Transforming our homes for the planet: Our investment in Effy
Felix leads Effy’s €20m Series A to make European homes more energy efficient
Ever since the inception of Felix, we have closely followed the power and influence of consumers in creating shifts in cultural norms and creating a lasting, positive impact in the world. We’ve studied how the power of consumers shifts many aspects of our world — culture, art, fashion, working norms, and more.
Recently, we have been fascinated by the fact that consumers are responsible for 60–70% of all direct and indirect emissions. We believe that the fight for climate change requires the involvement of government and businesses. However, we should not underestimate the impact of the decisions that we, consumers, make everyday.
The home as an emission hotspot
The energy sector is by far the largest carbon emitter, contributing to over 70% of global carbon emissions. Residential buildings are the №1 source of consumption of energy, making up 40% of national consumption in France (similar in other European countries). It was astonishing for us to see such a highly concentrated emission hotspot being so close to us (literally in our homes!), and the challenges that an average household would face in mitigating such emissions.
Home energy renovations fight climate change
The impact of home energy renovation projects is clear and proven. Projects such as solar panel & heat pump installation, stove electrification, window replacement, and building insulation projects are proven to significantly reduce household energy consumption, energy bill, and in many cases, increase property value as well. The benefits make home energy renovations almost a no-brainer for most.
However, even though tens of billions of dollars worth of government subsidies have been poured into home energy renovations in North America and Europe (the IRA alone committed $4.3bn worth of subsidies into home energy efficiency improvements), the road to an energy efficient home is not smooth. According to Effy, conventionally one of two energy renovation projects end badly, as these projects are difficult to manage, operate, and material costs and time required are often difficult to estimate. Despite the challenges, the home renovation market is large and growing. It is estimated to be worth €30bn in France alone, and is growing at 5% YoY.
Introducing Effy, the pioneer and leader in home energy renovation in France
Founded in 2008, Effy has successfully built a strong brand, a platform and a vibrant ecosystem of local partners in the home energy renovation market in France. Effy offers a wide range of turnkey projects with guaranteed quality, price, and subsidy already deducted from the project price tag. These projects are managed end-to-end by Effy, which typically start with a telephone consultation and a technical visit from a professional. With Effy, energy renovation projects are transparent, manageable, and bring guaranteed energy bill savings. The company has invested significantly in their proprietary software platform that automates all processes (from demand-gen, real time tracking of renovation projects, to subsidy application) and provides a next-gen customer experience.
Working hand in hand with a network of more than 3,600 local professionals, Effy completes over 100,000 energy renovation projects each year in France representing more than €800M of transaction values on their marketplace . Over the years, Effy has become a top destination for energy renovations, welcoming almost 6m unique site visitors per year. Combating climate change is at the core of Effy’s business. In 2022 alone, Effy’s renovation projects contributed to over 1.3 million tons of CO2 savings.
A mission-focused founder and management team
Since its inception in 2008, Effy’s development has been historically self-funded through its profitable B2B business, but both the European energy crisis and the shift to a more sustainable lifestyle are now significantly accelerating this “renovation wave”, ultimately driving demand for Effy’s services. Seeing this shift in consumer demand, Effy started investing into building a B2C business a few years back, and today has completely shifted to B2C energy renovations.
We first met the Effy team in 2019, when the business was in its previous B2B iteration. We were impressed by founder Frederic Utzmann’s level of dedication and knowledge in the energy space. Frederic has over 20 years of experience in energy and construction, and has built an impressive management team of mission-focused, driven yet humble individuals, as well as a full team of 300 located in the heart of Paris.
Welcome to the Felix family, Effy!
We are thrilled to lead Effy’s €20m funding round. We are glad to be able to execute on our mission of having a positive impact in the world, and can’t wait to see Effy become the leader in the European home energy renovation market.
