Carrier Corp. and Silicon Energy are teaming up this summer to offer utilities the ComfortChoice program, an Internet-based, residential demand-side management solution that should enable utilities to recognize peak demand savings without compromising homeowners' comfort and control.
The key component to this program is Carrier's Energy Management Interface thermostat. Homeowners can access a Web page to view a temperature in their home and change settings for temperature, on/off, heat/cool mode and fan from any remote Internet connection.
With the ComfortChoice program, utilities can temporarily adjust homeowners' temperature setpoints during peak demand times to reduce energy usage. Homeowners have full flexibility to override a temperature setback directly from their thermostats or remotely over the Web.
The charter program, scheduled to run from June through September, will allow utilities to offer their residential customers a Carrier EMI thermostat.
