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Study: 'Smart' thermostats actually INCREASE electric and gas consumption 'Fail to deliver the expected energy savings'
wnd.com ^ | 9/21/2022 1444 hrs edt | Bob Unruh

Posted on 09/22/2022 6:47:45 AM PDT by rktman

A new study reveals that those "smart" thermostats installed, often at great expense, in homes actually cause the energy consumption to rise, not fall.

"Engineering estimates from the California Technical Forum …. predict that smart thermostats will produce substantial reductions in energy consumption," the report, called "The Human Perils of Scaling Smart Technologies: Evidence from Field Experiments," said.

It was released by authors from Johns Hopkins, University of Chicago, University of Southern California and University of Alabama.

They studied the smart thermostat impact on energy consumption using data over an 18-month period including more than 16 million hourly electricity use records and almost 700,000 daily observations of natural gas consumption.

"The most relevant estimates to our experimental sample come from Department of Energy Technical Reference Manuals, which are annual reports produced by energy providers and regulators. These reports primarily rely on engineering simulations and survey data to predict the effects of energy efficiency programs at scale.

"These predictions are then used by energy providers to justify expenditures on energy efficiency programs. Mapping these predictions for Californians, which vary by climate zone and the size of a home, to our experimental samples we find that savings of 1.3% and 4.0% are respectively predicted for overall electricity and natural gas consumption."

However, those thermostats were found to "fail to deliver the expected energy savings."

The researchers said, in their nearly 100-page report, those thermostats "actually increase electricity and gas consumption by 2.3% and 4.2%, respectively," the report found.

(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Miscellaneous; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: ooooops; saveyourmoney
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To: TexasGator

Tell that to 22,000 people in Colorado.


61 posted on 09/22/2022 9:08:30 AM PDT by BobL (By the way, low tonight in Estonia: 40 degrees)
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To: TexasGator

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/colorado-utility-company-locks-22000-thermostats-in-90-degree-weather-due-energy-emergency


62 posted on 09/22/2022 9:10:22 AM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> --- )
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To: sasquatch

Uh, wires?


63 posted on 09/22/2022 9:15:16 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? 😕)
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To: rktman

Years ago I believed the studies but my wife proved me wrong. We found it best to set it and forget it. Heat is heat and cold is cold and it takes more energy to recover from letting either rise or fall below the set point unless you do it for long periods of time. Overnight is not enough, while you are gone during the day is not enough.

The new craze seems to be setting the thermostat at 78 for cooling and 68 for heating, we did that ages ago and never changed. THAT does make a difference.


64 posted on 09/22/2022 9:19:15 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Politicians are only marginally good at one thing, being politicians. Otherwise they are fools.)
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To: rktman
How many users previously had dumb thermostats they ran at the same temperature? How many that they turned to lower energy use when away or at night? How many had timed thermostats that did the same?

If you were already timed, going to a smart thermostat won't save much. If you were on a dumb thermostats where you turned it down when you left and up when you got home, the smart one would learn your habits and turn it up before you normally get home so it is warm when you get home, thus using more energy, but you wouldn't shiver for the first half hour after arriving.

65 posted on 09/22/2022 9:29:18 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (The government sees you as either livestock or pet. If things get bad they will eat their pets too.)
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To: smokingfrog

What is your point?


66 posted on 09/22/2022 9:30:55 AM PDT by TexasGator ( Gator in Florida)
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To: smokingfrog

I’m starting to wonder about this guy, but he is entertaining!


67 posted on 09/22/2022 9:32:44 AM PDT by BobL (By the way, low tonight in Estonia: 40 degrees)
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To: KarlInOhio

Our “routine” is so erratic, a “smart” thermostat would contact Alexa to find it a counselor. 😂✌


68 posted on 09/22/2022 10:07:38 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? 😕)
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To: sarge83

Interesting. One would think that upgrading from 6 SEER to 16 would show some improvement in electrical usage.

My 3 stage heat pump also feeds a lot of harmonics (dirty electricity) back into the house wireing due to the motor drive which uses an inverter to regulate the motor/compressor. I have stetzer emf filters plugged in throughout the house and installed a low pass filter in the heatpump feed line. I still have a bit too much emf generated when the heat pump is running.


69 posted on 09/22/2022 10:17:25 AM PDT by MulberryDraw (Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?)
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To: rktman

Well, I do have electricity.
Got a youtube to help me out?

(good one)


70 posted on 09/22/2022 10:28:50 AM PDT by sasquatch
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To: sasquatch

I’m sure there is one out there that’ll show some sort of damper control to maximize airflow. 😂🙌


71 posted on 09/22/2022 10:38:36 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? 😕)
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To: rktman

“smart”. Cuz your dum


72 posted on 09/22/2022 10:42:41 AM PDT by Varsity Flight ( "War by the prophesies set before you." I Timothy 1:18. Nazarite prayer warriors. 10.5.6.5)
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To: Varsity Flight

Uh, “you’re”. Hello!? 😎👍


73 posted on 09/22/2022 10:50:48 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? 😕)
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To: MulberryDraw

Never thought of emf issue before, hmmm.

His house is insulated to the hilt: garage, walls, floor, roof, between the windows in the cracks when they were building the house he had me and my brothers cram insulation in there like there was no tomorrow., he has good window and door seals. It is just him and my Mom and their electric bill is usually about $25-$35 less than mine when I was running the 80’s vintage heat pumps. Plus he has natural gas logs he uses at times. He’s has the unit checked several times and no issues most of the time. It’s a Goodman unit which I personally didn’t care for but he decided it fit his budget.


74 posted on 09/22/2022 10:56:53 AM PDT by sarge83
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To: sarge83

My house had a Goodman gas furnace / AC installed right before I bought it. Has been troublesome, but I noticed Goodman has been bought by the Japanese (Daikin) so maybe they shape it up.


75 posted on 09/22/2022 10:59:47 AM PDT by nascarnation (Let's go Brandon!)
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To: rktman

I keep indoor temps in one place in winter and summer. I’ve always thought that fluctuating temps over 24 hours was too short a time to benefit since afterwards you have to heat or cool the room and all the stuff in it.


76 posted on 09/22/2022 11:01:54 AM PDT by TalBlack (We have a Christian duty and a patriotic duty. God help us.)
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To: rktman

Smart thermostats aren’t about energy savings any more than climate change is about saving the planet or CoupFlu policy is about protecting public health.


77 posted on 09/22/2022 11:11:05 AM PDT by mewzilla (We need to repeal RCV wherever it's in use and go back to dumb voting machines.)
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To: TalBlack

You have stuff? 😎👍


78 posted on 09/22/2022 11:14:46 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? 😕)
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To: z3n

I agree with this.


79 posted on 09/22/2022 11:25:17 AM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: Tell It Right
Agree completely with you re. modern heat pumps and minisplits units with variable speed compressors and fans are the way to go. Retired now and moved to the NC mountains 10 months ago. 1700ft2 cabin, 2br. I have a 2021 vintage minisplit system. State of the art.

From December 2021 through September 2022 electric bill, my HVAC bill has ranged from about $30-50/mo for the kwh of electricity alone plus a fixed service fee add-on. Tennessee Valley Authority is the electricity producer, largely hydroelectric and nukes, lowest cost technologies.

One outdoor heat pump and two indoor exchange/blowers hanging on the wall. Each indoor unit has a variable speed blower, a programmable thermostat, motorized vanes to direct air up/down and left/right and an option to use a sensor to adjust the thermostat a few degrees higher or lower if no one is in the area. The outdoor unit has variable speed motors on its fan and compressor. Legacy central air components completely removed leaving only the blocked off floor registers.

80 posted on 09/22/2022 11:30:03 AM PDT by Hootowl99
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