Milwaukie, OR, September 19, 2024 — The Department of Energy today announced that it has selected Aris Hydronics, a trailblazer in home environmental control, as the winner of the Equitable and Affordable Solutions to Electrification (EAS-E) Home Electrification Prize for its ARIS Home Comfort System for single and multi-family buildings. The company’s proprietary technology is on track to revolutionize residential heating, cooling, and hot water, making home comfort more affordable and environmentally friendly.

As stated in the Department of Energy (DoE) announcement, “ARIS Hydronics demonstrated a modular, multifunction air-to-water heat-pump system with design and function specifically targeting multifamily housing retrofits. ARIS' hydronic system incorporates high-efficiency heat pumps using natural refrigerants with thermal storage and provides heating, cooling, and domestic hot water without triggering in-unit electrical service upgrades or running refrigerant lines throughout the building. In addition to the ease-of-installation and modularity benefits, ARIS' heat-pump design principles and tech-to-market plan represent a viable path to further reductions in Scope 1 emissions through the safe adoption of natural refrigerants with ultra-low global warming potential.”

The DoE award caps an impressive year of technical milestones and recognition for Aris Hydronics. Since formation, the company has successfully completed a number of high caliber accelerators, including IMPEL, Cradle to Commerce, MIT The Engines Blueprint, and LACI Founders Program. Aris Hydronics was also awarded a $200,000 Phase 1 SBIR grant from the DoE earlier this year. 

“Over the last 3 years, Aris Hydronics has been busy developing and testing accessible, efficient, and modular thermal comfort for single family homes and multi-family buildings,” said Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Benjamin. “Thank you to the Department of Energy for their recognition of that hard work and the incredible potential for this technology. This award will support expanded demonstrations and testing for large, multi-family buildings and help make home comfort more accessible for everyone.”

Aris’ momentum has been fueled by extensive testing and achieving impressive technical milestones. The team has collected over 51,000 hours of run time data across eight pilot projects in single family homes. Plus, Aris recently unveiled a prototype for its first-of-its-kind heating, cooling, and hot water combination system designed exclusively for multi-family buildings. With over 400 letters of interest from homeowners, builders, and multi-family operators across the US.

“The entire Aris team is passionate about equity and accessibility, which is why our patent-pending technology focuses on bringing home comfort to multi-unit buildings,” said Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer, Helene Cornell. “As a builder and real-estate professional, I’m committed to Aris helping overcome the barriers to making cutting edge technology and climate resiliency available for all homes, and we are honored by the DoE’s support with today’s award.”

 

The Future-Proof Home 

The ARIS Home Comfort System is more than just a heating and cooling solution—it’s the cornerstone of an entirely new approach to HVAC and hot water, which the company calls “thermal as a service,” (TaaS). The Aris technology creates a complete thermal ecosystem in every home that enhances comfort, efficiency, and sustainability, by harnessing the power of water. The benefits of Aris’s TaaS approach also include Increasing grid resiliency and 
improving in-home connectivity and micro-zone control.

“Water has incredible heat delivery and storage capacity” added Benjamin. “We are using that capacity to create the ultimate future-proof system by combining the best aspects of current HVAC systems, heat pumps, and hot water heaters with our own patent pending technology.”

This evolution beyond status quo HVAC and heat pumps includes: 

• Unmatched Efficiency: ARIS Home Comfort reduces thermal energy costs by an impressive 45% to 70% across all building types and climate zones. By harnessing the extraordinary energy capacity of water, it outperforms traditional systems while minimizing environmental impact.
• Improved Safety: Unlike conventional heat pump systems that circulate toxic refrigerants inside our homes, ARIS keeps refrigerants out of all living spaces. This approach ensures cleaner air quality and eliminates the risk of harmful PFAS (forever chemicals) exposure.
• Modular and Adaptable: Whether it’s a single-family house or a multi-story building, ARIS Home Comfort provides seamless micro-zone control and comfort. Its modular design allows customization for both existing homes and new construction, ensuring optimal performance and comfort.

Industry Support 

For the EAS-E Prize, Aris Hydronics is proud to have partnered with companies and individuals committed to a more equitable, clean, and efficient future, including: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Rocky Mountain Institute, Emanant Systems, O&M Building Technologies, Olvera Heating & Cooling, Building Towards Better, Neil Kelly Co, and Rose City Electric Co.

“We wouldn’t be here today without support from an incredible group of advisors and collaborators,” said Cornell. “Thank you so much to everyone who has helped guide our development, supported our pilot programs, and been on this journey with us.”  

The EAS-E Prize is funded by DOE's Building Technologies Office and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
 

About Aris Hydronics
Pacific Northwest-based Aris Hydronics was founded on the belief that everyone should be able to keep their homes comfortable, livable, and safe - now and for years to come. By harnessing the power of water in a first of a kind home comfort system, Aris delivers complete thermal control to homes and buildings of any size and in any climate.

For more information about the ARIS Home Comfort System and Aris Hydronics, visit www.arishydronics.com.
 

Support for Aris Hydronics 

“As Program Director of Cradle to Commerce incubation engine, we provide scientific resources for technology advancement for entrepreneurs to accelerate equitable solutions for compelling climate technologies. We are delighted to have the Aris Hydronics team in the 2nd cohort of the Cradle to Commerce incubation engine.

Aris Hydronics has a scalable application aligned with our core values of commercialization of groundbreaking technologies. We support the use of the highly efficient all-electric low-carbon, multi-function HVAC + DHW system for multifamily buildings in cold climates that the Aris Hydronics team is proposing. 

At Cradle to Commerce, we understand the depth and complexity of the challenges facing existing multifamily buildings as it relates to electrifying fossil fuel-based HVAC systems, especially in older buildings which often serve moderate- and low-income communities. HVAC and DHW systems, as the main drivers of building energy use and operational carbon emissions, are especially key components when addressing broad and equitable electrification.”

Reshma Singh
Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office
Program Director IMPEL+ and Cradle to Commerce at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory