Question 1

I understand how a heat pump gains efficiency by moving heat instead of directly generating it. However, if a heat pump water heater is installed in a conditioned space it seems that you are just passing the load to the house HVAC system. I guess it would help in the summer, b...

Accepted Answer

Hi David - great question. First, over half of water heaters are in basements, garages and attics where this isn't a concern. So, from an investment perspective this isn't an issue. Where the HPWH is in the conditioned space, it is an economic benefit in a cooling dominant climate like the Southern U.S., just as you point out. In the north, the National Renewable Laboratory found that the benefits outweighed the additional costs. Cala also offers an accessory ducting kit such that the outlet ...

Question 2

Is the heat pump your own design or is it just purchased from an OEM and rebranded Cala? Where is it manufactured?

Accepted Answer

Hi David - the heat pump is our own design while the components are purchased from a supplier. All final assembly happens at our HQ just north of Boston MA.

Question 3

As you are developing solutions in the circularity and green energy transition sector, I would like to introduce you to the Greentech Loan Program, designed for companies active in lifecycle sustainability and circular economy initiatives.Whether you are a start-up launching a...

Accepted Answer

Thank you, Joanne, we'll reach out to that email address.

Question 4

Hi, had a few questions as I'm reviewing this: - Can you share whether existing institutional investors are participating in this Preferred Stock financing, and whether this Wefunder round is part of a larger institutional round or a separate community allocation? - What is yo...

Accepted Answer

Hi Josef, thanks for these questions: - Yes, our institutional investors are participating in this Preferred Stock financing. This includes Burnt Island Ventures, MassCEC and others - The Wefunder round is part of a larger institutional financing (Seed II) - As expected for a hardware business at launch, gross margins are around zero. Gross margin scales rapidly with sales volume: 13% at only 2,500 units per year, 18% and 5,000 units per year, and 42% at 50,000 units per year. Note that these...

Question 5

A few additional questions below: As of when (what date) is the company on track for 8x sales growth? Is that a current projection based on YTD numbers? What’s the biggest bottleneck to growth today? If you doubled the sales effort/team tomorrow would Cala grow much faster or ...

Accepted Answer

Hi Yosef -- The biggest bottleneck to growth is capital, which is common for a company at our stage. We've validated the go-to-market, performance, and reliability and understand the specific growth actions that take us from the current revenue rate to $10-20 million p.y. You're correct that adding sales team is one of the most important growth actions. We currently have three and will grow to 8 over the next year. Related to this point, the 8X sales growth is a projection from May and is dep...

Cala Systems, Inc.

Transforming home electrification by turning hot water into a thermal battery

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