Carrier and Whisker Labs Allow Homeowners to Participate in Utility-Sponsored Energy Curtailment Programs
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Carrier and Whisker Labs have teamed up to help homeowners save on heating and cooling costs while allowing participating utilities to better maintain grid reliability during peak demand. Whisker Labs is managing this new program, in which participating utilities can now include connected Carrier® Côr™ thermostats in demand response and energy curtailment programs that use a “Bring Your Own Thermostat” (BYOT) model for customer enrollment. Carrier, a world leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions, is a part of Carrier, a leading global provider of innovative HVAC, refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies.
Available now, Whisker Labs will leverage the Côr® thermostat’s proprietary technology to control participating homeowners’ thermostats to reduce demand during peak times. “We are excited to add a premier HVAC manufacturer to our utility offering,” said Dave Oberholzer, GM energy management, Whisker Labs.
The benefits of participation in demand response programs are two-fold. Homeowners with Côr thermostats will benefit by potentially reducing their heating and cooling bills, while also receiving BYOT program participation incentives and rebates from participating utilities, where offered. On a wider scale, the program aims to decrease demand on the electrical grid during high demand periods or when it becomes stressed from extreme weather or power generation shortfalls.
BYOT programs often provide utility-sponsored rebates that can lower the cost to purchase a Côr thermostat while also providing customers with recurring participation incentives. According to Navigant Research*, approximately 50,000 U.S. customers are presently engaged in BYOT programs. According to the Navigant report, the potential customer base for BYOT demand response is estimated at 20 million customers, translating to a $3 billion customer segment.
“Carrier recognizes the unique role we can play as a leader in our industry to further develop and deploy demand response technology,” said Todd Nolte, director, product marketing, Carrier Residential HVAC. “We’re thrilled to be working with innovators like Whisker Labs to deliver greater energy savings for our customers and to help utilities better manage the electrical grid during peak demand.”
This collaboration with Whisker Labs’ energy management platform allows utilities to expand their load management programs and increase customer satisfaction by includingCôr thermostats from Carrier, a leader in the HVAC industry.
For more information visit https://www.whiskerlabs.com/services/#connected-savings.
* https://www.navigant.com/insights/energy/2018/2018-utility-demand-response-market-snapshot
