Earth Aid is a web app that operates a lot like Mint.com for your energy bill. Signing up for the free service will allow it to read your meter and track your output over time, giving you an online energy budget. The more energy you save on your electric, water, and gas bills, the more points you earn. These points can then be redeemed for rewards from local businesses and big brands such as Starbucks and Dove. The goal is to help you decrease your energy use and save some cash month-to-month.
Earth Aid recently received more than $4 million in Series A funding and has partnered with major institutions like the U.S. Green Building Council. The council uses the web app to make sure LEED-certified buildings continue to maintain their eco-friendly standards.
But the app doesn’t just rely on outside funding. “We’ve been making money,” said Earth Aid CEO Ben Bixby. “We’re really serious about finding a sustainable way — not just environmentally but economically, to deliver these solutions and this opportunity to people.” Bixby explained that Earth Aid gets paid when it helps people save energy. It earns a commission when users choose certain rewards products or when the company’s partners get new customers through the app.
Earth Aid is in the midst of launching a new version of the web app that also works on mobile browsers. New features include ways to break up your energy bill so you can read it by calendar month or in smaller increments. By moving away from the convention of seeing an energy bill once a month, Bixby hopes that usage becomes a daily conversation rather than a monthly headache.
The app also includes group features, where you can challenge and converse...
