Noocoon is a brand of Smart Home Team GmbH based in Rostock. In over 30,000 planning processes for projects, Noocoon was able to use the expertise and experience gained in the field of building automation – not only in the classic single-family house segment, but also in the area of apartment buildings and commercial premises.
Interview with Marten von Velsen-Zerweck, CEO of Noocoon.
Easy Engineering: A brief description of the company and its activities.
Marten von Velsen-Zerweck: Our company employs 30 people at locations in Rostock, Berlin, and Hamburg. Five years ago, at our electrical company, we faced problems that were affecting our success. As a company specializing in modern electrical installations, we spent too much time planning. Our costs to win new projects were high, especially in the lucrative fields of smart homes and complex renewable energy installations such as photovoltaics, batteries, heat pump installations. We decided to put pen, paper, and excel sheets aside. To do so, we started looking for suitable software. We could not find one that matched our needs. So, we decided to develop our own software. Noocoon Expert is a cloud-based, mobile, and intuitive software tool for electricians, planners, and real estate developers. With Noocoon they can configure, plan, and create comprehensive quotes for automated and renewable energy-powered buildings based on individual customer needs in less than an hour instead of days. Based on our experience of over 300 self-conducted projects, the software creates alternative plans for various smart systems, which are directly comparable in terms of price and functionality.
E.E: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
M.v.V.Z: At Noocoon we focus on developing practical software solutions to enable electrical companies to participate in the new markets of energy transition. In specific, these are technologies such as building automation, PV, batteries, wall boxes and heat pumps. Our software solutions are intuitive to use and made for electricians in their daily use. With our in-house team of electricians, all features of the software are continuously put to the test in our own projects.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
M.v.V.Z: We just released an automated, AI-based (machine learning) floor plan recognition which reduces planning times again considerably. From our point of view this solution does not only have the potential to revolutionize planning processes in the electricity craft, but in the craft sector overall.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
M.v.V.Z: Noocoon Expert currently allows to plan electrical installations from classical installations up to different smart home systems and in conjunction with renewable energy technologies. Planning time, e. g. for a single-family house is reduced from 2 to 4 days to way under one hour. Planning can be conducted even by non-electricians. This saves valuable time and money for the electrical companies. Moreover, a buying syndicate for our clients is in the making.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
M.v.V.Z: Driven by Germany’s climate policy and the war in Ukraine, there is currently a great demand for renewable energies and associated sustainable electrical installations across Germany. 500,000 heat pumps must be installed each year up to 2030 and 2 million PV installations. E-Mobility drives installations of battery storage and wall boxes. All these non-fossil technologies need electricity. Electricians need to digitize and must be equipped with state-of-the-art software tools to be able to succeed in these new markets. Noocoon is further advancing the digitalization of the electrical industry. By selling the software as a service (SaaS) nationwide in Germany, we enable electrical companies to implement innovative, climate-neutral electrical installations in an efficient and entrepreneurial successful way.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
M.v.V.Z: Overall, the craft and building/real estate sector are driven by the German government’s goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. The building sector accounts for almost 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. By 2030, 40% of these emissions, which currently amount to 120 million tons of CO2, should be reduced to 70 million tons of CO2. A consequent turn towards a renewable decentral energy supply and climate neutral building sector requires a real revolution in the planning and implementation processes of the craft sector. At this point, Noocoon positions itself as an important player and relevant problem solver through the digitization of crafts using AI-based software tools.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
M.v.V.Z: We are currently working on new software features that will enable our Noocoon buying syndicate to negotiate better margins with manufacturers and wholesalers. Moreover, we are going to provide market information and services to different market participants based on new data analytic services.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2023
M.v.V.Z: It is our goal to become a leading software provider for smart climate-positive electrical planning and related services. Germany needs to shift the centralized energy supply to a decentral supply to achieve climate neutrality in 2045. To achieve this ambitious goal, we need to address the building sector. Considering the skilled labor shortage, a revolution in the way craft companies work is needed. Noocoon aims to contribute to this challenge by enabling electricity companies to become successful players in this exciting new market.