{"id":11335,"date":"2015-10-08T10:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-10-08T15:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=11335"},"modified":"2015-12-21T12:40:26","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T18:40:26","slug":"one-million-and-beyond-rebates-to-accelerate-smart-thermostat-adoption-in-illinois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2015\/10\/08\/one-million-and-beyond-rebates-to-accelerate-smart-thermostat-adoption-in-illinois\/","title":{"rendered":"One Million and Beyond: Rebates to Accelerate Smart Thermostat Adoption in Illinois"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"smart<\/a>One million is a big number, but that\u2019s the goal for getting smart thermostats into Northern Illinois homes. In partnership with environmental and consumer groups, Chicago-based electric and gas companies this week agreed to offer rebates that will cut an intelligent monitor\u2019s cost in half, helping empower people to reduce both their energy bills and pollution.<\/p>\n

This smart-thermostat initiative is the nation\u2019s largest and makes devices eligible for up to $120 in rebates (on average, a smart thermostat will run you about $250). The partnership between the utilities and advocacy groups expects the financing will lead to the installation of one million smart thermostats across Northern Illinois over the next five years.<\/p>\n

A diverse group announced the program this week: Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Illinois consumer advocacy group Citizens Utility Board, Illinois Commerce Commission, and smart thermostat manufacturers, ecobee and Nest.<\/p>\n

Smart thermostats lead to smarter energy use<\/strong><\/p>\n

Smart thermostats are WiFi-enabled devices that allow residents to easily control the heating and air conditioning settings in a home through their smartphones, tablets, and computers. On the simplest level they enable people to easily switch off their air conditioning or heating when the house is not occupied, but the technology is considered smart because, over time, it will do this for you by learning your behavior patterns.<\/p>\n

For instance, some devices automatically learn when the house is likely to be occupied or empty, allowing the thermostat to pre-heat or pre-cool the house in order to provide a comfortable temperature when a resident arrives. Zoned systems also can control the temperature in individual rooms, providing energy savings when only a home office, and not the bedrooms, needs to be heated on a winter\u2019s day, for example. Residents remain comfortable when they\u2019re home, but save money on heating and cooling while away at work, on vacation, or even in a different room.<\/p>\n

[Tweet “1 million & beyond: Rebates to accelerate smart thermostat adoption in Illinois”]<\/p>\n

The devices also empower people to customize their energy use, creating substantial opportunities for cost-effective energy savings. Rather than leaving homes at a constant temperature, the Nest Learning Thermostat, for example, has been shown to save<\/a> people about 10 to 12 percent on their heating bills and about 15 percent on their cooling bills on average.<\/p>\n

Smart thermostats tend to have several unique characteristics. They:<\/p>\n