EcoFactor, a leading residential energy management service provider, today announced the closing of $8 million in venture funding. The latest round includes funding from new investor Aster Capital, and additional financing from Claremont Creek Ventures and RockPort Capital Partners.

"After following the energy management software market for some time, we found EcoFactor's approach of using Big Data concepts and software algorithms to be far superior to any other residential energy management solution on the market today," said Todd Dauphinais, partner at Aster Capital. "EcoFactor has demonstrated significant commercial progress across a number of different channels -- including utilities, broadband providers, and home energy service companies -- by providing both the end customer and strategic partners with real, measurable value. We believe that EcoFactor will continue to solidify its leading position in the marketplace."

EcoFactor delivers a sophisticated, cloud-based platform to home service providers, enabling them to deploy and support an intelligent, automated home energy management service.

•EcoFactor's patented service uses data analytics and sophisticated algorithms to transform thermostats into smart home energy management systems -- saving energy and reducing costs -- resulting in end user savings as high as 36%.
•EcoFactor's service helps its partners expand their product portfolios, increase customer retention and meet increasing market demand for energy management systems.
•EcoFactor's individually optimized pre-cooling capability enables utilities to generate 25% more demand response from EcoFactor-enabled homes while dramatically reducing its effect on occupant comfort.
"EcoFactor partners continue to roll out our solutions en mass, and this investment ensures our ability to match anticipated demand," said Roy Johnson, CEO, EcoFactor. "The EcoFactor home energy management service continues to help our partners take advantage of broader initiatives for energy efficiency, demand response and load shaping while delivering effortless energy savings to their customers."

EcoFactor is currently running large-scale implementations and pilot programs with broadband providers, utilities and HVAC service companies across North America. These include Reliant Energy, which offers EcoFactor to its customers in Texas, and Comcast, which will roll out its EcoFactor-powered offering to Xfinity Home customers in the coming year.

About EcoFactor
EcoFactor is a leader in services for residential energy management. The company enables home service providers to offer an intelligent energy management service to their customers. With EcoFactor, homeowners receive an automated way to reduce energy consumption, save money and stay comfortable, and partners have the opportunity to take advantage of broader initiatives for energy efficiency, demand response and load shaping. Based in Redwood City, Calif., EcoFactor was founded in 2006 to provide an automated alternative to behavior-based residential energy management solutions. The company has been awarded nine patents to date for its residential energy management technology and methodology. EcoFactor is privately held and funded by Aster Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures and RockPort Capital Partners.

About Aster Capital
Aster Capital is a leading clean technology focused venture capital firm sponsored by Schneider Electric, Alstom and Solvay Rhodia, global leaders in the energy and chemicals industries who have jointly invested in Aster's second $130 million investment fund. With a total of $200 million under management, Aster aims to proactively leverage the expertise of these sponsors to support its portfolio companies in their further development.

About Claremont Creek Ventures

Claremont Creek Ventures (CCV) is a seed and early stage venture firm. CCV invests in energy technology, digital healthcare, payments/commerce, and online businesses. Utilizing the firm's proprietary life-cycle venturing program, Claremont Creek Ventures partners with entrepreneurs and institutions, including UC Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore Labs, Stanford University and UC Davis. Claremont Creek has more than $300 million in capital under management in two funds. In addition to EcoFactor, CCV's energy technology investments include Adura Technology, Alphabet Energy, Blue Pillar, Clean Power Finance, ecoATM, Energy Cache, Project Frog and Sentilla. For more information, visit www.claremontcreek.com.

About RockPort Capital

RockPort Capital is a multi-stage venture capital firm that invests in the areas of alternative and traditional energy, mobility, and sustainability. For more than a decade RockPort has partnered with entrepreneurs to foster growth and create value in a broad range of industrial and consumer facing companies whose technologies and products provide innovative solutions to significant worldwide markets. RockPort has a collaborative approach to investing, deep domain expertise, and insights into all aspects of energy and cleantech. With offices in Boston and Menlo Park, RockPort is globally recognized as being among the largest and most established energy-focused venture capital firms. For more information visit www.rockportcap.com.