After a year-long early access period, Google’s Nest Renew program is now available on compatible Nest thermostats across the continental U.S. Nest and smart thermostats broadly have applied their intelligence to maintaining utmost home comfort while keeping bills low. Renew aims to apply those smarts to tapping into available renewable energy when supply is highest, and purchasing green energy credits when it isn’t.
When your home is able to communicate with your electrical provider, not only do you get the end benefit of lower rates, but the grid is also able to adjust generation to meet demand with more agility. That makes renewable sources like wind and solar more viable since their availability fluctuates. It also means power sources that rely on fossil fuels can minimize waste.
These more complex interactions between homes and utilities will need a communications backbone if we want to have resilient and distributed power generation. Many utilities aren’t especially keen on ushering in this kind of future, however. After all, they would in the end be splitting their energy revenue with a community of independent generators.