We’re on a mission to decarbonize every tap.

Residential water heating accounts for 3% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 19% of home energy use, contributing to sky-high bills for many households. We started Cala with the goal to decarbonize home water heating, lower costs, and create a better experience for consumers.

So we turned to the source for a better solution: your hot water tank. For the past 130 years, water heaters have been designed to heat the tank when the water is cold. But we believe it's time for a change.

Cala maximizes the flexibility of your hot water tank by adjusting when, how quickly, and to what temperature your water is heated. Cala heats at the most efficient speed, generates more hot water before periods of high demand, uses electricity when your home solar system is operating or the electric grid is cleanest, and more - all without compromising on comfort.

By electrifying water heating and minimizing energy use, Cala significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions today. And by synchronizing water heating with zero-carbon electricity as it continues to grow, Cala can make every bath, shower, and hand wash a zero-emission comfort in the future.

We're committed to a future where hot water is both a comfort and a step towards a cleaner, more sustainable planet. We hope you'll join us.

We’re a team of seasoned engineers and industry professionals — experts in water heating the electric grid, consumer hardware, and products for the built environment.

We handle everything from turning wrenches to programming software, focusing sharply on delivering superbly-engineered products that not only exceed customer expectations for a water heater but also redefine them. We've worked extensively with professional installers to understand their needs and meet their exacting standards. We believe in creating a better, more sustainable future with every turn of the tap, revolutionizing domestic hot water to positively impact both your home and the planet.

the leadership team

CEO & Cofounder

Michael Rigney

Michael has 20 years of leadership experience in climate and energy start-ups combined with a background in building products and thermal sciences. The evolution of energy markets and the electric grid to fight climate change has been a central theme in his work at utility enterprise software company EnergySavvy (now part of Uplight), grid infrastructure hardware company Gridco Systems, and demand response industry-leader EnerNOC (IPO in 2007, acquired by Enel X in 2017). Earlier in his career, Michael co-founded commercial trade credit company BlueTarp Financial, which served tens of thousands of professional contractors. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and a B. Eng from Dartmouth with a focus in heat transfer and fluid dynamics.

VP Hardware & Cofounder

Mike Ting

Mike has spent over a decade developing best-in-class consumer hardware from proof-of-concept through production. He began his career as an engineer in Bose's headphone group and later held technical management and product leadership roles at SharkNinja on the Ninja kitchen product team. Mike holds a B. Eng in Mechanical Engineering from McGill and is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen.

VP Software

Phillip Connaughton

Phil has led the development and launch of software products and solutions in the consumer and climate tech spaces. Previously, at Running Tide, he led teams that developed the software platform for data collection, analysis, and reporting at every step of the company's ocean-based carbon sequestration process. At Runkeeper (acquired by ASICS), Phil led the development of this category-leading software app as it scaled to tens of millions of users. Phil holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Providence College.