BERKELEY, Calif., Sept. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Harvest, the innovative technology company behind the award-winning *Smart Thermal Battery™*, won a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to integrate its cutting-edge smart controller with thermal energy storage. This integration promises to streamline HVAC installs, significantly reduce costs, and make next-generation technology more accessible to American homeowners.
The DOE selected Harvest as one of 25 forward-thinking projects across 17 states to receive a share of its $38.8 million in funding for research and development of groundbreaking building technologies. These projects aim to decarbonize buildings, reduce peak demand on the electrical grid, enhance energy resilience, and lower utility costs.
“Harvest is the little engine that could,” said CEO and Co-Founder Jane Melia. “This DOE grant is a powerful endorsement of our approach to heat batteries for homes, proving that our technology is not just cutting-edge but also ready to scale. It will help make energy-efficient heat pumps available to more households, including those with low and moderate incomes. With over 200 systems sold to date, our customers are not only enjoying lower energy bills but also taking pride in smartly reducing the carbon footprint of their homes.”
The Harvest Pod debuted in 2022, transforming a standard heat pump water heater into a smart thermal battery that efficiently powers both HVAC and hot water systems. With this new funding, Harvest will be engineering a fully integrated thermal battery solution that will reduce overall system power requirements, eliminating the need for costly electrical panel upgrades, even with low amperage requirements. The grant will also support expanding the availability of lower climate-impact heat pumps, while delivering higher efficiency and lower installed costs.
The project, titled “Overcoming Cost and Function Barriers for the Widespread Commercialization of High-Efficiency CO2 Heat Pumps for Residential Applications,” is funded through the DOE’s Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) program. This program supports research, development, and demonstration of next-generation building technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency, including retrofits for HVAC, lighting, and building envelopes.
**About Harvest**
Harvest is a leader in thermal storage for residential HVAC systems, having developed the revolutionary *Smart Thermal Battery™*, which delivers affordable, low-carbon heating, cooling, and hot water. The award-winning, cloud-enabled Harvest Pod® uses advanced software, sensors, and controls to optimize energy usage, leveraging the cleanest and lowest cost electric rates. It reduces household carbon emissions by 90% compared to gas systems and can cut monthly energy bills by up to 30%. Scaled across communities, Harvest’s technology also supports a more resilient, cleaner, and more affordable electric grid.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/213ecc1c-e98d-451e-861f-09e814006e96