Monday, April 22, 2013

Nest's Smart Thermostat Ties Into Austin Energy

Looking to save money on your energy costs? Austin consumers who use Austin Energy are among the few who can take advantage of a new, energy saving feature of the smart Nest thermometer, according to manufacturer Nest Labs. The Nest, a smart, Internet-connected thermometer aimed at helping consumers save on energy cost, now automatically ties into a consumer's power usage data from Austin Energy, via a new deal Nest announced with NRG Energy Monday. According to Nest, its new "Auto-Tune" technology connects into utility data, to learn about your habits and automatically fine tune the device's schedule to save energy; the thermostat is also tied into a "Rush Hour Rewards" program with Austin Energy an dothers, which will pay users incentives to use less energy when other users are using more; the program pays anywhere from $20 to $60 during the summer. Nest Labs is based in Silicon Valley.