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BOSTON – August 20, 2015 – Generac, a leading provider of metering software and infrastructure for delivered fuels, has partnered with hardware-focused venture capital firm Bolt. The partnership was announced today and is focused on accelerating Generac’s hardware development and manufacturing. Generac provides smart meters for propane and fuel oil tanks, as well […]
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Propane Meter Improvements
The scoop on the new propane meter design We have a great new propane meter design coming off the assembly line! We have been testing this improved version for weather resilience, ease of connecting to WiFi networks, and excellent battery life. The new propane smartphone app for configuring the device is in the app store and will […]
MassCEC Catalyst Grant
BOSTON – June 26, 2015 – Generac, a leading provider of metering infrastructure for delivered fuels, has been awarded a $40,000 Catalyst grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The award was announced today after several months of judging by experts from the venture capital, energy, and clean tech sectors. The award is designed […]
How we navigated the gauntlet to success
First, for context, here’s a quick explanation about us: Generac is a tank monitor start-up. We make sure people don’t run out of heat by connecting delivered fuel consumers to their fuel oil and propane tank with an app and smart meter. Here’s a quick inside into the steps of our journey so far! Step […]
Continuous Improvement
One thing that’s great about our internet-connected LPG tank monitoring solution is that we’ll never stop making improvements. And while small-batch domestically manufactured devices allow for rapid hardware improvements, I share a bit more about what we’re doing with software. There’s a lot happening and a lot of new features coming! Software on the device […]
Manufacturing
The saying “hardware is hard” is repeated often because many start-ups lack experience with hardware manufacturing. Most setbacks occur in this step of bringing new products to life. Our team still has a lot to learn about the delivered commodities industries and consumer pain-points, but we have plenty of experience collecting energy data with connected […]
Smart Meters and Benchmarking
Smart meters for delivered fuel customers offer all the same advantages as those for electricity, and then some! Logistics of deliveries are difficult. It’s hard to know the optimal time to deliver, especially when weather is the only estimate of tank level. A lot of people confuse smart meters with energy monitors. We’re building functionality […]
Hardware, Firmware, Tank Level Somewhere
We’re working through the final details. Our hardware works great. So does the App for remotely viewing tank levels. But configuring the device for WiFi relies on some pretty tricky firmware. One really hard part of what we’re accomplishing is giving you intuitive feedback from the device. While we’re really happy with the physical install […]
Kickstarter Lessons Learned for a Propane Meter
I have been thinking about our experience using kickstarter a lot lately. Now that we’ve had some time to reflect since our Kickstarter ended, I wanted to share some lessons learned and some updates. We had nearly 100 people back our project on Kickstarter and pre-orders for 80 smart propane meters. That was confirmation that […]
Propane Tank Meters for the Elderly
Propane tank meters can help you remotely check on heating fuel levels for you or elderly loved ones. In the U.S., many of us are becoming worried about our aging parents and relatives. We are looking to IoT and home automation solutions. Many folks are retiring to rural areas to enjoy natural surroundings and keep […]