Home Area Networks

Honeywell makes a thermostat called UtilityPro which is used by several different utility companies all over the US for demand response in the residential community. I read that there are over 350,000 of these products in use at the moment, sponsored by over 38 different utility companies. I have one personally from my local utility in San Antonio (CPS Energy), and it has been working very well for me the past several years. It’s a touch screen, wireless, programmable thermostat that sends data to my utility so that it can cycle my outdoor compressor off at peak hours of the hottest days in the summer. I barely even notice when the utility turns off my outdoor compressor for those few minutes. The temperature in the house raises a few degrees, but that’s it. I can also program the thermostat online, which I found to be very useful. If I’m away from the house for an extended period and forget to raise my thermostat so my AC isn’t on all day, I can do it from my computer or smartphone wherever I am. But what I liked most about this thermostat is that it was part of a utility sponsored program, and I didn’t have to pay a dime. My utility came out and installed the thermostat. I just had to allow them to cycle the compressor off every now and again to curb demand. Seemed like a good (and small) price to pay to me.