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Originally posted February 13, 2026 on LinkedIn
Utility marketplaces started with lighting. LED programs were the proving ground — high volume, simple products, easy rebates. That market has largely transformed, and most utilities have moved on from residential lighting programs. Smart thermostats became the next focus, and they still matter — but primarily as demand response measures. They rarely deliver the energy efficiency savings utilities need at scale.
Appliances are the next frontier. Water heaters, HVAC systems, heat pump dryers — these are the products that move the needle on efficiency savings. The challenge has always been that they're harder to deliver through digital channels: higher costs, installation complexity, fulfillment logistics. In 2025, we figured out how to solve that — and the results surprised even us. Enervee had its biggest year of impact yet, proving that utility marketplaces can move large appliances at real scale, while reaching underserved communities and simplifying the rebate experience end to end.
Here's what made 2025 different.
For those less familiar with what we do: Enervee provides white-labeled online marketplaces where utility customers can shop for energy-efficient products with rebates and financing instantly applied at checkout. We serve about 40 million households through partnerships with some of North America's largest utilities and state energy programs.
100+ water heaters a day. Five years ago, scaling water heater programs online felt like a long shot. The category was too complex — high price points, installation logistics, contractor coordination. But utility water heater programs are one of the biggest opportunities in energy efficiency right now, and until recently, one of the hardest to scale.
Together with one of our largest utility partners, we figured out how. We went from a few units a week to over 100 water heater orders per day by December. The key was adding drop-ship fulfillment through partnerships with leading national distributors — so a customer could go from browsing to installed in days, with their utility rebate already deducted at checkout. No paperwork. No waiting for reimbursement. That simplicity matters as much as any technology feature we've built.
Reaching the customers who need it most. A significant number: on some of our marketplaces, up to 1 in 5 customers are in underserved communities. That's not the result of a separate equity program — it's what happens when you remove friction from the rebate process and meet people where they are. When checkout is simple and financing is accessible, participation broadens naturally. For utilities and state programs navigating equity mandates, that's not a talking point — it's measurable proof.
Financing is back — and going nationwide. We relaunched integrated financing on our marketplaces — back in California through the GoGreen program, and now launching nationwide with strong new banking partners. Customers can access financing at checkout with rates as low as 0% APR, same seamless experience we've always aimed for. For many customers, especially in underserved communities, the ability to finance an efficient appliance at the point of purchase is the difference between participation and not.
Post-purchase rebates, reimagined with AI. Not every purchase happens on a marketplace. That's why we built Fast Track — our fully digital post-purchase rebate solution. Customers apply and upload receipts from their phone, get a decision in days, and receive payout via digital card. No paper forms, no six-week wait. In 2026, we're integrating AI into the processing workflow — allowing us to offer this to utilities and state programs at dramatically lower cost per rebate processed.
Bringing efficiency transparency to consumers. The Enervee Score — our 0-100 energy efficiency rating — is calculated daily for thousands of models across over 20 product categories, covering everything from HVAC systems and water heaters to refrigerators, lighting, and EV chargers. It gives consumers a simple way to compare products on energy efficiency and carbon emissions without navigating Energy Star tiers or SEER ratings. Importantly, the Enervee Score is independently calculated and doesn't depend on federal efficiency standards or programs — giving utilities a consistent, reliable benchmark regardless of how the policy landscape evolves. The methodology is now patented in both the United States and Canada, but the real value is what it enables: utilities can confidently guide millions of customers toward better products, and customers can actually understand what they're choosing.
What's next: meeting customers inside AI. Hundreds of millions of people now use AI chat assistants every week. When someone asks ChatGPT or Claude "What water heater should I buy?" — that's a purchase funnel. Today, no utility or state energy efficiency program shows up in that conversation. We want to change that.
New protocols from OpenAI, Stripe, and Anthropic are making it possible for AI assistants to facilitate complete purchases inside a conversation. A customer could ask a question, see Enervee Score-ranked products with their utility rebate already applied, and buy — all without leaving the chat. The research, eligibility check, rebate application, and purchase that used to take days collapses into minutes.
We've spent 10+ years building the infrastructure this requires: real-time product data, utility rebate engines, instant eligibility verification, and integrated fulfillment across 40 million households. That foundation is what makes agentic commerce possible for utility programs — and we're working to bring it to market now.
Impact that scales with the business. In 2025, products purchased on our marketplaces avoided an estimated 42,800 tonnes of CO2 emissions — the equivalent of taking roughly 10,000 cars off the road for a year. That number scales directly with our commerce volume: every unit purchased through a utility marketplace is, by design, a more efficient product replacing a less efficient one. As the business grows, so does the impact. It's the number I'm most proud of.
If you're running an energy efficiency program and looking for scale, equity, or how to prepare for what AI is about to change — we'd love to talk.
I'm grateful to our utility partners, our state program partners, our suppliers, and especially our team for making this happen.
— Matthias Kurwig, CEO & Co-Founder, Enervee Corporation