Josh Hendrickson
Google wants to help Nest users save money, and in that spirit, it’s making the Seasonal Savings program free for all thermostat owners. Until now, Nest users only got access if their utility provider belonged to the program. The savings program should cut back your energy use, and might even reward you depending on your utility.
With Seasonal Savings enabled, the Nest thermostat will make slight changes to your climate system to curtain use. The small tweaks should change your preferences by a fraction of a degree to cut back your energy usage.
According to Google:
These little changes can really add up—the average customer sees 3 to 5 percent in energy savings on their home’s heating and cooling systems. Collectively, if everyone participates, that’s millions of dollars saved.
Additionally, Nest is partnering with Rush Hour Rewards to pay some users for cutting back. Rush Hour Rewards will automatically adjust your thermostat during peak times (when energy is in demand and more expensive) and pay you for using less energy.
All the changes are opt-in, and you’ll soon see a notification asking if you want to join.
Source: Google
