History of Rheia

The Birth of Rheia

The original Rheia platform was born from IBACOS’ fundamental systems research into whole-house energy performance and comfort that was in-part funded by the US Department of Energy. The concept was then further developed and calibrated through practical insights from IBACOS’ experience in the field with leading production homebuilders, observing first-hand their everyday HVAC challenges. 

Over the last seven years, the IBACOS HVAC technology development agenda was singularly focused on better home comfort, delivered through a holistic approach to systems design, engineering and control. This new way of thinking was seen as a natural next step in the evolution of residential HVAC systems that clearly distinguishes Rheia in the homebuilding market.

The Development of Rheia

In 2015-16, IBACOS’ research and development program was focused on the building and testing of the prototype components and systems design in the IBACOS Innovation Center. 

In 2017-18, Rheia was further refined through the design and installation of the system in the first Rheia production homebuilder test home. The emphasis with this home was to utilize standard HVAC equipment and work closely with HVAC contractors to quantify the anticipated productivity advantages of Rheia versus current practices. The home was then also used to validate the improvements in comfort that were predicted.

The Evolution of Rheia

Rheia LLC was launched in early 2019 and immediately developed a detailed Proforma business plan that defined the strategy to bring Rheia to market in mid 2020. Rheia also raised capital from eight of the largest homebuilders in the USA, a leading building products manufacturer, Uponor, and over 40 individual investors in two rounds to provide funding for the critical elements required to commercially launch Rheia including:

  • Partnership with Wrightsoft to develop the Rheia software design module
  • Successfully secure all required UL certifications
  • Source all required injection molding and duct production capability
  • On-boarded our team members and relocated operations to Phoenix

In 2021, following the second round of investment, Rheia has launched production installations in several markets across the US, including:

  • Indianapolis
  • Minnesota
  • Seattle/ Portland
  • Florida
  • Maryland/ Northern Virginia.

Rheia’s homebuilder investors are: