Windmill builds smart, eco-friendly air conditioners. Leap is partnering with Windmill to connect their products to energy markets so they can participate in demand response and other grid services programs. We caught up with Paul Savitz, Windmill's VP for Energy Management and Sustainability, to chat about Windmill's technology, their Eco Rewards demand response program and future plans as the company grows.

Q: Why was Windmill founded? 

A: We started Windmill to bring a modern, fresh perspective to home air care. In 2018, when we first started the business, the window AC was stuck in the 50s. We designed a better window AC from scratch that is beautiful, easy-to-install, quiet, smart and well-insulated (to name a few things!). 

What’s more is that, at the time, most units were not connected, and if they were, the apps were pretty horrible. And most still are! We want to make it very easy for customers to control their ACs remotely - to make comfort more convenient and to help with energy management. We are just getting started on our mission to modernize air care for millions of Americans and beyond! 

Q: How did your Eco Rewards program come about? What are your goals for Eco Rewards?

A: At Windmill we’re taking a multifaceted approach towards environmental sustainability. That’s why we use the least harmful refrigerant available, we participate in a carbon offset program and we launched a recycling program for old AC units. 

But even with all that, air conditioners use a lot of electricity (even efficient ones). On a hot summer day, they can account for most of the load on the power grid. And when the grid is under stress, bad things can happen, like blackouts or increased use of dirty power from gas-powered peaker plants. 

We wanted to make sure we were doing everything we could to combat these issues, and so Eco Rewards was born. The program lets Windmill users in select areas sign up to participate in energy conservation events when the grid is under stress. We know our users also care about environmental sustainability, so we’re thrilled to be able to offer this program.

Q: Why did you decide to partner with Leap for energy market access? 

A: We spoke to a number of utility vendors and demand response aggregators, and Leap really seemed like the best fit. Leap was interested in moving beyond just EV charging, smart thermostats, and residential storage. 

Our top priority was Con Edison territory, as New York City represents a large percentage of all RAC sales in the country. Leap was expanding to New York, so the timing made sense. Leap made it easy to build the Eco Rewards enrollment process into our app, so customers wouldn’t have to leave the app to sign up.

Q: How have your customers responded to the Eco Rewards program so far?

A: Positively! We’ve seen excellent online and participation rates during demand response events, with few people opting out. We’ve conducted end-of-year surveys and found that people by and large knew what they were signing up for and weren’t inconvenienced by the events. 

We’re excited to roll out some new features for this summer, like making it easier to sign up for the program, and adding pre-cooling to the events to improve our reductions even more.

Q: What are the biggest challenges you have encountered when developing and scaling Windmill’s technology?

A: It’s really about making sure we continue to meet customer needs and making sure we’re building the right things to make their Windmill experience as positive as it can be. There are a thousand features we’d like to add to our hardware and software, not to mention the new product lines we’re developing, but we only have so many resources. 

So we have to figure out what is going to bring the most value to our customers and to us down the road. Part of that means internal discussions, but it also means engaging with our customers through surveys and one-on-one conversations to learn what they are looking for when they interact with our platform.

Q: What’s next for Windmill?

A: While our core focus right now is to deliver a better, more intelligent window AC experience to our customers, we aren’t just an AC company - we are an air care company more holistically. With that in mind, we are working on new products that will make people feel more comfortable at home. Everything we launch will include what customers know and love about Windmill - beautiful design, intuitive experience, and incredible customer support. Sorry, no actual spoilers yet!