Tuesday morning, home for lunch, Chad Piekarz talks to his….thermostat: "Alexa, what deliveries have I made?" "3 shipments for Chad's order placed yesterday should arrive today."
Smart thermostats have gone from being a novelty to becoming the norm. As Chad told me in his home, "A little light will blink on this and tell you that you have a package, on the thermostat."
And yes, they still set the temperature. All it takes is, "Alexa, override my temperature to 52 degrees."
And better yet, they pay for themselves. Chad, who’s an NV Energy conservation manager, says “For me on average it's about $120 a year. For the average customer, we've seen $100 a year as the standard savings."
The smart thermostat controls your temperature remotely, so the heat isn't blasting when you're not at home. Over 40% of the average electric bill goes to heating and cooling. With one of these, you could save hundreds. He says it’s great “for folks who want to set it and forget it. The thing will just run your house, and it won't overrun. It’s like leaving the refrigerator door open. You don't want to do that, you want the thing to only be running when you absolutely need it to be running."
We watched as Chad controlled it from his smart phone, using the thermostat’s app: "Now I'm turning it up, and it says it will only run at 67 degrees until 5:00."
You can schedule temperatures for all days from anywhere…on vacation, or turn your furnace on when you're coming home. NV Energy won't control it except in rare, extreme situations. There used to be just one brand, now there are several, starting at around $119 on Amazon. But NV Energy will install yours for free. Chad says, “We install it for free and you get it for free. There is no catch. The only thing is, this is an air conditioning load management program, so you have to have air conditioning and you have to have broadband."
The installation comes with NV Energy's home inspection program, where they walk through your home, spotting things you can do to save money, "So you get a digital report emailed to you from us after we complete it, and it will give you all the suggestions based on what we found at the home."
You can sign up for both by phone or online for the free smart thermostats and home inspections. Just click the link below:
https://www.nvenergy.com/save-with-powershift/smart-thermostat
