A Berkeley startup that's developing a smart panel to help homeowners make their heat pumps operate more efficiently has raised fresh funding.
Harvest Thermal announced on Thursday that it had closed a $4 million round, which brings its total funding to around $11 million.
Earth Foundry led the round with other investors participating including MUUS Climate Partners, Starshot Capital and Portfolia.
The new funding comes less than a year since Harvest Thermal announced a $2.5 million seed round extension. The startup has also received grants from the National Science Foundation, the California Energy Commission and San Mateo's community choice aggregation program, Peninsula Clean Energy.
“We’ve designed our smart thermal battery heating system to have an extraordinary climate impact,” CEO Jane Melia said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the confidence these premier climate tech investors have placed in Harvest Thermal. They have given us a runway to diversify our product line, expand into new markets, and reach more customers while making homes sustainable for a more livable future.”
Harvest Thermal designed what it calls the Harvest Pod, a smart control panel which manages the energy used by heat pumps that are paired with water tanks as a source of storage for the energy that's produced.
Heat pumps regulate indoor temperatures more efficiently than gas-powered furnaces but still require electricity to operate. Harvest Thermal's control panel manages the electricity usage to minimize emissions.
"It's scalable not just for those who are well off. It's scalable for regular people who have to worry about their bills at the end of the month," Melia previously told me. "This really makes a lot of difference to the end-of-month bills for many people. Equity is really important. And at the same time, it makes homes comfortable, safer and cleaner. We don't have gas combustion engines in the home."
