Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Whisker Labs in the headline.
Dive Brief:
- Commonwealth Edison and Nicor Gas have selected Whisker Labs' "Connected Savings" platform for a residential smart thermostat pilot program.
- Whisker and Honeywell announced the demand management software platform earlier this year, allowing power providers to manage demand response programs.
- The pilot program will enroll 3,000 ComEd and Nicor Gas customers who already have a Honeywell Wi-Fi thermostat installed in their home.
Dive Insight:
The program will save customers money, but the objective of the pilot program is research: Utilities want to learn how connected thermostats can be improved with advanced analytics, and Whisker said in a statement that data from the pilot will help pave the way for any regulated utility in Illinois to claim savings that result from the thermostat optimization solution.
“ComEd is always looking for innovative demand side management approaches that help bring energy intelligence to our customers to help them reduce energy costs,” said George Malek, director of energy efficiency services for the utility. "We are looking forward to seeing the amount of energy savings that Whisker Labs can deliver to our customer base.”
Navigant will serve as the program evaluator, tasked with measuring and verifying the incremental savings from the pilot program.
Thermostat programs are increasingly popular with both utilities and consumers. Last year, Navigant estimated there were roughly 50,000 customers in 'Bring Your Own Thermostat' demand response programs around the United States. But the firm believes up to 20 million customers could be involved in these programs, representing a $3 billion market.
"Intelligent energy efficiency and personalized customer engagement capabilities enables energy providers to access incremental energy savings from connected devices within their programs,” said Whisker Labs' Chief Revenue Officer Amena Ali.
