Automated program makes efficiency easy
An energy efficiency pilot program offered last winter by SoCalGas and Nest Learning Thermostats delivered in a big way, saving customers about 8 percent on their home heating use.
The utility recently announced results of its Seasonal Savings program, the first joint pilot program of SoCalGas and Nest and the largest utility pilot program to date for Nest. During the pilot, temperatures were fine-tuned in the homes of Nest thermostat customers who signed up for the program via a Nest app or by email.
“If they clicked ‘yes,’ their device was automatically enrolled,” Aaron Berndt, head of West Coast Energy Partnerships at Nest, told American Gas. “Nest has a strong presence in California, which is known for energy-conscious residents who are eager to try out new technologies and program offerings … 90 percent of total participants signed up on the first day.”
Once customers were enrolled, the device automatically performed algorithm adjustments to make energy usage even more efficient and to reduce usage during winter months. As part of the automated adjustment process, the Nest thermostat built a thermal model of each home. The goal was to balance load reduction with customer satisfaction, he said.
The micro adjustments came out to about a half-degree every week over the course of three weeks, with residents feeling very little, if any, differences in comfort, Dan Rendler, director of Customer Programs and assistance at SoCalGas, told American Gas.
“Seasonal Savings is turnkey and unintrusive. There is little SoCalGas had to do once the program was designed, and the only action that customers had to take was to simply opt in,” he said.
Nest constantly monitors customer behavior to customize programs like Seasonal Savings to be within a given household’s comfort level to reduce opt-outs, Berndt said. “The goal is to maximize the impact of the program without sacrificing customer comfort to ensure continued participation,” he said.
SoCalGas is evaluating final results for Seasonal Savings and will determine whether the program will continue and/or be updated. “If we run the program in winter 2017–2018, we anticipate having more customers to recruit into the program, as the base of Nest customers in our service territory continues to grow,” Rendler said.