ATLANTA, Nov. 12, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chances are you checked the weather forecast today either on your smart phone, computer, TV or newspaper. Same chances are you didn't check your electric or gas meter to see how many units of energy you've used. Responding to energy utilities' desire to engage and educate customers, APOGEE Interactive today introduced its groundbreaking weather application that capitalizes on people's universal interest in the weather and saving money. The newly released website application not only shows the weather forecast for any area but also the estimated daily energy use and costs to heat or cool a home in that area.
"We call it 'dollarizing the degrees,'" said Susan Gilbert, Apogee president and cofounder. "It's been the missing link. When customers see the connection between the weather and the cost of maintaining a certain temperature in their homes on a daily basis and how weather impacts those costs, it gets their attention."
Using Weather Insights, customers can click on any day in the 7-day forecast and see an estimate of a home's daily energy costs. They can also see what they can save by adjusting a virtual thermostat display that instantly shows the precise dollar impact per degree by day. "People are amazed when they see what their thermostat setting is costing them," Gilbert said.
"More than half of any home's energy bills are normally driven by the weather and the thermostat setting. So why not catch their attention with the weather and monetize their thermostat setting in the context of their daily home energy costs?" Gilbert added.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Apogee pioneered electronic applications for energy companies in the mid '90s to increase customer engagement and educate consumers about energy efficiency. That's when the company first introduced a self-service, online Home Energy Checkup tool. Since then the company has developed the most accurate and comprehensive portfolio of residential and commercial energy analysis tools – Web-based and mobile – that are helping millions of consumers save electricity and gas every day.
In addition, APOGEE's proprietary AMES software powers the energy analysis in all of its applications, including the new Weather Insights. The AMES software is the most accurate in the market today as signified by its RESNET® certification at the highest HERS rating level and its best-in-class ranking earned in the BESTEST EX savings prediction tests run by the DOE and EPA.
Apogee is currently working with utilities across the country to deploy Weather Insights and bring this compelling, accurate and actionable energy information to the fingertips of consumers on the Web at any place and any time. For more information, contact Karen Morris at 678-684-6801 or kmorris@apogee.net.
APOGEE Interactive, Inc. (www.apogee.net) is the leading provider of online energy analysis and customer engagement applications to 650 electric and gas utilities across the US, reaching more than 56 million customers. Founded in 1993, Apogee pioneered electronic applications designed to increase a utility's customer engagement and consumer energy efficiency. Today its predictive software consistently earns high marks for accuracy and ease of use. Clients include investor-owned, municipal and cooperative energy companies including Con Edison (ED), American Electric Power (AEP), Entergy (ETR), Southern Company (SO), NSTAR (NST), Salt River Project, Jackson EMC and Flint Energies.