Invest in startups like Cala Systems alongside Climate Capital here.
Founders: Michael Rigney and Mike Ting
Motto/Mission: Cala Systems is on a mission to decarbonize every tap. Residential water heating accounts for 3% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 19% of home energy use, contributing to sky-high bills for many households. We started Cala with the goal to decarbonize home water heating, lower costs, and create a better experience for consumers.
So we turned to the source for a better solution: your hot water tank. For the past 130 years, water heaters have been designed to heat the tank when the water is cold. But we believe it's time for a change.
Cala maximizes the flexibility of your hot water tank by adjusting when, how quickly, and to what temperature your water is heated. Cala heats at the most efficient speed, generates more hot water before periods of high demand, uses electricity when your home solar system is operating or the electric grid is cleanest, and more - all without compromising on comfort.
By electrifying water heating and minimizing energy use, Cala significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions today. And, by synchronizing water heating with zero-carbon electricity as it continues to grow, Cala can make every bath, shower, and hand wash a zero-emission comfort in the future.
We're committed to a future where hot water is both a comfort and a step towards a cleaner, more sustainable planet. We hope you'll join us.
Year Founded: 2020
Stage: Seed
Location: Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
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Climate Capital: What made you want to solve this problem?
Michael: When I set out to found my next company, I had two criteria. The first was that I wanted the business to directly address a significant amount of CO2 emissions. The second was that I wanted it to be hardware; I’m a mechanical engineer by training and I really enjoy seeing hardware come together. Only one of the three start-ups I’ve worked at over my 20 years in energy and climate has been hardware, so I wanted to get back into it.
From that starting point, I began researching technological solutions and patents that could address climate change. Eventually, I came across Model Predictive Control (MPC), a technology developed by the Nation Renewable Energy Laboratory. My mechanical engineering background is in thermal and fluid sciences, so I understand the fundamentals of water heating and that a tank of hot water is essentially thermal energy storage. Storage fundamentally enables shifting some resource in time. . From my time working in energy markets, I understood that the value of energy changes with when it is used. MPC is the necessary technology to take advantage of the energy storage in a HPWH, because it intelligently optimizes water heating for comfort, cost, carbon, and more. MPC is an important part of turning the HPWH into a transformative piece of climate technology in the home.
Given residential water heating accounts for 3% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, this technology seemed to be the type of ‘low-hanging fruit’ that could have a great impact on fighting climate change. In terms of market, Cala’s HPWHs have great potential for scale, especially when you consider the monthly cost savings for the 52% of U.S. homes that use electric resistance, oil or propane for water heating.
Climate Capital: What are you building?
Michael and Mike: Cala is building a highly efficient and intelligent heat pump system that heats water based on the patterns of hot water use in a home and the preferences of the homeowner. Our system is able to understand each home’s hot water patterns and improve hot water availability while minimizing costs. In addition, homeowners can tailor water heating to their home and priorities; including synchronizing water heating with the power output of their home solar system, minimizing their greenhouse gas emissions by coordinating water heating with times of clean electricity on the grid, decreasing costs for homes with variable electric rates, preheating water before potential power disruptions, and more.
Climate Capital: What is next?
Michael and Mike: We’ve started accepting preorders of our intelligent heat pump water heaters for homeowners, with deliveries expected to begin the first half of 2025 – the reservation link is here. In addition to building out a product that is cost effective and contributes to decarbonization, Cala Systems has and will continue to invest time in relationship building with Installers across North America as well. Already, we have more than 10 LOIs signed with professionals across plumbing, HVAC, electrical, etc.
Climate Capital: What are the core elements of the culture you are building at your company?
Michael and Mike: A culture of persistence. There are going to be up days and down days in doing a start-up and in hardware but Cala has developed a team with the experience and know-how to be persistent. Cala’s founders and senior team come from a background in the fields of consumer hardware, heat pumps, energy, and the built environment. CEO and Cofounder Michael Rigney has over 20 years of start-up experience at companies including EnerNOC, EnergySavvy and BlueTarp Financial. VP of Hardware and Cofounder, Mike Ting, led hardware and product management teams as Bose and SharkNinja. Cala’s senior leadership and key advisors are drawn from prominent companies including Nike, Google, Nest, Span, Gradient, and James Hardie.
Mainly, Cala Systems’ approach is; Go to the hardest problem and solve it. Don’t put it aside.
Climate Capital: What are the key challenges as you scale your company?
Michael and Mike: Hardware is always hard!
Climate Capital: What have you learned that you want to share with other founders?
Michael and Mike: Keep a really high bar at the beginning while you’re evaluating ideas. Try to disprove your idea, not find supporting evidence. If you can kill your own idea early on, you’ve given yourself a huge gift. Get out of the building and go into the world in search of data to disprove your idea.
If you want to learn more, visit https://www.calasystems.com/!