ecobee Launches Product Update to Protect the Energy Grid from Outages

Published 7 months ago via Business Wire

New opt-out feature launches ahead of forecasted record-breaking hot summer and builds on success of summer 2022 pilot.

Smart home leader ecobee today announced the launch of an updated grid resiliency program to help prevent power outages caused by extreme weather, sustained high heat, and natural disasters.

During an Emergency Event Alert (EEA) or equivalent event, ecobee customers in participating utility service territories who are not already enrolled in a demand response program will receive an alert on their ecobee Smart Thermostat and ecobee mobile app informing them that their home is at risk of an outage. Customers then receive recommended, automated temperature adjustments to help reduce the strain on the grid during extreme weather events. During these adjustments, customers are in control of their comfort and can opt out of any changes before or even during the event.

This solution will be available to customers in select utility territories across the US and Canada as an update to ecobee’s existing eco+ Community Energy Savings feature. It is designed to help increase grid stability in the face of increasing weather-related threats. According to NERC, two-thirds of North America is at risk of energy shortages during high-demand periods that stress the energy grid. Despite a rapid increase in weather-related power outages, the number of customers participating in energy conservation and sustainability initiatives remains below 20%, per J.D. Power. This update, which helps utilities reach 100% of ecobee customers in a given territory, results in temperature adjustments between 1-4 degrees to help ensure grid stability.

“Our Grid Resiliency Program’s unique opt-out model helps communities avoid capacity shortfalls by providing utility companies with access to the vast majority of ecobee devices in their territory to reduce the strain on the grid during an energy emergency,” said ecobee Executive Vice President, Energy, Chris Carradine. “We are seeing more extreme weather events than ever before, and it is critical that we give communities a seamless and transparent method for managing their energy use during emergency events.”

The program was first piloted with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) in September 2022. SDG&E used ecobee’s new solution during a grid emergency in their territory, which drove a 60% participation rate and equivalent kWh savings as a standard demand response event, demonstrating the capability of this solution to engage customers that have not enrolled in a utility demand response program. Building on the success of the pilot, ecobee is expanding this solution across the US and Canada to help create a more reliable and flexible grid.

To learn more about this update and ecobee’s suite of industry-leading grid resiliency solutions, visit www.ecobee.com/utilities

About ecobee

ecobee Inc. was founded in 2007 with a mission to simplify everyday life while creating a more sustainable world. Since launching the world’s first smart thermostat in 2009, ecobee has helped customers across North America save over 31 TWh of energy, which is the equivalent of taking all the homes in Los Angeles and Chicago off the grid for a year. Today, ecobee continues to innovate with smart home solutions that solve everyday problems with comfort, protection, and conservation in mind. In 2021, ecobee joined Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC), a leading global designer and manufacturer of energy technology solutions, and other power products. Generac and ecobee share a vision to deliver a cleaner and more sustainable energy future for customers and communities. The Generac and ecobee home of the future will be more comfortable, secure, resilient, and efficient. For more information, visit ecobee.com.

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