This is a small connected box capable of analyzing household hot water consumption and adjusting the cumulus tank heating temperature to reduce bills. A revolutionary piece of equipment that we provided to a young startup, Elax Énergie, which employs 40 employees. “When we developed a nuclear power plant in France, we found ourselves having too much electricity at night,” explains CEO, Thomas Tirtiaux, an energy engineer by training and HEC graduate. We then built a water heater to store this excess. The problem is that these devices are always at the same temperature and consume too much. » The idea therefore emerged to make it smart to allow energy savings of around 25%, or around 100 euros per year.
The company, founded in 2021, initially considered manufacturing its thermostats overseas, but quickly changed course. “We knew that we could only succeed in this project if we mastered the hardware perfectly from the start,” said the 33-year-old entrepreneur. However, controlling quality standards over a distance of 10,000 km is almost impossible. Not to mention cultural differences… “In certain Southeastern countries, when there is a problem, we don’t say it,” he said. The result: we often discover it when it’s too late. »
