Vermont's Faraday Awarded $1MM from U.S. Department of Energy to Modernize Solar Sales

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Oct 22, 2014, 02:00 ET

MIDDLEBURY, Vt., Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Faraday, a data management platform that uncovers superior customer acquisition strategies for companies selling big-ticket purchases into households, has received a $1 million U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative award. The funding will support the development of the Faraday platform, which uses data analysis and visualization to improve conversion rates.

Faraday's map-driven platform includes nearly a terabyte of data on 100 million U.S. households and leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to pinpoint households most likely to make specific investments. Solar installers, financers, and OEMs will use Faraday to explore markets, construct audiences, launch outreach campaigns, and track and compare results for measurable return on investment (ROI) improvements.

"Acquiring a solar customer today is five times more expensive than for other home upgrades," said Robbie Adler, Faraday's President. "The SunShot award allows us to apply powerful Faraday technology to this important challenge. We're honored to have been selected by the Energy Department and grateful to Secretary Moniz for his ongoing support of the remarkable SunShot program."

Initial project partners include Complete Solar of San Mateo, California, and Texas-based Circular Energy.

"At Complete Solar we find our new customers among 10 million California households," said Mark Harnett, Complete Solar's VP of Marketing. "The Faraday platform helps us discover these customers more effectively, which means more solar panels on more American roofs at a lower cost."

Faraday will use the funds to better support the unique characteristics of the solar outreach and sales cycles, including the integration of solar suitability and rooftop data.

"Circular's goal is to take an entirely new approach to the traditional electricity market by empowering homeowners and businesses to leverage solar, energy management, and traditional grid-based electricity," said Chuck McArthur, CEO. "We look forward to Faraday's assistance in getting our offerings to a broader market, but with a more targeted approach."

The Faraday platform has already helped leading organizations elsewhere in the energy industry win new business more effectively, producing conversion rate lift of over 30%.

About the SunShot Initiative: The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort that aggressively drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. Through SunShot, the Energy Department supports efforts by private companies, universities, and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour. Learn more at energy.gov/sunshot.

About Faraday: Faraday (faraday.io) brings the scientific method to customer acquisition. The company's data management platform (DMP) empowers consumer marketers to visualize, target, launch, track, and compare outreach campaigns to discover winning strategies for finding new business.

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SOURCE Faraday