This program helps your ecobee thermostat to automatically adjust its temperature so you can use less energy when others are using more, like during summer heat waves when everyone cranks up their air conditioner.
You don’t have to do anything — we do all the work intelligently managing your thermostat to help reduce demand while keeping you comfortable. Hurry, space is limited!
Frequently Asked Questions:
What are the eligibility requirements?
To be eligible, you must have:
- A PGE residential electric account.
- A Wi-Fi network.
- A central air conditioner or ducted heat pump system
- An approved ecobee thermostat that controls the home’s heating and cooling systems
Approved ecobee thermostats:
- ecobee 4
- ecobee 3 lite*
- Smart Si
- EMS Si
* ecobee 3 lite not eligible for Energy Trust of Oregan Energy Efficiency program.
What is Connected Savings with PGE?
Connected Savings analyzes proprietary local weather data and usage data from your Wi-Fi thermostat to build an energy model of your home to understand how it reacts to various weather conditions. Using this model, we intelligently manage your home’s HVAC usage during times of high energy demand so your home remains comfortable while reducing your overall energy use. You are always in control and can override the settings at any time.
How does weather affect my heating and cooling costs?
The weather has a significant impact on the thermodynamics of every building – changing the length of time it takes to heat up or cool down; the amount of heat or cooling lost through walls, windows and cracks; and the amount of energy required to keep occupants comfortable. For example, the amount of energy an air conditioning unit uses to cool a building varies with outside air temperature—the hotter it is outside, the harder the air conditioner has to work to keep the building cool.
After temperature, humidity, wind, and heat from the sun are the next largest factors in determining how much energy you use to keep your home comfortable. Connected Savings intelligently manages cooling and heating systems and lowers energy demand by understanding current and expected local weather conditions, and how a home will react to them.
How will my data be used?
Your data will enable PGE and Connected Savings to decrease energy usage during periods of high energy demand in the PGE territory. Any information shared with PGE and Connected Savings will be subject to the Connected Savings service privacy policy.
Connected Savings uses data from your Wi-Fi thermostat, and local, real-time weather data to develop an energy model of your home to understand how it responds to varying local weather conditions.
How do I un-enroll or opt-out of Connected Savings?
To un-enroll or opt-out of Connected Savings, please send your request to connectedsaving@whiskerlabs.com.
This process can take up to 5 business days. In addition, any feedback you can provide to help improve Connected Savings will be valued.