Radiator Labs, a company born to solve night sweats with steam radiators (a all–at–Ordinary problem in cities like New York), goes beyond smart radiator covers with $30 million in fresh cash. The company also announced a new name, Kelvin.
Investor 2150, focused on climate technology, led Kelvin’s Series A round, while Schmidt Family Foundation (aka Google Money), Partnership Fund for NYC (aka private equity money) and “several previous investors” also participated, it said. company in a statement.
When Kelvin’s “Cozy” radiator cover debuted on Kickstarter, the company promoted it as a “NEST thermostat” for overly hot radiators. Since then, the product has evolved from cloth covers for tenants (think giant oven mitts) to a range of slimmer metal covers offered to buildings under a subscription, costs “about $10-$15/apartment/month,” Kelvin told TechCrunch.
Kelvin declined to share its appreciation, saying it will use the money to expand into the UK, Germany and other parts of Europe. The company added that it plans to offer heat pumps – a heating technology that is critical to building decarbonization – “later this year.”
When asked if it will be a challenge for Kelvin to differentiate himself from the eponymous temperature scalethe company told TechCrunch it is not “overly concerned about confusion.”
“Because our technological scope extends beyond radiators, we wanted a name that was concise and described our mission,” the company said. “Essentially what we’re trying to do is upgrade the occupied space temperature control in the most cost-effective way.”
