipal and cooperative energy companies including Con Edison (ED), American Electric Power (AEP), Entergy (ETR), Southern Company (SO), NSTAR (NST), Salt River Project, Jackson EMC and Flint Energies.