How does the Better Box keep me cool while saving me money?
When we install the Better Box, you will switch to your utility’s Demand plan where you essentially only care about managing your billable demand (kW) instead of caring how much electricity you use over time (kWh). When you keep your home cool, your AC units engage for shorter spurts to maintain that cooler temperature, which chews up less of the billable demand (kW) window you’re trying to manage. So, if you want to drop your temperature AND your bill, Better Box is for you.
Why is Better Box the ONLY product capable of saving me money while enjoying lower temperatures?
Switching to your utility’s Demand plan is only the first step. The second is accessorizing that plan with a demand manager. Within that category, ONLY demand automation (Better Box) is capable of de-coupling momentary demand from average demand to allow you to play “the cooler you keep it, the more you save” game. ALL other “solutions” in the demand management category are inferior load controllers that marry momentary demand and average demand, making it impossible to save money while dropping your temperature.
Is Better Box “tricking” the utility?
No. Better Box is instead helping your utility in the exact way your utility wants to be helped. That’s why your utility is incentivizing you to manage your demand (kW) with Demand plans featuring some of the lowest kWh (usage over time) rates in all of America. In APS, for example, instead of paying 18 cents per kWh, you will enjoy a low 7 cents per kWh. And in SRP, for another example, instead of paying 14 cents per kWh, you will enjoy a low 4.5 cents on their Demand plan. That then leaves the additional demand charge, and if you manage it, it will be roughly 2 cents when expressed in kWh such that in APS, you will be paying a total of roughly 9 cents (7 cents/kWh + 2 cents/kWh for kW charge) instead of 18 cents, and in SRP, you’ll be paying a total of roughly 9 cents (7 cents/kWh + 2 cents/kWh for kW charge) instead of 14 cents. As such, Demand plans are what is in the best interest of both the utility and the consumer. But you have to manage them. This is where the Better Box demand automation computer (DAC) comes in.
Can I switch to my utility’s Demand plan without a Better Box?
Yes. However, you wouldn’t want to do that because your best-case scenario is paying the same as you’re currently paying, and worst-case scenario is being hit with a high demand charge because you aren’t managing your demand. To capitalize on a Demand plan, you will need a demand manager = Better Box. The only scenario in which a consumer could switch to a Demand plan without managing their demand is the instance of a home with only one HVAC unit and all gas appliances because, in that example, there is nothing to manage.
Do you have a savings calculator specifying monthly bill reduction in terms of both dollars and percentage, payback period, return on investment (ROI), internal rate of return (IRR), payback period, and savings under warranty?
Yes, on our homepage. Please use it! For the most accurate outputs, input your annual consumption (last 12 months in kWh), which you can find online or by calling your utility. Otherwise, you can estimate your AVERAGE bill (which we find people tend to underestimate, resulting in lower-than-actual outputs). This is why we recommend taking the time to ascertain your actual kWh consumption for the last 12 months.
What are the financing terms?
Most homeowners can finance the Better Box out of their monthly savings, which means you will pay less immediately. Do you want to pay less immediately? If so, finance a Better Box.
What is the minimum credit score to finance?
Generally, it’s 600, but sometimes it’s as low as 560. There’s only one way to find out!
Apply here
Is the financing application a hard pull or a soft pull?
It’s a SOFT pull, which means it WON’T affect your credit score to see if you qualify:
Apply here
Is there a tax credit?
Yes. If your heat is electric, your tax credit is 30% of the system cost, up to $2,000. If your heat is gas, your tax credit is 30% of the system cost, up to $1,200.
Is there a savings guarantee?
Yes, from your utility. They’re saying, via legally binding published rate plans, that if your current bill is “x,” and you switch to a demand plan and keep your demand at “y,” your new bill will be “z.” But the question then becomes, how will you keep your demand at “y?” The Better Box—that’s how.
Is there also a savings guarantee from EcoBeaver?
Yes. Save 30-60%, or your money back. The average homeowner saves 52%.
What is the average payback period?
Better Box payback is swift, with an average payback period of less than 3 years. Larger homes enjoy payback periods as low as 1 year.
Is Better Box a load controller?
NO. Better Box is instead the world’s only demand automation computer (DAC). Load controllers frustrate consumers because they work by shutting things off because that’s literally all they can do. Demand automation instead features the ability to intelligently time when things turn on and, thus, works invisibly. To put this another way, load controllers couple momentary demand and average demand and passively manage both, whereas demand automation de-couples momentary demand and average demand and actively manages both. In addition to working invisibly, the other advantages of demand automation include being able to keep your demand charge lower via active management and also allowing you to play the “cooler you keep it, the more you save” game, which involves the decoupling of momentary demand and average demand as only demand automation can offer. This is why, within the category of demand management, the Better Box demand automation computer (DAC) is the only viable option.
Does it shut appliances off on me?
No. That’s what a load controller does. Better Box is the only demand manager on the market that instead manages demand by actively and invisibly sequencing the moment things turn on. The result is invisible operation you won’t notice, as opposed to the experience of everything constantly being turned off to your great frustration.
Could I instead use batteries to manage my demand?
Yes and no. The first problem is batteries don’t actively manage your demand. So, in the example of a home with 4 AC units that create a roughly 16kW spike when they all turn on at the same time, you would need to buy enough batteries to endure those 16kW demand spikes. And what chews through batteries fastest? Demand spikes. Conversely, those same 4 AC units behind the Better Box would never create more than a roughly 6kW spike, which means that if you were to employ batteries to address demand, YOU WOULD NEED TO PUT THE BATTERIES BEHIND A BETTER BOX to minimize the amount of expensive batteries you need to buy in the first place. But by the time you do that, the batteries aren’t adding any value to your demand management equation because the Better Box is already managing your demand in ways batteries cannot. The second problem with batteries is that they’re expensive. And you will need more than one of them: 2x – 5x, depending on the home, which works out to 3x – 7x the cost of one inexpensive Better Box. So unless you suffer from power outages, you have no reason to be looking at batteries in APS, SRP, TEP, or UNS. And if you do suffer from power outages, don’t forget to put your batteries behind a Better Box so as to need fewer expensive batteries while also maximizing your savings on your utility’s Demand plan.
Is this new?
No. What is new is the opportunity to do it without solar. EcoBeaver is the first company to bring standalone demand management (automation) to the market. Better Box is your best opportunity to live comfortably and save money, bar none.
Does it work with solar too?
Yes. In APS, for example, it means you need 50% less solar offset to achieve a zero-dollar post-solar bill, and in SRP, it’s the only way to make solar cash-flow positive (in fact, SRP won’t even allow you to be a Preferred Solar Installer if you aren’t consistently installing demand management on your solar jobs). As such, Better Box is a lifesaver for the solar industry in Arizona, where dwindling buyback rates have rendered solar-only sales economically underwater. But by pairing solar with a Better Box on a Demand plan—Solar 2.0—solar is economically viable again in Arizona.
How long is the warranty?
25 years.
What is the Better Box’s performance track record?
45 years with a less than 1% failure rate.
What happens if I move?
You can take the unit with you for a one-time $1,000 de-install/re-install charge. This works out to roughly one-third of one year of the payback period (a negligible cost). Or you can leave it on your current home as a resale feature.
What if I rent my home?
No problem. There is no permitting required so your name doesn’t need to be on title.
Is it secure?
Yes. You can lock it, and it’s not connected to the Internet, so no one but you can manipulate your configuration or operation.
Is it private?
Yes. It’s not connected to the Internet, so no one has your data.
Is it reliable?
Yes. In addition to a 25-year warranty and a 45-year performance record with a less than 1% failure rate, not being connected to the Internet means your system never goes down like your other connections periodically do due to a fluctuating Internet signal or router problems. Consider that your utility bills you on your highest demand interval for the month. That means you cannot afford for your system to go offline even for a moment during peak hours. Better Box doesn’t because it categorically cannot. Load controllers rely on an Internet connection to function which is one of the reasons why they are not reliable.
Does Better Box come with an app?
No. The beauty of the Better Box is you don’t have to monitor or adjust it in any way. We install it, and the only things you experience are your desired temperatures and a lower bill. Relevant to this question is also the above answer that we purposefully don’t have third-party points of access so as to ensure maximum security, privacy, and reliability, which is why you don’t want a device connected to the Internet, in addition to not needing an app.
