While home security has been the top reason for getting smart home technologies in the U.S., the demand to reduce energy consumption with smart devices is rising, as several partnerships were formed recently in the industry to put smart thermostats inside homes.
Texas-based utility provider Reliant has just announced a preferred partner agreement with Google, to put Google Home smart speakers and Nest thermostats in homes of its customers for energy-saving purpose.
The smart home devices will be bundled with Reliant’s electricity plan to let customers try out new smart devices. Reliant says the smart devices can help customers save money and better manage their energy use.
The partnership brings “simple, proven, energy-saving and home security technology” to more consumers across Texas, said Elizabeth Killinger, president of Reliant and NRG Retail.
Also, Arizona-based real estate developer Christopher Todd Communities announced it has signed a four-year agreement with Vivint Smart Home to provide integrated smart home systems for its residents.
The customers can save up to 12% on heating and cooling costs, said the real estate company. With the smart home technology, renters will be able to control climate, lighting and door access from a single app.
"The advantages of smart home technology are no longer exclusive to homeowners – multi-family and rental communities are the next evolution of smart home," said Thomas Few, vice president of business development at Vivint.
Partnership between Clayton and Ecobee
Homebuilder Clayton also announced earlier this month that it is partnering with ecobee to put smart thermostats into all new prefabricated homes, to help families save money on their energy bills.
Clayton home building facilities are rolling out the ENERGY STAR-certified ecobee3 lite in all Clayton Built homes ordered nationwide. The ecobee4 will also be available as an upgrade in select Clayton Built homes.
"As it becomes harder for the average American family to achieve homeownership, we continue to offer energy efficient features that were once considered a luxury within affordable housing," said Clayton’s CEO Kevin Clayton.
Clayton and ecobee believe everyone has the right to access affordable, energy efficient homeownership. With ecobee, Clayton will now deliver more energy-efficient homes that will become a standard, the company says in a press release.
Hotels’ adoption of smart energy solution
Hotels are adopting smart technology to cut down energy use as well. The Confidante Miami Beach announced last month it has installed WiSuite Hotel Energy Management system.
The WiSuite solution features touchscreen-enabled WiStat-SS smart thermostats in all 363 guest rooms connected to the hotel's property management system (PMS). Hotel operations staff can now remotely manage all guest room HVAC units, using lgorithms that automatically analyze room sensor and revenue-based occupancy data. When a guest checks in, the WiSuite system automatically takes the room out of energy savings mode and initiates a predefined comfort mode.
In addition, the WiSuite platform tracks equipment runtime hotel-wide, helping streamline the deployment of staff for preventative maintenance tasks and extending the life of HVAC assets.
The WiSuite system can also optimize the setting based on a number of property characteristics like sun load, room size and specific HVAC equipment profiles.
Also, the smart system helps to respond to in-room equipment issues proactively, because it can generate demand warning alerts when a HVAC unit fails to meet guest demand.