“Henry Hall is already living one version of the energy future at his Southeast Portland apartment. He’s part of a demand-response program designed to see whether his utility can get him to lower his power use when demand is high.
“So, this here is my Nest thermostat. It’s a second-generation thermostat,” he said, leading us to his upstairs landing where the thermostat is located.
Hall is one of 20,000 Portland General Electric customers taking part in a smart thermostat experiment. He allows the power company to automatically turn his thermostat down when it’s very cold outside and everyone else is turning up the heat.
That is called a “peak demand event” because the demand for energy is peaking.”
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The idea behind allowing a utility company to control supply and demand to its customers doesn’t seem too outrageous. Perhaps they only adjust the thermostat a couple degrees here and there. However, given that discretion, they may eventually increase those changes and really start to affect your indoor environment. If customer’s can’t rely on smart thermostats to regulate temperatures on their own, what purpose do they serve?
At Temperature Control Specialties, one of our top selling thermostats gives you complete control whether you’re at home or away. The ComfortLink™ II Smart Control is more than just a thermostat, it’s an energy command center. It monitors both indoor and outdoor temperatures for maximum energy efficiency. It’ll even tell you when it’s time to change a filter or schedule maintenance. Check out more of these features on our thermostats page.