Enviro Power CEO Dan Nadav is pictured with the South Windsor firm's SmartWatt system which was installed at the Fuller Brush redevelopment in Hartford. Photo courtesy of Enviro Power
Dan Nadav
CEO, Enviro Power
Age: 50
Industry experience: 20 years
Multifamily landlords and institutional property owners seeking to cut their electricity bills have a new utility system option developed by a South Windsor company. Enviro Power’s SmartWatt boiler converts steam and heat into up to 6 kilowatts of electricity, doubling as a source of heating and power. The company’s clients include Wesleyan University, which installed a SmartWatt system at its Butterfield dormitory last fall, and New York-based developer Shelbourne Global Solutions, which installed one to power 30,000 square feet of office space at the former Fuller Brush complex at 3580 Main St. in Hartford. Enviro Power CEO Dan Nadav, a native of Israel and former concert pianist who performed throughout Europe before pursuing his MBA, spent more than two decades in the energy industry before joining Enviro Power in 2017.
Q: What advantages does the SmartWatt boiler offer to landlords seeking to control utility costs?
A: I got hooked on the idea of combining heat and power generation in one single machine, which can generate heat and power very efficiently and effectively on the building level. The SmartWatt boiler really nailed all of those issues when we brought this technology to market and commercialized it in the last two years. In a nutshell, other solutions are tailored around engines that generate electricity by capturing exhaust. It’s a nice idea, but it has a lot of issues. Engines are way more complex than boilers, and require different maintenance pricing. What we do here is really tap into the existing heating systems. We looked at boilers and said, “How can we integrate a boiler and a power generator without changing its functions as a heating device and its cost structure?” We wanted to create a drop-in replacement for boilers. What we have today is exactly that, after seven years of developing prototypes. It’s a boiler with a power plant inside.
Q: Who is the target customer for this type of product?
A: We have developed a solution to a very large niche. Everyone is under a lot of pressure to decarbonize and lower the cost of energy. The apartment building is a very underserved niche. In pretty much any multifamily building, the landlord pays for the common areas [electric bill]. We are serving close to 100 percent of the energy demand for that meter, and that can shed thousands of dollars from the landlord’s bills or the homeowners association’s.
Q: Who are the firm’s investors?
A: Hillside Ventures, the University of Connecticut’s venture fund for sustainable technology, invested $25,000. [New Haven-based venture capital firm] Connecticut Innovations is a big supporter, and we have multiple strategic partners across the value chain. By far the most important is the boiler manufacturer, Burnham Holdings, which is a shareholder and a strategic partner. They produce our boilers and that is an interesting and very viable combination. It’s being produced and branded under a name that every plumber recognizes and respects, which is a big advantage in moving into the market.
Q: What are your goals to expand production capacity?
A: We started production in 2022 and we had a relatively small batch run of around 30 to 40 systems, and installed about half. We are now focusing on ramping up sales, starting a mass-produced batch in the hundreds. This is about growing sales here and in Europe, where we just won a large contract with a German real estate company.
Q: What are the standard terms of an agreement with customers?
A: We sell under two models: direct and indirect. A university or a larger lender can buy from us directly, but we also sell an energy-as-a-service subscription model. That is a huge win for landlords. A boiler is a cost center by itself. We are a revenue center because we generate electricity otherwise bought from the grid. We install, we maintain, and we own. We will provide you a discount against your cost of electricity. The customer gets an immediate reduction in the cost of energy, an immediate and long-term reduction in their carbon footprint and a brand-new heating system. We receive the capacity to own that long-term and a steady stream of revenues.
Nadav’s Five Favorite Classical Composers:
- Beethoven
- Chopin
- Rachmaninoff
- Mozart
- Prokofiev
