Canada’s ecobee launches DR programme to alleviate weather effects on power grid

Canadian smart home tech developer ecobee has announced the launch of an updated grid resiliency programme to help prevent power outages caused by extreme weather, sustained high heat, and natural disasters.

During an emergency event alert (EEA) or equivalent, ecobee customers in participating utility service territories who are not already enrolled in a demand response programme will receive an alert on their ecobee Smart Thermostat and mobile app informing them that their home is at risk of an outage.

Customers then receive recommended, automated temperature adjustments to help reduce the strain on the grid during extreme weather events. During these adjustments, customers are in control of their comfort and can opt out of any changes before or even during the event.

The solution is designed to help increase grid stability in the face of increasing weather-related threats.

Ecobee cites the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which has found that two-thirds of North America is at risk of energy shortages during high-demand periods that stress the energy grid.

The company adds that, according to J.D. Power, despite a rapid increase in weather-related power outages, the number of customers participating in energy conservation and sustainability initiatives remains below 20%.

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ecobee executive vice president of energy, Chris Carradine, said: “Our Grid Resiliency Program’s unique opt-out model helps communities avoid capacity shortfalls by providing utility companies with access to the vast majority of ecobee devices in their territory to reduce the strain on the grid during an energy emergency.

“We are seeing more extreme weather events than ever before, and it is critical that we give communities a seamless and transparent method for managing their energy use during emergency events.”

ecobee’s programme was first piloted with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) in September 2022, which used the solution during a grid emergency in its territory.

The programme drove a 60% participation rate and equivalent kWh savings as a standard demand response event.

Building on the success of the SDG&E pilot, ecobee is expanding this solution across the US and Canada to help create a more reliable and flexible grid.

The solution will be available to customers in select utility territories across the US and Canada as an update to ecobee’s existing eco+ Community Energy Savings feature.