Background
FireEar® Corporation was formed in 2007 by consumer electronics industry veteran Russell Jones, a serial entrepreneur whose career has focused on developing electronic products that bring convenience and simplicity to consumers. The FireEar mission is to bring peace of mind to home owners by greatly simplifying home monitoring so it is easily accessible by everyone. The FireEar service monitors the customer’s home for fire, indoor freezing temperatures, power outages and energy waste caused by over-heating and over-cooling the home, and then sends early notifications to the customer and the Fire Department in case of fire. In addition, most customers enjoy an economic benefit with their FireEar system since it qualifies for a discount on their homeowner’s insurance that exceeds the cost of the FireEar service.
Consumer Problem
Most home owners worry about their homes while they are away. Their worry list includes a possible house fire, water damage caused by burst plumbing due to indoor freezing temperatures, the impact of extended power outages, energy wasted from improperly setting the heat or A/C, and more. These concerns are currently not addressed for the majority of home owners because they cannot afford to install expensive and complex home monitoring systems.
Strong Pent-Up Demand
Research conducted in 2008 by market research firm Dimensional Research has shown that the vast majority of home owners would consider purchasing the FireEar home monitoring solution. This was especially true for individuals who own rental properties or vacation homes because while they seek peace of mind, the have a strong preference for something simple and affordable to monitor their home for fire and indoor freezing temperatures while they are away.
Customer Benefits
The patent-pending FireEar home monitoring solution features the small FE-1100 home monitor, measuring 4 inches in diameter, and an advanced computerized notification system hosted at the FireEar Service Centers.
The FireEar solution offers five key benefits to customers:
- Fire Alert Notification. The FE-1100 home monitor listens for the customer's existing smoke detector. When a smoke detector alarm sound is generated, the customer and a friend are immediately notified via an automated phone call, an SMS text message, and an email. The customer can also verify the authenticity of the smoke alarm by listening to the sound recording on the phone call and on the email attachment.
- Indoor Freeze Notification. When the indoor home temperature approaches freezing, the customer and a friend are notified via an SMS text message and an email indicating the alert. This helps prevent burst plumbing and avoid the resulting water damage that occurs when pipes later thaw.
- Power Outage Notification. When an extended power outage occur, electric furnaces stop working causing possible indoor freeze, sump pumps don’t work which can lead to basement floods, and quantities of frozen food can be spoiled from freezers warming up. The FireEar customer and a friend are notified via an SMS text message and an email indicating the situation so they can act before it’s too late.
- Energy Waste Monitoring. Improperly set thermostat at an unattended home can translate into much wasted energy during hot or cold weather. Vacation and rental homes are particularly prone to this when renters, guests or cleaning staff forget to turn off the A/C or reduce the heat to a proper level when they leave. The FireEar energy monitoring service alerts the customer and a friend via an SMS text message and an email indicating that the indoor temperature has reached an unexpected level. There are 6 easily programmable temperature levels available to help ensure that the indoor temperature is properly set when the customer is away from home.
- Home Insurance Discount. According to information published on the Information Insurance Institute web site, the average US home fire insurance loss claim in the 2003-2007 period exceeded $24,000 and occured as often as burglary, while the burglary average claims were less than $25001 . Thus, the cost of fire claims to insurance carriers is almost 10 times that of burglary. As a result, insurance companies offer FireEar customers a discount of up to 11% on their homeowner’s insurance since it offers central station fire monitoring. This discount usually exceeds the cost of the FireEar service, thus creating a net financial benefit for the customer.
The FE-1100
Home Monitor
The FireEar System
The FE-1100 monitor is simple to set up, requiring only a power outlet and a telephone line to communicate with the FireEar Service Center. The FE-1100 monitor includes a single pushbutton for simplicity and two lights (red and green) to indicate its current state. The monitor works in combination with the customers’ existing smoke detectors to detect a fire. It also features an internal thermometer to monitor the indoor home temperature, and a power sensor with backup batteries to monitor the home for power outages.
The FireEar Service Center gathers the alerts sent by the FE-1100 and notifies the customer by sending notifications in the form of an automated phone call, an SMS text message and an email. With the Professional Monitoring service option, our agents are notified so they can immediately call the customer’s home where the alert originated. Unless the alert is canceled, our agents will immediately dispatch the local Fire Department.
Customers who subscribe to the FireEar Professional Monitoring service also get a Service Certificate that they can show to their insurance agent to obtain their insurance discount. For most customers, this discount exceeds the cost of the FireEar service, so they enjoy a net financial benefit. In other words, FireEar customers can effectively protect their home for free!
John Rotheray
I5 Communications Public Relations
Tel: (415) 896-1515
Email: JRotheray@FireEar.com
1For more information about average homeowners losses statistics, please refer to the Insurance Information Institute website