Home energy assessment startup Enter raises €19.4M Series A to expand in Germany and beyond

Largely due to their age, homes in Europe can be notoriously difficult to heat. Most were built for an era when knowledge about energy consumption simply wasn’t available in the way it is today. With energy becoming more expensive and energy security rising as a geopolitical issue, tech startups looking at this issue have proliferated. What’s needed is a simple way for consumers to engage with the issue of how much energy their home needs, how to manage it, and most importantly, how to finance the necessary changes.

An example of this outside of New York is Sealed, a climate technology company that designs, manages and finances residential weatherization and electrification projects. It also recently bought sensor startup InfiSense to boost its energy-saving services.

In Germany, a similar startup is “Enter” (previously called Baupal) which has now raised a Series A funding round of €19.4 million. In the round were venture capital firms Coatue, Foundational, Target Global, A/O Proptech and Partech.

Homeowners complete a digital survey, then get an assessment of their building’s energy status and suggestions on how to reduce their expenses. It also deals with the corresponding applications for renovation grants.

Justus Menten, co-founder and CEO of Enter, says that traditional energy assessments are too slow: “Currently around 200,000 properties are renovated in Germany every year. But to achieve our climate goals, it must be more than a million. Today’s certified energy efficiency consultants cannot achieve this goal in the traditional way. Although the training of new advisors is already running at full speed, it will take several years before sufficient skills are available in Germany. This is where Enter comes in,” he said in a statement.

Enter the claims that 75 percent of homeowners are concerned that they won’t be able to afford energy efficient renovations, so this is offered as part of the service.

In addition to venture capitalists, Enter also has angel investors and advisers, including Oliver Merkel, McMakler co-founders Hanno Heintzenberg and Lukas Pieczonka, taxfix COO Dr. Daniel Kreter, Medwing founder Johannes Roggendorf , and DST Global co-founder Tom Stafford.

During a call, Max Schroeren, co-founder and CEO, told me, “We ended up with 250 data points and we only have to ask eight to nine questions. And that gives us 90% accuracy on the real energy saving potential of the house. We then do a site visit with our own energy consultants to verify the data and add more and more data points. So in the end, the owner has a digital twin of the building and a better understanding of how to improve the house.”

Sarah Cannon, General Partner and Head of European Private Investments at Coatue, said: “As the shift towards energy sovereignty in Europe accelerates, consumers require tangible solutions to navigate the transition. Enter’s unique home energy intelligence platform gives consumers direct control over their energy footprint and effective steps to improve home energy efficiency while reducing climate impact.”