The ComEd Efficient Choice online shopping platform—powered by Enervee and piloted by ComEd’s Emerging Technology team in 2020–2021—proved it can drive claimable energy savings without rebates. An independent evaluation by Guidehouse confirmed the impact, and ComEd has now approved Efficient Choice as an ongoing offering in its Energy Efficiency Program (2022 and beyond) [1].
For demand-side management leaders, the pilot demonstrated a scalable path to portfolio savings without incentives by removing market, cognitive, and psychological barriers at the point of decision. In short: a modern utility marketplace can nudge shoppers to efficient models—and quantify savings—without defaulting to rebates.
ComEd was not the first time an independent evaluator looked at what a marketplace does on its own. The Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council’s assessment of PG&E’s online marketplace, covering the trial from March 2015 to December 2017, reached the same conclusion from a different direction. More than 10% of PG&E’s 5.2 million residential customers used the marketplace, and 77% of the electricity savings and 88% of the natural gas savings were attributable to the marketplace experience itself, beyond any incentive program running at the same time.
Two evaluations, two utilities, five years apart: the savings come from the decision, not only from the rebate. Read the ETCC assessment
The pilot assessed the evaluable energy savings of Enervee’s Choice Engine—delivered as “ComEd Efficient Choice”—and its fit for the ComEd portfolio without appliance rebates. Core Choice Engine features included model-level comparisons, a relative efficiency signal (Enervee Score), personalized lifetime cost of ownership, reviews, and direct retail links to purchase.
Scope & channels. The 10-month pilot focused on refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers. Outreach was 100% digital:
Guidehouse used two primary inputs to estimate savings:
The evaluation met confidence/precision targets of 90/25 at the pilot level and 90/40 at the measure level for verified gross savings. Annualized results applied average conversion factors from the three pilot categories to the full set of site categories.
Cross-participation note. For categories overlapping with ComEd’s Appliance Rebate Program (e.g., refrigerators, washers, dryers, air purifiers, dehumidifiers, freezers), pilot-year reporting assigned rebated product savings to the rebate program. Even under that constraint, Efficient Choice demonstrated clear, rebate-free savings.
Bottom line: Efficient Choice made appliance purchases quicker, easier, and more efficient for ComEd customers—and did so in a way that program administrators can evaluate and claim.
See how it scales: A modern utility marketplace pairs clear guidance with transparent pricing and checkout—so efficient wins more often, even without rebates.[1] Online Choice Engine Program Model (ComEd Emerging Technology).